Farming rice on Guyana's coastal plain.

Guyana is the only nation state of the Commonwealth of Nations on the mainland of South America. It is north of the Equator located within the tropics and has coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil and to the west by Venezuela. It is the third smallest country on the mainland of South America and approximately the size of Great Britain. Guyana is the only South American country whose official language is English, and is one of only two remaining countries on mainland America whose traffic still drives on the left.

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning "Land of many waters". The country can be characterized by its vast rain forests dissected by numerous rivers, creeks and waterfalls, notably Kaieteur Falls on the Potaro River. Guyana's tepuis are famous for being the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World. The country enjoys a friendly, multicultural society, high floral and faunal biodiversity, prize-winning rum, British Colonial architecture and Demerara sugar.

Though physically part of South America, culturally Guyana is Caribbean rather than Latin American and it is considered part of the West Indies. Other languages of Guyana include Creolese, Hindi, Wai-Wai, Arawak and Macushi.