Government and power in Guyana

Who leads Guyana, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic.

Who leads Guyana?

• Head of state: Mohamed Irfaan Ali (President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana)
• Head of government: Brigadier (Ret'd) Mark Phillips (Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana)
• Foreign minister: Hugh Hilton Todd (Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Guyana

Government

• Office of the President
  Presidential statements, government announcements and Cabinet information.
• Department of Public Information
  Official government news and press releases.

Parliament

• National Assembly of Guyana
  Bills, Acts, Hansard, order papers and member information.

Elections

• Guyana Elections Commission
  Voter registration, lists of electors and official election results.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Judicature
  High Court and Court of Appeal decisions, court cases, rules and annual reports.
• Caribbean Court of Justice
  Appellate and original-jurisdiction judgments, case summaries, court rules and annual reports; it is the final court of appeal for this state.

Public audit

• Audit Office of Guyana
  Reports of the Auditor General on the public accounts and audits of government agencies.

Asset declarations

• Integrity Commission
  Receives declarations of assets and income from persons in public life and publishes compliance notices.

Laws and the official gazette

• Ministry of Legal Affairs
  Laws of Guyana, Acts and subsidiary legislation.

Government below the national level

• Regions (10): Regional Democratic Council (RDC) elected by party list at the same time as national elections; council elects a regional chairman; Regional Executive Officer is a public servant appointed by central government
• Municipalities (10): Councillors elected for three years (mix of constituency seats and proportional list); mayor elected by the councillors
• Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (70): Councillors elected for three years; chairperson elected by councillors
• Amerindian village councils (200+ villages and communities): Toshao and councillors elected by secret ballot of village residents, about every three years

How local power works in Guyana

Places in Guyana

• Official statistics for Guyana

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.