| Background: |
In 1994, 20 years
after independence from Portugal, the country's first
multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held.
An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998,
created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The
president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An
interim government turned over power in February 2000 when
opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two
rounds of transparent presidential elections.
Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be
complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war
and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. |
| Location: |
Western Africa,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and
Senegal |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
12 00 N, 15 00 W |
| 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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 |
| Natural
resources: |
fish, timber,
phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
11%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 38%
forests and woodland: 38%
other: 12% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
17 sq km (1993
est.) |
| 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 |
| Population: |
1,315,822 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536)
15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female
379,889)
65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female
20,742) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.23% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
39.29
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
15.33
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-1.66 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
110.4
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 49.42 years
male: 47.12 years
female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
5.2 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
2.5% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
14,000 (1999
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
1,300 (1999 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: 53.9%
male: 67.1%
female: 40.7% (1997 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,
multiparty since mid-1991 |
| 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 |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Koumba YALLA (since 18 February
2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Faustino
IMBALI (since 20 March 2001)
cabinet: NA
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
election results: Koumba YALLA elected
president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS)
72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
| 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)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to
be held by NA 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining
seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded
candidates |
| 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
[Francisco BENANTE]; 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 [Koumba YALLA];
Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne
SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or
PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT (associate),
ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory
user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Mario LOPES DA ROSA
chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950
FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
| 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 |
| 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 20
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 1999-2000. 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
7.6% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
54%
industry: 15%
services: 31% (1997 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
50% (1991 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 78% |
| 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
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
51.2 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
rice, corn,
beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm
kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
| Exports: |
$80 million
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
cashew nuts 70%,
shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) |
| Exports
- partners: |
India 59%,
Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) |
| Imports: |
$55.2 million
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) |
| Imports
- partners: |
Portugal 26%,
France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) |
| Debt
- external: |
$964 million
(1998 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 |
| Exchange
rates: |
Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21
(January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998),
583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373
(1996)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted
the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January
1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of
655.957 CFA francs per euro |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
8,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay,
open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications
international: NA |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 1, FM 2,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
2 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gw |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1,500 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
4,400 km
paved: 453 km
unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
several rivers
are accessible to coastal shipping |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Bissau, Buba,
Cacheu, Farim |
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 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 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
People's
Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and
Air Force), paramilitary force |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 305,071 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 173,703 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$8 million (FY96) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.8% (FY96) |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
