South
America
By: Tiffany Byers
Rachel Backman
Jeremy Petrous
Anthony Leo
Guyana
Population

767,245 people (est. 2006)

Growth Rate 0.3%

Largest City of Guyana is Georgetown
with 227,700 people.
Age Distribution



0-14 years: 26.2%
(male
102,551/female
98,772)
15-64 years: 68.6% Age Distribution
5%
(male
26%
265,193/female
260,892)
65 years and over:
5.2% (male
17,043/female
69%
22,794)
0-14
15-64
65+
Geography
Geographic Size
214,969 square kilometers or …
 83,000 square miles
 Guyana is approximately the same
size as Idaho.

Population Density
9.1 people per square mile
 3.6 people per square km

Gender Distribution of
Workforce





The economic and political spheres are
dominated by men.
There are few women in the government.
There has been a woman President.
Women play significant roles as farmers,
market vendors, teachers, nurses, civil
servants, and clerks.
In the past few years, more women have
been attending college and girls have been
out performing boys on regional exams.
Type of Political
System
Republic
Executive Branch
President: Bharrat Jagdeo
Prime Minister: Samuel Hinds
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
Ethnic Groups
7%
7%
East Indian
Black
50%
Amerindian
36%
White,Chinese,
or Mixed
Major Religous Systems
60
50
50
%
40
35
30
20
10
10
5
0
Christian
Hindu
Islam
Religous Group
Other
Language/Currency
Official Language is English
 Some: Amerindian Dialects, Creole,
Hindi, and Urdu.

The Official Currency is Guyanese
Dollar.
 1 U.S. dollar = 200.94 Guyanese
dollars

Life Expectancy
Overall life expectancy is 62
 Males is 61
 Females is 64

Adult Literacy
Male average is 99%
 Female average is 98.2%

10 years of Compulsory Schooling
 27 Students/Teacher in Guyana vs. 15
Students/Teacher in U.S

Economy
Per Capita Income:$4,700
 GDP (PPP): $3.62 Billion
 GDP earned by Major Sectors:

– Agriculture: 35.5%
– Industries: 19.3%
– Services: 45.2%
Economical Trends:
Guyana
1. Guyana is the most liberalized market in the



Caribbean
removed most non-tariff barriers
highest tariff rate in 1998 was 20%
Guyana has a top corporate tax rate of 35%.
An additional 10% is applied to profits of
commercial companies
Economical Trends:
Guyana
2. Guyana receives economic aid
– $84 Million from Economic Aid Recipient
– $253 Million from Heavily Indebt Poor
Country Initiative (HIPCI)
– Guyana’s economy has grown rapidly in
the past seven years. The major sources
of growth came mainly from forestry, gold,
bauxite, sugar, rice and fishing.
Economic Trends:
Guyana
3. The Guyanese economy has
deteriorated under government
management policies.
 Members of the ruling People's
National Congress (PNC) political
party were placed in managerial
positions, removing former managers
and clerical workers.
Social Trends in
Guyana
1. Less people have AIDS than in the past
– In 2001, the prevalence rate for AIDS in adults
was 2.7%
– In 2003, the prevalence rate for AIDS dropped to
2.5%
2. The annual suicide rates in the Guaraní went
from 121.5 per 100,000 population for males in
2000 to 113.2 in 2005 and from 63.7 per 100,000
population for females in 2000 to 59.1 in 2005
3. Infant mortality rates have lowered in recent
years
1. The political climate in Guyana is insecure after the 1997
December elections because the PPC/Civic coalition won a second
consecutive victory even though they were accused of electoral
fraud.
2. There are two main political parties in the Guyana
government: the PPP and the PNC. The PNC was started in
1957 when it broke away from the PPP to start its own party.
3. Guyana’s political relationship with Cuba used to be very close
in the 1970s and early 1980s. But after the U.S. invasion of
Grenada, Guyana distanced itself from Cuba fearing U.S.
intervention in Guyana. Currently, the relations with Cuba have
been cordial but not close.
Technological Trends:
Guyana
1. There were 60.1085 televisions per 1000 people in
2003

There were 55 televisions per 1000 people in
1997
2. There were 548.817 radios per 1000 people in
2003

There were 498 radios per 1000 people in 1997
3. There were 133.856 telephones per 1000 people in
2006

There were 79 telephones per 1000 people in
1997
Brazil
Population



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
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
2006 = 188 million people
2050 = 260 million people
1.04% growth rate
1991 = 2.7 births per woman
2004 = 2.3 births per woman
# of elderly people 70+ is on the rise
20.1 people per sq. km
Age Distribution
0-14 years: 25.8% (male
24,687,656/female
23,742,998)
 15-64 years: 68.1% (male
63,548,331/female 64,617,539)
 65 years and over: 6.1% (male
4,712,675/female 6,769,028)

