Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Guinea-BissauRepublica da Guine-Bissau
republicIndependence 24 September 1973 (declared)
Guinea-Bissau as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 129 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.
No fields match. Try a shorter word.
Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
20 fieldsLand useshare of 36,120 sq km
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
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, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 0.18 cu km/yr (13%/5%/82%)
- per capita:
- 113 cu m/yr (2000)
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
People
22 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.93 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.69 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2008 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
- water contact disease:
- schistosomiasis
- respiratory disease:
- meningococcal meningitis (2008)
Ethnic groups
African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Government
Republic; President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005); Prime Minister Carlos CORREIA (since 5 August 2008)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular, 100 seats, elected 28 March 2004one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
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
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
Constitution
16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Carlos CORREIA (since 5 August 2008)
- 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 after consultation with party leaders in the legislature
- 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 16 November 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 more than $1,000);
- 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less than $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
International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
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
One of the five poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing.
44 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(1999 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
One of the five 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.
Offshore oil prospecting is underway in several sectors but has not yet led to commercially viable crude deposits. 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. Higher raw material prices boosted growth to 3.7% in 2007.
Agriculture - products
- rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton;
- timber;
- fish
Currency (code)
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- small system
- domestic:
- combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications;
- fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons;
- mobile-cellular teledensity reached 20 per 100 in 2007
- international:
- country code - 245
Transportation
6 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Waterways
rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007)
Military
People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force
6 fieldsMilitary branches
People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force
Transnational Issues
4 fieldsDisputes - 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
Trafficking in persons
- current situation:
- Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children trafficked primarily for forced begging and forced agricultural labor to other West African countries
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List - for the second year in a row, Guinea-Bissau is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons, as evidenced by the continued failure to pass an anti-trafficking law and inadequate efforts to investigate or prosecute trafficking crimes or convict and punish trafficking offenders (2008)
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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Guinea-Bissau.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/guinea-bissau/2008.