Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA, after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation.
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Geographic coordinates
12 00 N, 15 00 W
Map references
Africa
Area
total
36,120 sq km
land
28,000 sq km
water
8,120 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries
total
724 km
border countries
Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Coastline
350 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Climate
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Elevation extremes
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
Population
1,472,780 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
41.2% (male 302,408/female 303,786)
15-64 years
55.8% (male 394,799/female 427,055)
65 years and over
3% (male 18,463/female 26,269) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
19.1 years
male
18.5 years
female
19.7 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.052% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years
0.995 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.924 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.703 male(s)/female
total population
0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
103.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male
113.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female
93.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
47.18 years
male
45.37 years
female
49.04 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
10% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
17,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
1,200 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk
very high
food or waterborne diseases
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases
malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease
schistosomiasis
respiratory disease
meningococcal meningitis (2007)
Nationality
noun
Guinean(s)
adjective
Guinean
Ethnic groups
African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Religions
indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Languages
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
42.4%
male
58.1%
female
27.4% (2003 est.)
Country name
conventional long form
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form
Guinea-Bissau
local long form
Republica da Guine-Bissau
local short form
Guine-Bissau
former
Portuguese Guinea
Government type
republic
Capital
name
Bissau
geographic coordinates
11 51 N, 15 35 W
time difference
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Independence
24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
National holiday
Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Constitution
16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996
Legal system
based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
head of government
Prime Minister Martinho N'Dafa CABI (since 9 April 2007)
cabinet
NA
elections
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the president
election results
Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malam Bacai SANHA 47.6%
Legislative branch
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1
Judicial branch
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders
African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; Guinea-Bissau Civic Forum/Social Democracy or FCGSD [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; Guinea-Bissau Democratic Party or PDG; Guinea-Bissau Socialist Democratic Party or PDSG [Serifo BALDE]; Labor and Solidarity Party or PST [Iancuba INDJAI]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Progress Party or PP [Ibrahima SOW]; Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD]; Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD
chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC
Diplomatic representation from the US
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau
Flag description
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
Economy - overview
One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$1.249 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$292.9 million (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$900 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
62%
industry
12%
services
26% (1999 est.)
Labor force
480,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
82%
industry and services
18% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate
NA%
Population below poverty line
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners
Senegal 22.6%, Portugal 17.7%, Italy 12.2%, Pakistan 4.3% (2006)
Debt - external
$941.5 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$115.4 million (1995)
Currency (code)
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code
XOF; GWP
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
10,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular
67,000 (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
small system
domestic
combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications
international
country code - 245
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios
49,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations
NA (2005)
Televisions
NA
Internet country code
.gw
Internet hosts
5 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
2 (2002)
Internet users
26,000 (2005)
Airports
28 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
3
over 3,047 m
1
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
914 to 1,523 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
25
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
914 to 1,523 m
4
under 914 m
20 (2006)
Roadways
total
3,455 km
paved
965 km
unpaved
2,490 km (2002)
Waterways
rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007)
Ports and terminals
Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Military branches
People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory military service (2001)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
287,542
females age 18-49
297,295 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
152,681
females age 18-49
161,033 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
3.1% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin): 7,320 (Senegal) (2006)
Illicit drugs
increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine enroute to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations thanks to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography around the capital facilitates drug smuggling
