Decades of Migration: Tracing Guyana’s Emigration Trends and Its Impact on National Growth

Historically, Guyana has always had a small population. In the 1960s when Guyana gained independence, its population was estimated at around 575,000 to 600,000 inhabitants. The emigration rate was about 6 percent of the total population, comparatively lower than counterparts in the Caribbean. Migration rates increased dramatically during the 1970s. Today, Guyana has one of the highest emigrant populations in the world, according to credible statistical sources, though some estimates vary.

Given the colonial link to Britain, early emigration was initially to Britain and was linked mostly to the pursuit of tertiary education. Tertiary education was not available in Guyana until the founding of the University of Guyana in 1963. The perception was that British credentials would guarantee improved standards of living and a prestigious social status in the colony. By independence in 1966, several events led to increased rates of external migration. The initial wave of emigrants 1961-1962 was linked to the outbreak of violence in 1961 over worsening living conditions. Second, Great Britain tightened immigration laws with the enactment of the Commonwealth Immigration Act in 1962 intended to curb migration flows from the colonies. Britain’s actions coincided with policies in the United States and Canada to open North America.

Economic conditions and employment opportunities in Britain seemed less attractive when compared to opportunities in North America. Third, among the Guyanese who went to Britain to pursue education, some pursued post-education employment opportunities elsewhere instead of returning to Guyana. Other academic sources confirm that British and North American migration policies influenced the partial redirection of migration towards the U.S. and Canada. Family re-unification and skilled labor provisions under the new migration laws in the 1960s were the main avenues that allowed, 1. entire Guyanese families to emigrate, and 2. Guyana’s reputation as one of the top ten countries for skilled migrants.

Research in the 1960s and 1970s challenge contemporary bias that frames immigration to Europe and North America as related only to underdevelopment, high unemployment and population pressures in Caribbean countries, and completely ignore the heavy labor market demands and supporting immigration policies in destination countries targeting immigrants. For example, the United States reportedly initiated recruitment programs in the region, including in Jamaica, Trinidad, and British Guiana in 1960. The Minister of Labor, Health, and Housing was invited by the Building and Wood Workers International (B.W.I.) Central Labor Organization in Washington, D.C. to mobilize a plane load of farm laborers for employment on farms in the U.S. While this program in particular involved low numbers of temporary workers, it provided early labor migration connections to the U.S.

Since the 1960s, the last six decades have seen tens of thousands of Guyanese emigrate to various parts of the world and for a variety of reasons. Even though the country has made significant economic and social progress, immigration remains a challenge that is hurting the country’s growth potential. An example can be seen in the increasing number of migrant workers in Guyana, a phenomenon confirmed by the International Organization for Migration reporting back in 2021. Guyana indeed is increasingly becoming a destination country for migrant workers, primarily from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Suriname, Venezuela, and nationals from other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. By the same token, in 2020, Guyana recorded the second lowest labor force participation rate in the region, at about 60.4 percent. Guyana’s high emigration rates and consequent brain drain is taking a serious toll on the country’s labor market capacity to fuel the economic boom. According to World Bank reporting, more than half of all Guyanese with a tertiary education emigrated to the United States alone.

Interestingly, once we touch the subject of immigration and population statistics, it becomes apparent, the necessity for a platform like Guyana Tapestry. The diaspora project that connects the dots between a country and a diaspora potentially larger than the country’s population.