It is said, perhaps with some truth, that every Guyanese family back home has at least one relative living abroad. The WikiLeaks revelation that the US had issued 73,000 immigrant visas to Guyanese nationals between 1992 and 2004, among other things, is an indication of how the diaspora continues to grow and thrive abroad.
Today, Guyana is grappling with a declining, if not stagnant population. According to reports out of Guyana, the population remained almost stagnant at 759,566 between the years 1980 and the last census in 2002, which showed a figure of 751,233. To extrapolate population growth in that interval based on the average births over those dying, close to 300,000 persons should have been added to the total number of persons living in Guyana.
However, the figures are not reassuring. A serious decline in its population continues to affect this nation. Its history is replete with the haemorrhage of its people resource. It shows the population growing by the merest sliver of 8.2 percent between 1970 and 1980 - the bad decade - when the migration swell to Canada, the US, and other countries, began its surge. The decade before, Guyana's population had actually grown by 25.2 percent. The fall continued in the numbers afterwards, and by 1991 a decline in its population was noted in the decrease of 35,894 persons, or 4.7 percent, compared to the figures from the 1980s.
The turnaround year, with the "return of democracy" in 1992, actually saw a reversal in the decline. There was actually a small indicator in growth, noted in the census of 2002, with an increase of 27,550, or 3.8 percent, from the decade before.
However, since then, Guyana continues to show a decline. The numbers from 2002, as compiled by the CIA Factbook, have not been encouraging. So far the indicators are minimal population increases in the first seven years since 2002, with actual decreases in the last two.

 

Even as Guyana continues to struggle with its population decline and the loss of its people resource to migration, Guyanese are making significant contributions abroad while helping those back home.
We cite the good work by Guyana-born Dr. Narendra Singh, Chief of Paediatrics, at Humber River Regional Hospital. He was recently honoured with the prestigious University of Toronto's Department of Paediatrics Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Clerkship Level. Dr Singh is also an assistant professor of Paediatrics at University of Toronto and at McMasters.
While excelling in Canada, Dr Singh is also making a significant contribution to bettering the lives of children in Guyana. In this commendable role, Dr Singh has taken the lead with a registered Canadian charitable organisation, Guyana Help the Kids. It is a partnership with the Guyana government, the University of Guyana, and the Georgetown Public Hospital. Working together, Dr Singh's objective is to increase the number of qualified paediatricians available in the public sector in Guyana. He is working towards enhancing the care provided by Guyana's public health sector to this nation's children.
Dr Singh's words are very inspiring: "As a Guyanese by birth, I feel very strongly that we need to use the positive gifts given to us by our adopted country to assist our less fortunate people of Guyana. If we all do our part, we would be able to make a substantial difference to the lives of our people."