Guyana

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Guyana fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇪🇸 Spanish Empire1616 to 1648

   Spain claimed all of Guiana, and the first Dutch posts on the Essequibo were founded during the Dutch war of independence against Spain. In the Peace of Munster of 1648 Spain accepted the Dutch possessions in the Americas.

2. 🇬🇧 Kingdom of Great Britain1781 to 1814

   Britain seized the Dutch river colonies in 1781, lost them to France in 1782, then occupied them again in 1796 and 1803 during the wars with revolutionary France. A treaty in 1814 left Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice to Britain.

3. 🇻🇪 Venezuela1841 to 1899

   Venezuela rejected the Schomburgk line and claimed everything west of the Essequibo. The quarrel with Britain grew after gold finds and became an international crisis in 1895, when the United States intervened. The Paris tribunal of 1899 gave Britain most of the land.

4. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom1953 to 1966

   Britain suspended Guyana's elected government in 1953 and sent troops, then governed through years of strikes and political violence. Independence came only after new elections and a conference in London, on 26 May 1966.

5. 🇻🇪 VenezuelaSince 1962Still open

   Venezuela declared the 1899 award void in 1962, seized half of Ankoko Island in 1966 and still claims the whole Essequibo region. The quarrel grew after offshore oil finds, and the International Court of Justice has been hearing the case since 2018.

6. 🇸🇷 SurinameSince 1975Still open

   Suriname claims the New River Triangle, a forested area in Guyana's southeast. In 2000 Surinamese gunboats forced an oil rig licensed by Guyana out of disputed waters. A United Nations tribunal drew the sea border in 2007, but the land claim remains open.

Today

Guyana now

Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to former slaves settling urban areas and indentured servants being imported from India to work the sugar plantations. The resulting ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then primarily socialist-oriented governments have ruled the country.

Capital

Georgetown

Government

parliamentary republic

Area

214,970 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population826,4002023 · 418,000 in 1950
• Life expectancy70.2 years2023 · 49.2 years in 1950
• Living in cities26%2025 · 28% in 1950
• Literacy86%2020 · 78% in 1950
• Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending1.0% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.