Demographics of Guyana

This is a demography of Guyana including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Guyana
Population pyramid of Guyana in 2020
Population	789,683 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	0.24% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	16.72 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	6.91 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Fertility rate	2.35 children
Net migration rate	-7.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	23.91%
65 and over	7.01%
Nationality
Nationality	Guyanese

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1831	98,000	—
1911	296,041	+202.1%
1931	310,933	+5.0%
1946	375,701	+20.8%
1960	560,330	+49.1%
1970	701,718	+25.2%
1980	759,567	+8.2%
1991	723,673	−4.7%
2002	751,223	+3.8%
2012	746,955	−0.6%
2015	741,962	−0.7%
Source:^[1]

Guyana's population (Guyanese people) is made up of five main ethnic groups: Indians, Africans, Amerindians, Europeans (mainly Portuguese), and Chinese. Ninety percent of the inhabitants live on the narrow coastal plain, where population density is more than 115 inhabitants per square kilometre (300/sq mi). The population density for Guyana as a whole is low: less than four inhabitants per square kilometre (10.4/sq mi).

Guyana continues to be influenced by British and Indian culture as well as the cultures of the United States, Europe, Africa, the Islamic world, East and South Asian countries, and Latin America, especially the neighbouring countries of Venezuela and Brazil. It is one of two countries and three territories to form the Guianas, such as Suriname and territories like the French Guiana and parts of neighbouring countries named for Guayana (Venezuela) and Amapá of Brazil.

Population

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[2][3], the total population was 804,567 in 2021. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 33.6%, 62.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.3% was 65 years or older.^[4]

	Total population (x 1000)	Proportion aged 0–14 (%)	Proportion aged 15–64 (%)	Proportion aged 65+ (%)
1950	407	39.9	56.0	4.1
1955	483	43.6	52.8	3.6
1960	560	46.3	50.4	3.3
1965	640	47.7	49.0	3.4
1970	721	48.7	47.9	3.4
1975	749	45.5	50.9	3.6
1980	777	42.5	53.7	3.8
1985	752	38.6	57.0	4.4
1990	725	34.4	60.6	5.0
1995	728	34.6	60.4	5.0
2000	733	35.5	60.0	4.5
2005	746	36.9	59.3	3.8
2010	754	33.6	62.1	4.3
2020	750	23.9	69.1	7.0

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 15.IX.2012): ^[5]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	371 805	375 150	746 955	100
0–4	35 876	34 564	70 440	9.43
5–9	35 954	35 314	71 268	9.54
10–14	42 302	40 837	83 139	11.13
15–19	42 749	42 049	84 798	11.35
20–24	31 350	31 932	63 282	8.47
25–29	25 487	26 574	52 061	6.97
30–34	26 103	26 996	53 099	7.11
35–39	25 457	26 022	51 479	6.89
40–44	24 212	23 743	47 955	6.42
45–49	21 573	21 542	43 115	5.77
50–54	18 878	18 566	37 444	5.01
55–59	14 045	14 998	29 043	3.89
60–64	10 479	11 034	21 513	2.88
65-69	6 638	7 197	13 835	1.85
70-74	4 817	5 522	10 339	1.38
75-79	3 037	3 871	6 908	0.92
80-84	1 714	2 365	4 079	0.55
85+	1 134	2 024	3 158	0.42
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	114 132	110 715	224 847	30.10
15–64	240 333	243 456	483 789	64.77
65+	17 340	20 979	38 319	5.13

Age structure

0–14 years: 35.6% (male 135,629; female 131,518; total 267,146)
15–64 years: 60.2% (male 226,058; female 226,551; total 452,609)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 14,347; female 17,120; total 31,467) (2002 census)^[6][7]

Vital statistics

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates of vital statistics of Guyana. ^[4]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy total	Life expectancy males	Life expectancy females
1950–1955	20,000	8,000	12,000	49.4	18.1	31.4	6.68	118	49.2	46.5	52.0
1955–1960	23,000	8,000	15,000	47.5	15.8	31.7	6.77	107	51.7	49.4	54.1
1960–1965	25,000	8,000	17,000	41.5	13.6	27.9	6.15	98	53.7	51.8	55.6
1965–1970	27,000	8,000	19,000	40.0	12.5	27.5	6.11	92	55.1	53.8	56.4
1970–1975	25,000	7,000	18,000	34.1	11.0	23.2	4.90	83	57.2	55.9	58.6
1975–1980	24,000	7,000	17,000	31.1	10.0	21.0	3.94	77	58.8	57.4	60.3
1980–1985	23,000	7,000	16,000	28.7	9.6	19.1	3.26	73	60.0	57.9	62.5
1985–1990	19,000	7,000	12,000	26.4	9.8	16.6	2.70	68	60.6	57.9	63.8
1990–1995	19,000	7,000	12,000	23.5	9.8	13.7	2.55	63	61.4	58.5	64.9
1995–2000	18,000	7,000	11,000	22.0	8.9	13.0	2.50	56	63.1	60.1	66.6
2000–2005	16,000	7,000	9,000	20.1	7.6	12.5	2.43	49	65.7	62.7	69.1
2005–2010	14,000	6,000	8,000	18.8	5.9	12.9	2.33	42	68.7	65.5	71.9
*CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Vital statistics

