Description

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and is the only nation state of the Commonwealth of Nations on the mainland of South America. Guyana lies north of the equator, in the tropics, and borders the Atlantic Ocean. Guyana is east of Suriname, to the south and southwest of Brazil and to the west of Venezuela. It is the third smallest country on the mainland of South America. The country can be characterized by its vast rain forests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and waterfalls, notably Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River. The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August and the second from mid-November to mid-January.

Politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guyana is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. The president exercises executive authority, which appoints and supervises the prime minister and other ministers. The president is not directly elected; each party presenting a slate of candidates for the assembly must designate in advance a leader who will become president if that party receives the largest number of votes. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Guyana. The National Assembly consists of 53 members who are chosen on the basis of proportional representation from national lists named by the political parties just like the presidential selection process. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Guyana is one of the four non-Hispanic nations in South America.

Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean, to the extent that Guyana is included and accepted as a Caribbean nation and is a founding member of the Caricom (Caribbean Community) economic bloc and also the home of the Bloc's Headquarters, the CARICOM Secretariat. Its blend of East Indian (Asian Indian) and West Indian (black) cultures gives it similarities to Trinidad and distinguishes it from other parts of the Americas. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc. Guyana plays international cricket as a part of the West Indies cricket team, and the Guyana team plays first class cricket against other nations of the Caribbean. In addition to its CARICOM membership, Guyana is a member of CONCACAF, the international football federation for North and Central America and the Caribbean. Another aspect of Guyanese culture is its rich folklore about Jumbles.

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