THE GUYANA-BORN: WORLD’S LARGEST DIASPORA

According to American business magazine Forbes, and Statista, a data portal specialising in market and consumer data, Guyana has emerged as the country with the “world’s largest diaspora,” with 36.4% of its native-born population residing abroad. In this report, it was detailed that having the largest diaspora, “reveals stories of war and displacement but also of economic stagnation and a lack of perspectives.” However, the Guyana government seeks to challenge the inferential view held by columnists, that large diasporas prove to be a disadvantage to Guyana’s political and socio economic growth, and other developing countries which have battled economic degradation and malicious exercises of power by unethical political administrations. Public opinion has sparked some degree of controversy - whether the figures correlate with Guyana having a high migration rate, as emigrants may not directly be members of diasporas. In addition, descendants of migrants, whether second generation or third, may be classified as part of the diasporic group. As of present, Guyana has materialised as a “country of emigration,” rather than a “country of immigration.” The figures attributable to Guyana having seemingly, a juxtaposition in the outlook of its diaspora, are due to the fact that many Guyanese fled during the 1970s-1980s. Roughly a generation later, Guyana is retaining its stance as opportunistic for its diaspora who have expressed interest in returning home with their skills set, a focal point of the “One Guyana” initiative. SOURCE: FORBES IMAGE SOURCE: FORBES, STATISTA

Source(Forbes, Statista)

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17 Nov 2022 14:30 | by anaraine

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