POPULATION 698,209
HINDU 35.0 percent
ANGLICAN 13.8 percent
ROMAN CATHOLIC 10.0 percent
ISLAM 8.0 percent
PENTECOSTAL 7.5 percent
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST 4.5 percent
METHODIST 2.6 percent
OTHER CHRISTIAN 4.5 percent
NOT STATED/OTHER 11.0 percent
NONE 3.1 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana, located in northern South America, is bordered by Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the west and south, and Surinam to the east. Most residents live in the coastal region facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Guyana was occupied by Amerindians before the Dutch established the first durable settlements in about 1580. The Dutch and then the British imported Africans to work on the sugar estates from 1603 until slavery was abolished 1838. The freed Africans were reluctant to work on the sugar estates. Thus, the planters imported indentured laborers from Africa, China, India, and the Portuguese island of Madeira.

This importation of laborers transformed Guyana into a racially and culturally diverse society, resulting in a variety of religious...