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Background:
|
 Since
independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has
experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government
consisted of a single party system and command economy. In
1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and
a path to a market economy and multiparty system was
implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and
early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected
president in the country's first free elections. A military
coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIERA's
ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned
over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office
following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and
Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's
transition back to democracy will be complicated by its
crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. |
|
Location:
|
Western Africa,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
|
Map references:
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Africa |
|
Area:
|
total:
36,120 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km
land: 28,000 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 |
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Coastline:
|
350 km |
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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 |
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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 |
|
Natural resources:
|
fish, timber,
phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
|
Land use:
|
arable land:
10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78%
other: 87.55% (1998 est.) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
170 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
|
hot, dry, dusty
harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush
fires |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
deforestation;
soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, 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:
|
1,388,363 (July
2004 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years:
41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334)
(2004 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
18.9 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 19.5 years (2004 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
1.99% (2004 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
38.03
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
16.57
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
108.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 46.98 years
male: 45.09 years
female: 48.92 years (2004 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
10% (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
17,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
1,200 (2001 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun:
Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
African 99% (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 short form: Guine-Bissau
local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese Guinea |
|
Government type:
|
republic,
multiparty since mid-1991 |
|
Capital:
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Bissau |
|
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
(unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 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 1996 |
|
Legal system:
|
NA |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of
state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28
September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the
elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia
SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September
2003
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16
January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister
appointed by the president after consultation with party
leaders in the legislature
note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the
elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General
Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14
September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with
the establishment of a caretaker government
election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent
of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai
SANHA (PAIGC) 28%
cabinet: NA
head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since
28 September 2003) |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral
National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum
of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National
People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new
legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were
then postponed to April, then July, then September, and were
last scheduled to occur in March 2004
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA
2009)
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 who are
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]; Front for the Liberation and
Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY];
Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder
Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES];
International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje
Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and
Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party
for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social
Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM
[Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general];
United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING,
and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco
Jose FADUL] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of
mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique
Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC
20005
FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954
telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 |
|
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; US embassy Dakar is responsible for
covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX -
[221] 822-5903 |
|
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, unexploited offshore oil reserves could
provide 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. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted
in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power
parity - $1.164 billion (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
1.8% (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power
parity - $900 (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
62%
industry: 12%
services: 26% (1999 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
NA% |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
4% (2002 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
480,000 (1999) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 82%
(2000 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
NA% (1998) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues:
$NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA |
|
Industries:
|
agricultural
products processing, beer, soft drinks |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
2.6% (1997 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
55 million kWh
(2001) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
51.15 million kWh
(2001) |
|
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
2,500 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
rice, corn,
beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels,
cotton; timber; fish |
|
Exports:
|
$54 million
f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
cashew nuts,
shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
|
Exports - partners:
|
India 50%,
Thailand 19.2%, Uruguay 19.2% (2002) |
|
Imports:
|
$104 million
f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
foodstuffs,
machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Senegal 19.6%,
Portugal 18.8%, India 15.2% (2002) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$941.5 million
(2000 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$115.4 million
(1995) |
|
Currency:
|
Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority
is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the
Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
|
Currency code:
|
XOF; GWP |
|
Exchange rates:
|
Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2
(2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7
(1999)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF
franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF
franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs
per euro |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
11,200 (2002) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
NA |
|
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 (2002) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
NA (1997) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.gw |
|
Internet hosts:
|
20 (2002) |
|
Internet users:
|
5,000 (2002) |
|
Railways:
|
0 km |
|
Highways:
|
total:
4,400 km
paved: 453 km
unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
several rivers
are accessible to coastal shipping |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Bissau, Buba,
Cacheu, Farim |
|
Merchant marine:
|
none |
|
Airports:
|
28 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2003 est.) |
|
Military branches:
|
People's
Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air
Force), paramilitary force |
|
Military manpower - availability:
|
males age
15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service:
|
males age
15-49: 185,801 (2004 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$8.4 million
(2003) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
2.8% (2003) |
|
Disputes - international:
|
attempts to stem
refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political
instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance
region |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
|