^[8]

	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate
1948		16 576	5 437	11 139
1949		17 137	5 264	11 873
1950		16 985	5 938	11 047
1951		18 357	5 637	12 720
1952		19 555	5 772	13 783
1953		20 148	5 876	14 272
1954		20 263	5 635	14 628
1955		21 073	5 557	15 516
1956		21 668	5 380	16 288
1957		22 983	5 726	17 257
1958		23 661	5 195	18 466
1959		24 467	5 313	19 154
1960		23 718	5 167	18 551
1961		24 323	5 069	19 254
1962		25 316	4 664	20 652
1963		25 796	4 573	21 223
1964		25 541	4 748	20 793
1965		25 830	4 705	21 125
1966		26 348	5 234	21 114
1967		23 335	5 388	17 947
1968		23 467	5 619	17 848
1969		22 129
1970		23 703	4 808	18 895
1971		22 933	5 248	17 685
1972		25 065	5 962	19 103
1973		24 100	5 599	18 501
1974		23 100	6 161	16 939
1975		23 200	5 924	17 276
1976		24 200	6 251	16 949
1977			5 883
1978		23 200	6 000	17 200
1984			4 781
1992	712 415
1993	734 854		4 514
1994	745 994		4 304
1995	760 379
1996	770 139
1997	775 137		5 117
1998	773 432		4 977
1999	770 584		4 197
2000	756 395
2001	753 862		4 629
2002	751 647		5 003
2003	749 739		4 986
2004	748 144		5 141
2005	746 865	14 860	5 230	9 630	19.6	6.9	12.7		22.0
2006	745 898	14 830	5 020	9 810	19.5	6.6	12.9		19.2
2007	745 246	14 500	5 040	9 460	19.0	6.6	12.4		20.3
2008	774 443	15 240	4 980	10 260	19.9	6.5	13.4		17.5
2009	753 227	14 461	5 270	9 191	19.2	7.0	12.2		10.8
2010	752 113	14 290	5 260	9 030	19.0	7.0	12.0		14.7
2011	750 663	14 110	5 180	8 930	18.8	6.9	11.9		14.4
2012	746 724	13 780	5 160	8 620	18.4	6.9	11.5		13.8
2013	746 263	13 820	4 930	8 890	18.5	6.6	11.9	2.6	12.9
2014	745 874	14 800	5 460	9 340	19.8	7.3	12.5		23.3
2015	744 945	13 060	5 050	8 010	17.6	6.8	10.8		21.8
2016	743 458		5 109
2017	741 365	13 608	4 909	8 699
2018	744 962	14 659	4 558
2019	743 699		5 560
2020			3 503
2021			7 154

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[9]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
2005	21.3	2.6	20.3	2.4	21.7	2.8
2009	23	2,8 (2,1)	17	2,1 (1,7)	24	3,0 (2,3)

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups of Guyana (2012 Census)
Ethnic groups			percent
Indian			39.83%
Black			29.25%
Mixed			19.88%
Amerindian			9.51%
Other (includes Chinese, European)			0.5%

The present population of Guyana is racially and ethnically heterogeneous, with ethnic groups originating from India, Africa, Europe, and China, as well as indigenous or aboriginal peoples.

The largest ethnic group are the Indo-Guyanese, the descendants of indentured labourers from India, who make up 39.8% of the population, according to the 2012 census.^[10] They are followed by the Afro-Guyanese, the descendants of enslaved labourers from Africa, who constitute 29.3. Guyanese of mixed heritage make up 19.9%.^[10]

Indigenous peoples, known locally as Amerindians, make up 10.5%. The indigenous groups include the Arawaks, the Wai Wai, the Caribs, the Akawaio, the Arecuna, the Patamona, the Wapixana, the Macushi, and the Warao.^[10] The two largest groups, the Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese, have experienced some racial tension.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Most Indo-Guyanese are descended from indentured labourers who migrated from North India, especially the Bhojpur and Awadh regions of the Hindi Belt in the present day states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.^[15] A significant minority of Indo-Guyanese are also descended from indentured migrants who came from the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.^[16] Among the immigrants there were many labourers from other parts of South Asia such as Nepal, Bengal, Chota Nagpur, and Northwestern India - the modern states of Punjab, Haryana - which was at the time a part of the state of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The distribution pattern in the 2002 census was similar to those of the 1980 and 1991 censuses, but the share of the two main groups has declined. Indo-Guyanese made up 51.9% of the total population in 1980, but by 1991 this had fallen to 48.6%, and then to 43.5% in the 2002 census. Those of African descent increased slightly from 30.8% to 32.3% during the first period (1980 and 1991) before falling to 30.2% in the 2002 census. With small growth in the overall population, the decline in the shares of the two larger groups has resulted in the relative increase of shares of the multiracial and Amerindian groups.

