Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo exhibits frontier isolation: remote savanna borders Brazil/Venezuela, disconnected from 43.6% oil-driven GDP growth on coast.
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region 9) represents Guyana's remote savanna interior—bordering Brazil and Venezuela in the Rupununi region far from the coastal oil economy. The region hosts indigenous communities, cattle ranching, and ecotourism potential that bear no direct relation to offshore petroleum production. When 43.6% GDP growth came from oil in 2024, this region contributed virtually nothing to that headline.
The Venezuela territorial dispute over the Essequibo region adds geopolitical dimension to economic remoteness. Venezuela's claim to two-thirds of Guyana's territory intensifies as oil makes that territory valuable. The region's development depends on whether oil wealth reaches the interior—and whether the territorial dispute resolves peacefully or escalates.
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo's economy operates in a different Guyana than Georgetown's oil-fueled transformation. Ranching, subsistence agriculture, and eco-tourism serve local populations and adventurous visitors. The Natural Resource Fund's $2.57 billion accumulation in 2024 could theoretically finance roads, healthcare, and education connecting this region to national development. Whether it will depends on choices that the coast makes about the interior. For now, Region 9 remains Guyana's frontier—geographically, economically, and politically.