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

• mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east;
• numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets

highest point:

unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m

lowest point:

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation:

70 m

• approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast;
• the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map

noun:

Bissau-Guinean(s)

adjective:

Bissau-Guinean

• approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast;
• the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

• deforestation (rampant felling of trees for timber and agricultural purposes);
• soil erosion;
• overgrazing;
• overfishing

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

27.12 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.29 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

1.46 megatons (2020 est.)

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

urban population:

44.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

3.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

municipal:

34.1 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

11.9 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

144 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

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

etymology:

• the country is named after the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel;
• "Bissau," the name of the capital city, distinguishes the country from neighboring Guinea

name:

Bissau

geographic coordinates:

11 51 N, 15 35 W

time difference:

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

etymology:

the meaning of Bissau is uncertain, it might be an alternative name for the Papel people who live in the area of the city of Bissau

history:

• promulgated 16 May 1984;
• note - constitution suspended following military coup April 2012, restored 2014;
• note - in May 2020, President EMBALO established a commission to draft a revised constitution

amendments:

• proposed by the National People’s Assembly if supported by at least one third of its members, by the Council of State (a presidential consultant body), or by the government;
• passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly;
• constitutional articles on the republican and secular form of government and national sovereignty cannot be amended;
• amended 1991, 1993, 1996

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Umaro Sissoko EMBALO (since 27 February 2020); note - President EMBALO was declared winner of the 29 December 2019 runoff presidential election by the electoral commission. In late February 2020, Embalo seized power with the help of the military without being officially inaugurated, even though the Supreme Court of Justice had yet to rule on an electoral litigation appeal lodged by his political rival Domingos Simoes PEREIRA.

head of government:

Prime Minister Nuno NABIAM (since 27 February 2020)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term;
• election last held on 24 November 2019 with a runoff on 29 December 2019 (next to be held in 2024);
• prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the National People's Assembly;
• note - the president cannot apply for a third consecutive term, nor during the 5 years following the end of the second term

election results:

• Umaro Sissoco EMBALO elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Domingos Simoes PEREIRA (PAIGC) 40.1%, Umaro Sissoco EMBALO (Madem G15) 27.7%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM (APU-PDGB) 13.2%, Jose Mario VAZ (independent) 12.4%, other 6.6%;
• percent of vote in second round - Umaro Sissoco EMBALO 53.6%, Domingos Simoes PEREIRA 46.5%

description:

unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (102 seats; 100 members directly elected in 27 multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote and 2 elected in single-seat constituencies for citizens living abroad (1 for Africa, 1 for Europe); all members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in March 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PAIGC 35.2%, Madem G-15 21.1%, PRS 21.1%, other 22.6%;
• seats by party - PAIGC 47, Madem G-15 27, PRS 21, other 7;
• composition - men 88, women 14, percent of women 13.7%

highest courts:

• Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 9 judges and organized into Civil, Criminal, and Social and Administrative Disputes Chambers);
• note - the Supreme Court has both appellate and constitutional jurisdiction

judge selection and term of office:

• judges nominated by the Higher Council of the Magistrate, a major government organ responsible for judge appointments, dismissals, and judiciary discipline;
• judges appointed by the president for life

subordinate courts:

• Appeals Court;
• regional (first instance) courts;
• military court

• African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde or PAIGC [Domingos SIMOES PEREIRA]
• Democratic Convergence Party or PCD [Vicente FERNANDES]
• Movement for Democratic Alternation Group of 15 or MADEM-G15 [Braima CAMARA]
• National People’s Assembly – Democratic Party of Guinea Bissau or APU-PDGB [Nuno Gomes NABIAM]
• New Democracy Party or PND [Mamadu Iaia DJALO]
• Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]
• Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES]
• Union for Change or UM [Agnelo REGALA]

embassy:

the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau

mailing address:

2080 Bissau Place, Washington DC 20521-2080

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://gw.usmission.gov/

• 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 Ghanaian flag

agriculture:

82%

industry and services:

18% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.9%

highest 10%:

28% (2002)

• 1 state-owned TV station, Televisao da Guine-Bissau (TGB) and a second station, Radio e Televisao de Portugal (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 (2019)

total:

4,400 km (2018)

paved:

453 km (2018)

unpaved:

3,947 km (2018)

total:

8

by type:

general cargo 5, other 3 (2021)

People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP):

Army, Navy, Air Force; Ministry of Internal Administration: Guard Nacional (a gendarmerie force), Public Order Police, Border Police, Rapid Intervention Police, Maritime Police (2021); note - the Public Order Police is responsible for maintaining law and order, while the Judicial Police, under the Ministry of Justice, has primary responsibility for investigating drug trafficking, terrorism, and other transnational crimes

• the FARP is poorly armed with an inventory consisting of Soviet-era equipment, much of which is reportedly unserviceable;
• the only reported deliveries of military equipment to since 2015 were patrol boats from Spain in 2017 and non-lethal equipment from China in 2015;
• Guinea-Bissau has also discussed acquiring military equipment with Indonesia (2020)

• 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 (2019)

• from 2012-2020, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) deployed a security force to Guinea-Bissau to manage the post-coup transition, including protecting key political figures and public buildings, restoring civil institutions, and re-establishing the rule of law;
• at the height of the deployment, the force, known as the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB), deployed nearly 700 military and police personnel from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Senegal

current situation:

• Guinea-Bissau is a country of origin and destination for children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• the scope of the problem of trafficking women or men for forced labor or forced prostitution is unknown;
• boys reportedly were transported to southern Senegal for forced manual and agricultural labor;
• girls may be subjected to forced domestic service and child prostitution in Senegal and Guinea;
• both boys and girls are forced to work as street vendors in cities in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — Guinea-Bissau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so;
• efforts include identifying forced child begging victims, cooperating with Moroccan authorities on international crime investigations, and approving a new action plan;
• yet, the government has not convicted a trafficker, identified fewer trafficking victims, and lacked resources or the political will to fight trafficking or to enact its action plan, which would meet minimum standards;
• Guinea-Bissau was granted a waiver under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from downgrade to Tier 3 (2020)

• important transit country for South American cocaine en route to Europe;
• enabling environment for trafficker operations due to pervasive corruption;
• archipelago-like geography near the capital facilitates drug smuggling