Guyana — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Guyana: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Guyana is in Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela. It covers 214,969 sq km. Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south. Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January).
| Capital | Georgetown |
|---|---|
| Population | 794,099 (2024 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $58.423 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $70,300 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 43.4% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.9% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 10.2% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 50.7% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $13.739 billion (2023 est.) |
| Imports | $10.956 billion (2023 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 72.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 28.7 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 27.2% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 26 May 1966 (from the UK) |
| Languages | English (official), Guyanese Creole, Amerindian languages (including Caribbean and Arawak languages), Indian languages (including Caribbean Hindustani, a dialect of Hindi), Chinese (2014 est.) |
Guyana’s GDP is $58.423 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $24.836 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 43.4% (2024 est.). See where Guyana ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +5 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Guyana's oil transformation kept compounding — production scaling, revenues flowing — with no event to interrupt the fastest growth story in the hemisphere.
The question remains distribution, not direction: this quarter the direction stayed sharply up.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 2.9%; a current-account surplus of $2 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
- What drags it down: unemployment at 10.2%
Bauxite, Gold, Diamonds, Timber.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 93% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 92.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 46.045 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $13.739 billion (2023 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $10.956 billion (2023 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $2.8 billion (2023), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Mohamed Irfaan Ali — President. President Mohammed Irfaan ALI (since 2 August 2020)
Guyana maintains 15 embassies and 5 consulates abroad, hosts 17 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, OAS Washington. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 15 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 5 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 17 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, OAS Washington |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, diplomatic & consular networks database, Mar 2026 report (of-country ranking) https://zenodo.org/records/18917562 ; Jan 2026 report (in-country ranking) https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 459 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 55 (registration prefix 8R) |
| Major seaports | Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam |
Major airports
Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) — Georgetown; Eugene F. Correia International Airport (OGL) — Ogle; Kaieteur Airport (KAI) — Kaieteur Falls; Lethem Airport (LTM) — Lethem.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28)
| Political system | parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Guyana.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Guyana — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Guyana's power score?
Guyana has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.