Guinea-Bissau

• tropical;
• generally hot and humid;
• monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds;
• dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

lowest point:

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:

unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m

total:

0.18 cu km/yr (13%/5%/82%)

per capita:

113 cu m/yr (2000)

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• overgrazing;
• overfishing

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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:

0.66 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

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

animal contact disease:

rabies (2009)

noun:

Guinean(s)

adjective:

Guinean

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

name:

Bissau

geographic coordinates:

11 51 N, 15 35 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao);
• Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali;
• note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos

chief of state:

President Malam Bacai SANHA (since 8 September 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 25 December 2008)

cabinet:

NA; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 28 June 2009 with a runoff between the two leading candidates held on 26 July 2009 (next to be held by 2014);
• prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature

election results:

Malam Bacai SANHA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Malam Bacai SANHA 63.5%, Kumba YALA 36.5%

• 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)

• African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior];
• Democratic Alliance or AD [Victor MANDINGA];
• Democratic Social Front or FDS [Rafael BARBOSA];
• Electoral Union or UE [Joaquim BALDE];
• 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 [Lancuba INDJAI];
• New Democracy Party or PND;
• Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA];
• Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP;
• Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA];
• Progress Party or PP;
• Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES];
• Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ];
• Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD];
• United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB);
• United Popular Alliance or APU;
• United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Frnacisco FADUL]

• 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

• 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;
• yellow symbolizes the sun;
• green denotes hope;
• red represents blood shed during the struggle for independence;
• the black star stands for African unity

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the flag design was heavily influenced by the Ghanian flag

agriculture:

82%

industry and services:

18% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.9%

highest 10%:

28% (2002)

• rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton;
• timber;
• fish

general assessment:

small system including a combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and mobile-cellular communications

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 35 per 100 in 2009

international:

country code - 245 (2008)

• 1 state-owned TV station and a second station, RTP Africa, is operated by Portuguese public broadcaster RTP;
• 1 state-owned radio station, several private radio stations, and some community radio stations;
• multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

total:

3,455 km

country comparison to the world: 161

paved:

965 km

unpaved:

2,490 km (2002)

• 18-25 years of age for selective compulsory military service (Air Force service is voluntary);
• 16 years of age or younger with parental consent, for voluntary service (2010)

males age 16-49:

361,785

females age 16-49:

363,488 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

199,771

females age 16-49:

206,240 (2010 est.)

male:

17,300

female:

17,523 (2010 est.)

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)

• 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