Demographics of Guyana

Guyana is a country in South America with people from many different backgrounds. The people of Guyana, called Guyanese, come from five main groups: Indians, Africans, Amerindians, Europeans (mostly Portuguese), and Chinese.

Most of Guyana’s people, about ninety percent, live along the narrow coastal plain, where many people live close together. In this area, there are more than 115 people for every square kilometre.

Overall, Guyana has a low number of people spread across its land. With less than four people per square kilometre, much of the country is still covered in forests and open spaces.

Guyana’s culture comes from many places, including British and Indian culture, as well as influences from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Islamic world, East and South Asia, and nearby countries like Venezuela and Brazil. It is one of the special areas known as the Guianas, together with Suriname and French Guiana.

Census population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1831	98,000	—
1911	296,041	+1.39%
1931	310,933	+0.25%
1946	375,701	+1.27%
1960	560,330	+2.90%
1970	701,718	+2.28%
1980	759,567	+0.80%
1991	723,673	−0.44%
2002	751,223	+0.34%
2012	746,955	−0.06%
2022	878,674	+1.64%
Source:

Population

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects, Guyana's total population was 804,567 in 2021. In 2010, about one-third of the people were children under 15 years old. Most people were between 15 and 65 years old. Only a small number were 65 years or older.

Structure of the population

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 15.IX.2012):

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)

Year	Total population ( × 1000)	Population percentage in age bracket
Year	Total population ( × 1000)	aged 0–14	aged 15–64	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%

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

Vital statistics

The United Nations has made estimates about important details for Guyana, such as births and deaths.

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy
Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	total	males	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)

Year	Total			Urban			Rural
Year	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR	CBR	TFR	WFR
2005	21.3	2.6	—N/a	20.3	2.4	—N/a	21.7	2.8	—N/a
2009	23	2.8	2.1	17	2.1	1.7	24	3.0	2.3

Ethnic groups

Guyana's population has many different ethnic groups from India, Africa, Europe, China, and indigenous peoples.

The largest group are the Indo-Guyanese, descendants of labourers from India. The next largest group are the Afro-Guyanese, descendants of labourers from Africa. People of mixed heritage come next, and then Amerindians. There are also small numbers of Chinese and White people, mostly of Portuguese descent.

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

Language

Main article: Languages of Guyana

English is the official language of Guyana. It is the only South American country where English is the main language. Many people also speak Guyanese Creole, which mixes English with words from African and Indian languages.

Some people in Guyana speak Amerindian languages, such as Macushi, Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Lokono, and Wapishana. Other languages spoken there include Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Guyanese Hindustani, Tamil, and Sarnami Hindustani. Portuguese is becoming more common as a second language, especially near the border with Brazil. Spanish is also learned in schools and spoken by some people, especially those who travel to or live near Venezuela.