Geography
•5th largest country in the world and largest
in Latin America
•Size of U.S. excluding Alaska
•Brazil total area 8,511,965 sq km
•U.S. total area 9,826,630 sq km
•184,184,264 people in 2005
•Demographic Density is low – 80% live
within 200 miles of Atlantic Coast
•21.5 people per square km
•2.1 children per woman
•Style of development doesn’t favor
incorporation of women in the economy
•Brazilian women are paid less than
similarly qualified men.
•Brazilian women are disproportionately
concentrated in the lowest-paying economic
sectors
•Largest single job for women is domestic
servant
Political System






Brazil is a federal republic w/26 states and 1
federal district
Capital = Brasilia
Each state is technically autonomous w/ a
legislative body and an elected government
The President is the head of the states and
government
Voting is universal and compulsory for ages 1870
Voluntary voting is allowed for 16-17 year olds
and those over 70
Ethnic Groups
White (53.7%)
Mulatto (38.5%)
Black (6.2%)
Japanese/Arab/A
meridian (0.9%)
Other (0.7%)

Largest Catholic country in the world
– 73% is Catholic, but mostly by tradition, not by faith

Catholic Church and state have very
close relationship

Catholic Holidays are public holidays
•Federal Government supports religious educational
institutes
Interior of Brazil is “folk Catholic” (includes beliefs and practices
long abandoned in cities)
•Varies from rural to urban cities
•The faithful take vows to make a pilgrimage to honor
the saint who fulfilled their request (like a recovery
from an illness or getting a job). Then they will offer
the saint a carved likeness of the body part that was
cured.
•African religions also in Brazil due to slaves and
protestant nations.
•Candomblé is most well-known, and is centered
in Salvador
Originated from West Africa
•Pentecostal churches becoming popular now, as
well as charismatic Catholicism
Language
Official Language = Portuguese
 English, German, and French are
popular 2nd languages

Health
Life expectancy = 71 years old
 60% of population depends on
public health care system
 Excellent medical care is available
in the cities to those who can afford
it

Education
Adult Literacy rate = 86.4%
 11 years of schooling is required

Economy
Per capita income



GDP (purchasing power
parity)
Brazil = $8,600 = $1.616 trillion
Major Sectors
Guyana = $4,700= $3.62 billion
agriculture: 8%
U.S. = $43,500 = $12.98 trillion
industry: 38%
services: 54%
Currency
 1 Brazil real = 0.45634 U.S. dollars
 1 U.S. dollar = 2.19132 reals
Economical Trends:
Brazil
1.
2.
3.
Brazil launched an initiative to make Northeastern
states more prosperous, like southern states
(want to elevate economies to same level)
Trying to get tourism rates to increase in the
Northeast by a “brand identity” with their
beaches, natural beauty, culture, and historic
cities
Realized that fruits were an untapped resource
and had potential for a major export industry.
Now expanding market to North America.
Social Trends: Brazil
Mean heights at ages 7 and 22 are
estimated for three group of males and
females born around 1952, 1967 and
1982
 Modest height gains of around 1.0 cm
per decade

Social Trends: Brazil

The public health care sector is moving
toward the purchaser-driven stage and
away from the provider-driven stage.
– Provider-driven is where quality is assumed
– Purchaser-driven is where quality is ignored

Private sector is moving toward consumerdriven
– Quality is demanded
1.
Since the end of military rule in 1985, unionization,
collective bargaining, and frequent strikes have become
commonplace among federal employees in all three
branches.
2.
Prior to 1932, the national code didn’t allow women to
vote. In 1932, the new national election code allowed women
to vote in the May 1933 elections for the 1934 Constituent
Assembly.
3.
From 1945 to 1979, presidents had five-year terms.
Following President Figueiredo's six-year term, the 1988
constitution again set the term at five years, but the 1994
constitutional revision reduced the mandate to four years.
Technological Trends
1. Brazil has become one of the world's most prominent
battlegrounds of the Microsoft Windows versus Linux war
 Linux is based on open source code that users can study and
modify (as opposed to Microsoft's proprietary software). Brazil's
government and citizens are moving towards Linux
 In 2004 alone, 15 federal organizations adopted Linux. Saved
US$11.8 million in licensing fees. The government estimates
further switchovers could save up to $84 million.
Technological Trends:
Brazil
2. Brazil is moving away from their
dependence upon imported energy
sources and moving towards bringing
digital technologies to Brazil.
3. Brazil is trying to develop modern
health care services by importing
much technology.
The flag was designed by a painter named Decio Vilares.
The white strip contains the inscription "Ordem e Progresso",
meaning "Order and Progress. "
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