What does the name Guyana mean in indigenous languages?
The name Guyana comes from an indigenous Amerindian language and means land of many waters. This vast territory lies between latitudes 1° and 9°N, and longitudes 56° and 62°W.
Questions about Guyana
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did Guyana achieve independence from the United Kingdom?
Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom as a dominion on the 26th of May 1966 and became a republic on the 23rd of February 1970 remaining a member of the Commonwealth.
Who led the Jonestown mass murder-suicide in 1978?
A total of 918 people died at the Jonestown mass murder-suicide led by American cult leader Jim Jones at a remote settlement in northwest Guyana in 1978.
Which country claims the area west of the Essequibo River since 1824?
Since its independence in 1824 Venezuela has claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro convoked a referendum on Sunday the 3rd of December 2023 regarding this dispute.
What percentage of Guyana's population lives along the coastal strip?
The large majority about 90% of Guyana's 744,000 people live along a narrow coastal strip that ranges from a width of 50 kilometers inland and makes up approximately 10% of the nation's total land area.