Caribbean and Wider World: Regional Geography
This domain places Guyana inside the Caribbean region and the wider world. It tests the physical pattern of the islands and mainland states, their economies, and the organisations that link them.
The shape of the region
- The Greater Antilles are Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles form the eastern arc from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad.
- The Bahamas lies in the Atlantic, not the Caribbean Sea, and is usually counted separately.
- Volcanic islands such as Dominica, St Lucia, Grenada and Montserrat are mountainous and fertile. Limestone or coral islands such as Barbados and Antigua are lower and flatter, with less rich soil.
- Guyana, Suriname, Belize and French Guiana are continental Caribbean states: vast rainforest, big rivers, low population density, and settlement concentrated near the coast or a few towns.
Regional organisations
- CARICOM was founded in 1973 at Chaguaramas, Trinidad; its secretariat is in Georgetown, Guyana. It has fifteen member states plus associate members.
- The CSME allows free movement of goods, skills and capital; the CDB is based in Barbados; the OECS serves the smaller eastern islands; the University of the West Indies has campuses at Mona, St Augustine and Cave Hill.
Worked example
Guyana is far larger than most CARICOM states, yet Haiti has a bigger population. Explain. Reasoning: Guyana covers about 214,970 km², but dense forest, poor soils and flooding risk limit settlement to a narrow coastal belt, so its population is under one million. Haiti is mountainous and much smaller, but it has been densely settled for centuries and most of its land is farmed, so its population is many times larger.
Traps that cost marks
- Describing Guyana as one of the Lesser Antilles; it is a mainland state.
- Confusing CARICOM (1973) with the West Indies Federation (1958–1962).
- Placing the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea.
- Forgetting that Guyana hosts the CARICOM secretariat.