ce age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 288,770 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 152,760 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$8.9 million (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.1% (2004)

Transnational Issues Guinea-Bissau

Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling,
and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's
Casamance region

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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@Guyana

Introduction Guyana

Background:
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had
become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black
settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants
from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide
has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved
independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was
ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi
JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's
first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five
years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in
1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was
reelected in 2001.

Geography Guyana

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Suriname and Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:
5 00 N, 59 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km
water: 18,120 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Idaho

Land boundaries:
total: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

Coastline:
459 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental
margin

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy
seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Terrain:
mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest poin