Essequibo Islands-West Demerara

Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region 5) is one of the ten administrative regions of Guyana.^[1][2][3] It is spread over an area of 3,755 km² (1,450 sq mi), and is the second smallest of the ten regions of Guyana by area.^[1] The region was established during the 1980 administrative reform of Guyana consisting of parts of the West Demerara-Essequibo Coast district.^[4] It extends from the east of the Essequibo River to the west bank of the Demerara River, and incorporates the Essequibo Islands near the mouth of the Essequibo River.^[2][5]: 4 There are about 365 islands on the Essequibo River of which the largest are Hogg Island, and Sloth Island.^[6] Its capital is Vreed-en-Hoop.^[7]

The topography consists of mostly low lying coastal plains with clay and sandy hills are present towards the interior.^[2][5]: 4 he region has about 0.26 million hectares of forested area, covering about 78% of its land area.^[8]

The district has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification: Af) with an average annual temperature is 28.06 °C (82.51 °F). The district receives an average annual rainfall of 11.56 cm (4.55 in) and has 229.6 average rainy days in a year.^[9]

As per the official census in 1980, the region had a population of 104,750 inhabitants. It decreased to 95,975 in the 1991 census, before increasing to 103,061 during the 2002 census. As per the 2022 census, it had a population of 143,884 inhabitants, making it the second most populous region.^[1][10][11] Most of the population reside along the coast.^[5]: 4

The major economic activities include livestock rearing and agriculture. Major agricultural produce include rice, and vegetables.^[2][5]: 4 The Boerasirie Extension Project was a reclamation project, that involved rescuing thousands of hectares of land for agriculture. There are several rice mills in the region.^[5]: 4

List of communities/settlements:^[12]

• 
  Coconut grove on Wakenaam Island, Essequibo River
• 
  Ruins of Fort Zeelandia on Fort Island, Essequibo River
• 
  Parika on the east bank of the Essequibo River
• 
  Santa Mission a nature reserve
• 
  Trail in Wakenaam

• Fort Zeelandia