Bureau of Statistics

2007/2008 Economic Survey Background

The Bureau of Statistics, with support from the Ministry of Finance, will be undertaking an exercise to rebase Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - a measure of goods and services produced by the economy. This requires executing a survey among the business community to provide the required data.

Why an Economic Survey?

Guyana’s economy has undergone significant changes in the last few years. As such, this survey is a significant step forward for Guyana, because of the pressing need for current economic data, considering that the last such survey was conducted in 1991. An economic census (exercise in which every single business is required to provide data) would have been ideal, but because of resource constraints (time, manpower and finance), the Bureau will be conducting a survey instead (i.e. collecting data from randomly selected businesses). The survey will be randomized, and hence any business will have an equal chance of being selected.

Why should the Business Community cooperate?

This exercise will be a fairly new experience for some members of the business community, although it is standard practice in some countries in the Caribbean and other parts of the world. It is, however, an opportunity for participating businesses to help us provide the data, which the business community themselves will use to guide policymakers. While many persons have opinions on economic conditions and trends, it is only when actual data is available for analysis that definitive statements can be made. Our goal is therefore to provide such data.

How exactly can this data help?

Here is a reminder of the various ways in which the economic data obtained from this survey can be used:

By the Private Sector:

	studying industries for possible investment purposes
	determining number of businesses in a particular industry
	determining what goods and services are produced in Guyana
	calculating the market share
	locating business markets
	locating concentration of distributors or retailers
	design sales territories
	evaluating new business opportunities
	enhance business opportunity presentations

By the Public Sector:

	public policy formulations
	public investment programmes
	programmes to assist local businesses
	research