8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Latin America and the Caribbean / South America

Born in Guyana

About 1 in 7,864 people born in 2023 started life in Guyana. A boy can expect to live 67 years and a girl 74, up from 47 and 52 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 7,864
odds of being born here
16,800 births · Ranked 159th of 230
67 / 74
years of life, boys / girls
Was 47 / 52 in 1950
$24,266
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 42nd of 203 · extrapolated
26%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 21 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 154 in every 1,000 births to 26.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth66.5 years for boys, 73.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 525.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year6,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.4World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles98%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.6%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year66 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year43 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 5.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.4.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.41UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth27.0 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 50 and the poorest fifth 4.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 1998
4%Poorest fifth
10%Second
14%Middle
21%Fourth
50%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $24,266 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth50% / 4% (1998)World Bank PIP
Unemployment11.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises2.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person33.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming13% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed31% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment85% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Georgetown, with 235,017 people.

26%
live in cities
99%
have electricity at home
96%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Georgetown235,017
Linden44,690
New Amsterdam35,039
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English100%
English is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Demerara-Mahaica235,017
Upper Demerara-Berbice44,690
East Berbice-Corentyne35,039

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 57% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
United States314,783
Canada81,615
Trinidad and Tobago15,720
Residents born abroad6.5% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 56.5% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostUnited States (314,783), Canada (81,615), Trinidad and Tobago (15,720)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $545.6 million a year (2023)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2020)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20241,302Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence29 between 2008 and 2008UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Guyana, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Guyana

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences