republic · South America

Co-operative Republic of Guyana

1966 CE – present · capital Georgetown

The only English-speaking country in South America, independent since 1966 and transformed in the 2020s by offshore oil.

Origins

British Guiana became independent as Guyana on 26 May 1966, with Forbes Burnham of the People's National Congress as prime minister. On 23 February 1970, the anniversary of the Berbice uprising, it became the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

Rule and society

Burnham pursued co-operative socialism, nationalising the bauxite and sugar industries, and ruled through manipulated elections until his death in 1985. Politics remained divided along ethnic lines between the largely Afro-Guyanese PNC and the Indo-Guyanese People's Progressive Party. In 1978 the mass deaths at the Jonestown commune of an American cult drew world attention. Cheddi Jagan won free elections in 1992.

To the present

ExxonMobil discovered large offshore oil fields in 2015, and production began in 2019, making Guyana one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo region, two thirds of Guyana's territory, remains a source of tension.

Lineage

British Guiana 1831 CE – 1966 CECo-operative Republic of Guyana

More states of South America →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Co-operative Republic of Guyana. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/co-operative-republic-of-guyana
MLA
“Co-operative Republic of Guyana.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/co-operative-republic-of-guyana. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Co-operative Republic of Guyana.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/co-operative-republic-of-guyana.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Co-operative Republic of Guyana’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/co-operative-republic-of-guyana (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