Economic Trends
Georgetown! The epicenter of Guyana. Not only is Georgetown the Capital of Guyana, it is where all important business deals are done. In essence, you can easily say that there is a 1 to 1 relationship between the statistics of Guyana as a whole and the statistics of Georgetown.
- All major government offices are situated in Georgetown
- All Diplomatic missions are situated in Georgetown
- All financial institutions are situated in Georgetown
Inflation (price increases) can be both good and bad, while deflation (price decreases) is never good. Managing the rate of inflation is essential to long term growth. When under control, inflation creates a positive business environment where business leaders can better plan and align their resources. The question is: “Do I invest in that new machine today, or do I give my employees that raise that is desperately needed to by them to support their family?”.
The official inflation figures show that Georgetown’s inflation rate is relatively close to the inflation rates in developed countries. There is progress to be made as it pertains to data collection within Guyana, but with the data we have today, it is clear that food prices have consistently been on the rise in the past 4 years while the prices of clothing have been on a decline.
Infrastructure
In 2012, there were approximately 8,700 business places in the region that Georgetown resides and dominates. That represented a whopping 32% increase from the previous census data in 2002. This demonstrates the resilience of the city, and the confidence in it future economic prospects.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge is the most important crossing in Guyana. It crosses the Demerara river, and connects Georgetown to region 3 where 108,000 people reside in locations such as Vreed en Hoop, Parika, and the islands of Leguan and Wakenaam on the Essiquibo river.
The Cheddi Jagan International airport connects Georgetown to the rest of the world. It is a 40 KM drive to get into the heart of Georgetown.
Along the coast to the east of Georgetown is a well paved highway that connects the city to its suburbs, to Rosignol, and subsequently to New Amsterdam. There are no major water body crossing between Georgetown and Rosignol, which opens the possibilities of tremendous upside potentials from an investment perspective. This critical highway sits on the strip of land that is besides the Atlantic Ocean, and is protected by a sea wall that is maintained by the Government of Guyana. New Amsterdam is further connected to the adjacent country of Surinam.
The Soesdyke-Linden highway connects Georgetown to the 2nd most populous town in Guyana, Linden. This is a well paved 100KM distance connecting the heart of both cities. This highway runs adjacent to the Demerara river along many under-developed locations with potential. Linden is further connected to the interior town of Lethem that resides on the border with Brazil.
Demographics
As the economic engine of Guyana, Georgetown houses more than 60% of the urban population of Guyana. The main city of Georgetown itself makes up 13% of the urban population, while the suburbs of Georgetown is responsible for a whopping 48% as per the 2012 census. Talk about all your eggs in one basket, Georgetown’s dominance is unmistakable.
As per the 2012 census, the capital city saw its population decrease by 12% from the period 2002 to 2012. This can be attributable to the mass exodus of the skilled labour force that migrated to place such as Trinidad, USA, and Canada. The group of overseas based Guyanese is still part of the society in many ways.
Average household size in Region 4 (the region where Georgetown resides) 3.4 members. This is the lowest in Guyana, so you can assume that the city of Georgetown itself is a bit lower than this. 3.4 members would equate to a couple, 1 or 2 children, and / or maybe a grandparent in some circumstances. The charts below gives an insight into how the Guyanese people spend their disposable income in the two main cities.
Future Outlook
Georgetown will benefit the most from Guyana’s new oil revenue. To reach its true potential economically in long term, the city must enhance its infrastructure that connects the surrounding towns nd countries by land while simultaneously expanding the capacity of its port and airport to connect internationally.
Guyana’s Infrastructure investments are expected to concentrate in and around Georgetown for the next 5 years. The construction will boom as the race begins to cater for the new expats along with the long awaited capital needed to rebuild the commercial and domestic infrastructure.
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