Sign In
Sign Up

Guyana

Rainforest republic where 87% of the land is still standing forest

Why visit

Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America, and one of the most forested places on Earth. Forest still covers 87.09% of the land (World Bank, 2023), and the country holds 293,317 cubic metres of renewable internal freshwater per person, among the highest figures anywhere, of which it withdraws just 0.6% (World Bank, 2022). The 2022 Census counted 878,674 people (Bureau of Statistics, Guyana), most of them on a narrow coastal plain. The tension here is energy and waste: only 7.11% of electricity came from renewables in 2021, and most household waste is still openly burned or dumped.
57/100 Weak

The Eco Index: Guyana

12 pillars, equally weighted, from published sources. All 12 assessed. Blanks mean unverified, never estimated.

PillarScoreWhat we found
Where these figures come from
  • World Bank, Population, total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 (835,986) source
  • World Bank, Land area (sq. km) AG.LND.TOTL.K2, 2023 source
  • World Bank, Forest area (% of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2023 source
  • World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2025 source
  • World Bank, Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, 2021 source
  • World Bank, CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita), 2024 source
  • World Bank, People using safely managed drinking water services (%), 2024 source
  • World Bank, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, value added (% of GDP), 2025 source
  • Guyana Forestry Commission source
  • Guyana Bureau of Statistics source
  • Environmental Protection Agency Guyana source
  • Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Guyana, Indigenous Nations source
  • Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Guyana, Amerindian Villages (96 titled) source
  • UNESCO, Guyana is not party to the 2003 Convention (no inscribed intangible heritage) source
  • World Bank, Mean annual PM2.5 exposure EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, 2023 source
  • World Bank, Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 source
  • World Bank, Annual freshwater withdrawals ER.H2O.FWTL.ZS, 2022 source
  • World Bank, Threatened species EN.MAM.THRD.NO and EN.BIR.THRD.NO, 2022 source
  • Guyana National Forest Policy Statement 2018, Guyana Forestry Commission source
  • Bureau of Statistics, Guyana, Population 878,674 (2022 Census) source
  • Guyana Waste Management and Recycling Infrastructure Assessment, Logistics Cluster source
  • Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Guyana, Amerindian Heritage source
  • World Bank, Prevalence of obesity SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 source
  • World Bank, Employment in agriculture SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS, 2025 source
  • FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment via UN SDG Global Database, forest area (% of land area) AG_LND_FRST, Guyana, 2025 (93.4%), country-reported source
  • BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC via UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Guyana, 2025 (100.0%), country-reported source
  • BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC via UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Guyana, 2025 (100.0%), country-reported source
  • UN Statistics Division, Energy Balances via UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Guyana, 2024 (8.3%), modelled estimate source
  • WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme via UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed drinking water (%) SH_H2O_SAFE, Guyana, 2024 (67.2%), modelled estimate source
  • WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme via UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed sanitation (%) SH_SAN_SAFE, Guyana, 2024 (43.4%), modelled estimate source
  • FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment via UN SDG Global Database, forest area under a long-term management plan (%) AG_LND_FRSTMGT, Guyana, 2025 (84.4%), country-reported source
  • FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment via UN SDG Global Database, forest area inside legally established protected areas (%) AG_LND_FRSTPRCT, Guyana, 2025 (5.9%), country-reported source
  • Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Fact Page on Guyana, Language Spoken, Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America, and one of the most forested places on Earth. source
  • Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Fact Page on Guyana, Language Spoken corroboration source
  • Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Fact Page on Guyana, Language Spoken corroboration source
  • Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Fact Page on Guyana, Language Spoken corroboration source
  • Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Fact Page on Guyana, Language Spoken corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Forest area (% of land area), Guyana corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Forest area (% of land area), Guyana corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Forest area (% of land area), Guyana corroboration source
  • UNESCO Legal Affairs, Conventions ratified by Guyana, None of this is inscribed internationally, because Guyana is not a party to the 2003 UNESCO Convention on inta source
  • UNESCO Legal Affairs, Conventions ratified by Guyana corroboration source
  • Parliament of Guyana, History of Parliament, British Guiana becomes independent Guyana, the only English speaking country in South America. source
  • Parliament of Guyana, History of Parliament corroboration source
  • Parliament of Guyana, History of Parliament corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output), Guyana corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output), Guyana corroboration source
  • World Bank Open Data, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output), Guyana corroboration source
  • UN Protocol and Liaison Service, Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 8 September 2026 source
  • IFES ElectionGuide, Guyana elections and chambers source
  • Constitute Project, Guyana 1980 (rev. 2016) source

Explore the map

Best time to go

The drier spells, roughly September to November and February to April

Getting there

Explore Nearby

Palestine Rwanda French Polynesia Uganda

Share this page: Guyana

Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Reddit
Threads
Email
WhatsApp