Officially known as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Guyana is a sovereign state that was previously a colony of the Dutch and British for over 200 years. It gained its independence from the British in the mid 1960's. Located on the mainland of South America, it is the only country in South America that uses English as the official language. Culturally, it is a part of the Anglophone Caribbean in addition to being a member of the Caribbean Community. Historically, Guyana was once divided into three Dutch Colonies, known as Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice.
Most of the independent state's population of 770,000 lives on fertile marshy plains along the Atlantic coast. This is one of the five natural regions which also include: a white sand belt with hills and mineral deposits, rain forests in the south, and deserts to the west. Guyana also has mountains that border Brazil as well. It also shares borders with Venezuela, Suriname, and the Atlantic Ocean.