Economy (Guyana)
================


     Overview:
         Guyana is one of the world's poorest countries with a per capita income less
         than one-fifth the South American average. After growing on average at less
         than 1% a year in 1986-87, GDP dropped by 5% a year in 1988-90. The decline
         resulted from bad weather, labor trouble in the canefields, and flooding and
         equipment problems in the bauxite industry. Consumer prices rose about 100%
         in 1989 and 75% in 1990, and the current account deficit widened
         substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power is
         in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in national
         output. The government, in association with international financial
         agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The
         government's stabilization program - aimed at establishing realistic
         exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and a resumption of growth -
         requires considerable public administrative abilities and continued patience
         by consumers during a long incubation period. In 1991, buoyed by a recovery
         in mining and agriculture, the economy posted 6% growth, according to
         official figures. A large volume of illegal and quasi- legal economic
         activity is not captured in estimates of the country's total output.
     GDP:
         exchange rate conversion - $250 million, per capita $300; real growth rate
         6% (1991 est.)
     Inflation rate (consumer prices):
         75% (1990)
     Unemployment rate:
         12-15% (1990 est.)
     Budget:
         revenues $126 million; expenditures $250 million (1990 est.)
     Exports:
         $189 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
       commodities:
         bauxite, sugar, gold, rice, shrimp, molasses, timber, rum
       partners:
         UK 31%, US 23%, CARICOM 7%, Canada 6% (1988)
     Imports:
         $246 million (c.i.f., 1991)
       commodities:
         manufactures, machinery, food, petroleum
       partners:
         US 33%, CARICOM 10%, UK 9%, Canada 2% (1989)
     External debt:
         $2.0 billion, including arrears (1990)
     Industrial production:
         growth rate - 12.0% (1990 est.); accounts for about 11% of GDP
     Electricity:
         252,500 kW capacity; 647 million kWh produced, 863 kWh per capita (1991)
     Industries:
         bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp), textiles,
         gold mining
     Agriculture:
         most important sector, accounting for 24% of GDP and about half of exports;
         sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for fishing and
         forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable oils, and
         animal products
     Economic aid:
         US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US)
         countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $325 million;
         Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
     Currency:
         Guyanese dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents