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Guyana Geography Profile

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LocationNorthern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
Geographic coordinates5 00 N, 59 00 W
Map referencesSouth America
Areatotal: 214,969 sq km

land: 196,849 sq km

water: 18,120 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly smaller than Idaho; almost twice the size of Tennessee
Land boundariestotal: 2,933 km

border countries (3): Brazil 1308 km, Suriname 836 km, Venezuela 789 km
Coastline459 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
Climatetropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to August, November to January)
Terrainmostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
Elevation extremeshighest point: Laberintos del Norte on Mount Roraima 2,775 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 207 m
Natural resourcesbauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land useagricultural land: 8.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 6.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 77.4% (2018 est.)

other: 14.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land1,430 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources271 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazardsflash flood threat during rainy seasons
Geography - notethe third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively; contains some of the largest unspoiled rainforests on the continent

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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