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Updates: 

Sorin Cosoveanu showed me where to find the Guyana census data  online. The census report shows data for 1980 and 1991 censuses. The figures I have been reporting for 1991 turn out to have been too high. The correct figures are shown under Population history. I have also added 1946 population figures, according to the 1951 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas.

I've found the areas of the administrative regions on a University of Laval  page and the Geohive  site. They agree perfectly. Of course, this could be one person copying another person's errors, but both sites seem reliable. The figures are shown in the main table below.

In "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", I estimated ~1970 as the date when Guyana was reorganized from three counties to nine administrative districts. That date should be changed to ~1958, which is now my best guess. I have a 1957 reference work listing the three counties, but the 1960 census was reported on the basis of the districts.

I estimated ~1986 as the date when Guyana was reorganized from six districts to ten regions. This change was brought about by Act 12 of 1980. Therefore, the date should be changed to 1980. There was also a change in between these two. I estimated its date as ~1980. Since both of the flanking dates have been moved back, this date should be, too.

Country overview: 

Short name	GUYANA
ISO code	GY
FIPS code	GY
Language	English (en)
Time zone	-4
Capital	Georgetown

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, this territory was the British colony of British Guiana. It was locked in a dispute with Venezuela over possession of more than half of its area, the part to the west of the Essequibo River. The boundary was settled in 1904 at approximately its current position, although both Venezuela and Surinam still have claims. The country became independent on 1966-05-26, changing its name to Guyana at the same time.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Guyana, Britisk Guyana (obsolete)
2. Dutch: Guyana, Coöperatieve Republiek Guyana (formal)
3. English: Co-operative Republic of Guyana (formal), British Guiana (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Guyana
5. French: Guyana m
6. German: Guyana n
7. Icelandic: Gvæjana
8. Italian: Guyana f
9. Norwegian: Den kooperative republikk Guyana (formal) (Bokmål), Den kooperative republikken Guyana (formal) (Nynorsk), Guyana
10. Portuguese: Guiana, República f Co-operativa da Guiana f (formal)
11. Spanish: Guyana, República f Cooperativa de Guyana f (formal), Guayana Inglesa (obsolete)
12. Swedish: Guyana

Origin of name: 

from native word guiana: land of waters, or possibly from native word for respectable.

Primary subdivisions: 

Guyana is divided into 10 administrative regions.

Region	HASC	Cen	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital	Formerly
Barima-Waini	GY.BA	1	GY10	24,275	20,339	7,853	Mabaruma	North West
Cuyuni-Mazaruni	GY.CU	7	GY11	17,597	47,213	18,229	Bartica	Mazaruni-Potaro (most)
Demerara-Mahaica	GY.DE	4	GY12	310,320	2,233	862	Paradise	EDem (part), WDem (part)
East Berbice-Corentyne	GY.EB	6	GY13	123,695	36,255	13,998	New Amsterdam	EBer (most), Rupununi (part)
Essequibo Islands-West Demerara	GY.ES	3	GY14	103,061	3,755	1,450	Vreed en Hoop	EssIs (most), WDem (part)
Mahaica-Berbice	GY.MA	5	GY15	52,428	4,170	1,610	Fort Wellington	WBer, EBer (part), WBer (part)
Pomeroon-Supenaam	GY.PM	2	GY16	49,253	6,195	2,392	Anna Regina	Ess (most), EssIs (part), NW (part)
Potaro-Siparuni	GY.PT	8	GY17	10,095	20,052	7,742	Mahdia	MazP (part), Rupununi (part)
Upper Demerara-Berbice	GY.UD	10	GY18	41,112	17,081	6,595	Linden	WDem (most); EBer, MazP, Rup (parts)
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo	GY.UT	9	GY19	19,387	57,790	22,313	Lethem	Rupununi (part)
10 regions				751,223	215,083	83,044
Cen: Region numbers, as used by the census. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 2002-09-15 census Formerly: shows the relationship between these regions and the administrative districts of 1958-70. I hope the abbreviations will be self-explanatory.

Further subdivisions:

See the Councils of Guyana page.

Territorial extent: 

Essequibo Islands-West Demerara includes islands in the mouth of the Essequibo River, such as Leguan and Wakenaam Islands.

The capital, Georgetown, is in Demerara-Mahaica region.

Origins of names: 

The following are rivers of Guyana: Barima, Berbice, Courantyne, Cuyuni, Demerara, Essequibo, Mahaica, Mazaruni, Pomeroon, Potaro, Rupununi, Siparuni, Takutu, and Waini.

Change history: 

In the colonial period, by an ordinance of 1838, British Guiana was divided into three counties, as shown here. (Essequibo corresponds approximately to the area in dispute with Venezuela.)

County	Population	Area (km.²)
Berbice	96,623	40,077
Demerara	220,639	12,432
Essequibo	58,439	156,749
3 counties	375,701	209,258
Population: 1946-04-09 census

 

~1958: British Guiana reorganized into nine administrative districts:

District	FIPS	Pop-1960	Pop-1970	Capital	Formerly
East Berbice	GY01	115,511	132,500	New Amsterdam	Berbice
East Demerara	GY02	256,908	338,000	Enmore	Demerara
Essequibo	GY03	29,729	57,200	Suddie	Essequibo
Essequibo Islands	GY04	15,728		Enterprise	Essequibo
Mazaruni-Potaro	GY05	12,029	12,700	Bartica	Essequibo
North West	GY06	12,809	16,200	Mabaruma	Essequibo
Rupununi	GY07	10,031	14,200	Lethem	Essequibo, Berbice, tiny part of Demerara
West Berbice	GY08	26,524	50,800	Fort Wellington	Berbice
West Demerara	GY09	81,061	78,300	Vreed en Hoop	Demerara
Total		560,330	699,900
Pop-1960: 1960-04-07 census Pop-1970: 1970-04-07 census (Source: LOC Study ) Formerly: county or counties from which this district was formed

 

~1971: Guyana reorganized into six districts:

District	FIPS	Capital	Formerly
East Berbice-Corentyne	GY01	New Amsterdam	EBer (most), Rup (part)
East Demerara-West Coast Berbice	GY02	Mahaicony Village	EDem, WBer, EBer (part), MazP (part), WDem (most)
Mazaruni-Potaro	GY05	Matthews Ridge	MazP (most)
North West	GY06	Mabaruma	North West
Rupununi	GY07	Lethem	Rup (most)
West Demerara-Essequibo Coast	GY09	Anna Regina	Ess, EssIs, WDem (part)

 

1980: Guyana reorganized into 10 administrative regions, as listed in the main table.

Population history:

Region	1980-05-12	1991-05-12	2002-09-15
Barima-Waini	18,329	18,428	24,275
Cuyuni-Mazaruni	14,390	14,790	17,597
Demerara-Mahaica	317,475	296,924	310,320
East Berbice-Corentyne	152,386	142,541	123,695
Essequibo Islands-West Demerara	104,750	95,975	103,061
Mahaica-Berbice	53,898	51,280	52,428
Pomeroon-Supenaam	42,341	43,455	49,253
Potaro-Siparuni	4,485	5,615	10,095
Upper Demerara-Berbice	38,641	39,608	41,112
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo	12,873	15,057	19,387
Total	759,567	723,673	751,223