Guyana's population was counted at 758,619 in the census of 1980 and around to be 764,000 in 1990. This slow growth was in sharp contrast to the decades following World War II, when the population rose from 375,000 in 1946 to 700,000 in 1970. The natural increase in population in 1990 was 1.9 %; this growth was almost completely negated, by the large numbers of Guyanese who emigrated. The population was comparatively young, with 37 % under fifteen years of age in 1985.

Guyana's birthrate, which averaged thirty-two live births per 1,000 residents in the two decades prior to 1940, jumped to an exceptionally high forty live births per 1,000 in the two decades after 1940. The rate began to drop after 1960 and by 1990 had fallen to twenty-five live births per 1,000.

The other major elements in the population are predominantly coastal dwellers. Descendants of African slaves form the oldest group; they abandoned the plantations after full emancipation in 1838 to become independent peasantry or town dwellers. The Afro-Guyanese constitute about one-third of the population. The East Indians came mostly as indentured labour from India to replace Africans in plantation work. They form the largest racial group in the nation—about half the population—and have been increasing more rapidly than the others. The East Indians are the mainstay of plantation agriculture, and many are independent farmers and landowners, have done well in trade, and are well described among the professions.