The Amerindian population rose by 22,097 people between 1991 and 2002. This represents an increase of 47.3% or annual growth of 3.5%. Similarly, the multiracial population increased by 37,788 persons, representing a 43.0% increase or annual growth rate of 3.2% from the base period of 1991 census.

The number of Chinese is about 0.2% and the White population (mostly consisting of Portuguese) is about 0.3%.^[17][18]

Population of Guyana according to ethnic group^[19][20][21]

Ethnic group	Census 1946		Census 1960		Census 1980		Census 1991		Census 2002		Census 2012
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Indian	163,434	43.5	267,840	47.8	394,417	51.9	351,939	48.6	326,277	43.4	297,493	39.8
Black	143,385	38.2	183,980	32.8	234,094	30.8	233,465	32.3	227,062	30.2	218,483	29.3
Mixed	37,685	10.0	67,189	12.0	84,764	11.2	87,881	12.1	125,727	16.7	148,532	19.9
Amerindian	16,322	4.3	25.450	4.5	40,343	5.3	46,722	6.5	68,675	9.1	78,492	10.5
White	8,543	2.3	3,218	0.6	3,790	0.5	2,267	0.3	1,974	0.3	2,325	0.3
Chinese	3,567	0.9	4,074	0.7	1,864	0.2	1,290	0.2	1,396	0.2	1,377	0.2
Other	2,765	0.7	8,655	1.5	294	0.0	107	0.0	112	0.0	253	0.0
Total	375,701		560,406		759,566		723,671		751,223		746,955

Language

Main article: Languages of Guyana

English is the official language of Guyana, which is the only South American country with English as the official language.^[22][23]

Guyanese Creole (an English-based creole with African and Indian syntax) is widely spoken in Guyana.^[22]

A number of Amerindian languages are also spoken by a minority of the population. These include Cariban languages such as Macushi, Akawaio and Wai-Wai, and Arawakan languages such as Arawak (or Lokono) and Wapishana.^[22][23]

Other languages include Chinese spoken by some members of the Chinese community, Portuguese spoken by some Portuguese Guyanese, Dutch spoken by Surinamese in Guyana, and Guyanese Hindustani and Tamil spoken by a few older members of the Indian Guyanese community, as well as Sarnami Hindustani spoken by Indians from Suriname.^[22][23]

Second and third languages

Portuguese is increasingly widely used as a second language in Guyana, particularly in the south of the country near the Brazil border.^[22] Dutch and French are spoken by those who frequently visit neighbouring Suriname and French Guiana respectively. French is widely taught in secondary schools along with Spanish as foreign languages. Spanish is also used by a minority of the population as a second language. Spanish is spoken typically by visitors and residents from Venezuela.^[24]

Religion

See also: Religion in Guyana

Religion in Guyana (2012 census)^[25]

  Pentecostal (22.8%)

  Seventh-day Adventist (5.4%)

  Anglican (5.2%)

  Methodist (1.4%)

  Jehovah's Witnesses (1.3%)

  Roman Catholic (7.1%)

  Other Christians^[a] (20.8%)

  Hindu (24.8%)

  Muslim (6.8%)

  Other (2.6%)

  Irreligious (3.1%)

Notes

1. Mostly made up of other Protestants, but also Eastern Orthodox, Mormons, and other Christians.

References

1. "Final 2012 Census Compendium". Bureau of Statistics - Guyana. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
2. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
3. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
4. "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
5. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
6. Guyana Census 2002, population composition, Ch. 2 (p. 44)
7. Total population 751,223, where 15–64 years is 452,609/751,223 ~= 60.2%.
8. (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
9. "Guyana - Demographic and Health Survey 2009". microdata.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
10. https://statisticsguyana.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final_2012_Census_Compendium2.pdf 5 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine ^{[bare URL PDF]}
11. "Guyana turns attention to racism". BBC News. 20 September 2005.
12. "Conflict between East-Indian and Blacks in Trinidad and Guyana Socially, Economically and Politically". Gabrielle Hookumchand, Professor Moses Seenarine. 18 May 2000.
13. International Business Times: "Guyana: A Study in Polarized Racial Politics" 15 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine 12 December 2011
14. "Ethnic Conflict Threatens Democracy in Guyana". 18 March 2024.
15. Helen Myers (1999). Music of Hindu Trinidad. University of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780226554532.
16. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
17. "South America :: GUYANA". Cia.gov. CIA The World Factbook. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
18. "Portuguese emigration from Madeira to British Guiana". Guyana.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
19. "2012 Census Compendium 2". Statisticsguyana.gov.gy. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
20. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
21. Guyana Census 2002, population composition, Ch. 2 (pp. 27–28)
22. Smock, Kirk (2008). Guyana: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt. pp. 19. ISBN 978-1-84162-223-1.
23. Ali, Arif (2008). Guyana. London: Hansib. ISBN 978-1-906190-10-1.
24. Damoiseau, Robert (2003) Eléments de grammaire comparée français-créole guyanais Ibis rouge, Guyana, ISBN 2-84450-192-3
25. Guyana 2012 census compendium 2. Retrieved 28 August 2019.

External links

• CIA World Factbook – Guyana