Guinea-Bissau

§1. Guinea-Bissau Introduction

Background:
  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 August 2005, former President VIEIRA
  was re-elected president in the second round of presidential polling. Since
  formally assuming office in October 2005, Vieira has pledged to pursue
  economic development and national reconciliation.

§2. Guinea-Bissau Geography

Location:
  Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and
  Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
  12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 36,120 km²
  land: 28,000 km²
  water: 8,120 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
  total: 724 km
  border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline:
  350 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 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, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited
  deposits of petroleum

Land use:
  arable land: 8.31%
  permanent crops: 6.92%
  other: 84.77% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  170 km² (1998 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

Geography - note:
  this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further
  inland

§3. Guinea-Bissau People

Population:
  1,442,029 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 41.4% (male 297,623/female 298,942)
  15-64 years: 55.6% (male 384,559/female 417,811)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 18,048/female 25,046) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 19 years
  male: 18.4 years
  female: 19.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.07% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  37.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.72 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 105.21 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 115.53 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 94.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.87 years
  male: 45.05 years
  female: 48.75 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  4.86 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  10% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  17,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  1,200 (2001 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 are high risks in some
    locations
  water contact disease: schistosomiasis
  respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

Nationality:
  noun: Guinean(s)
  adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups:
  African 99% (includes - 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.)

§4. Guinea-Bissau Government

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

Capital:
  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, NA 1996

Legal system:
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October
    2005)
  head of government: Prime Minister Aristides GOMES (since 2 November 2005)
  cabinet: NA
  elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; 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%, Malan 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 a maximum of four
  years)
  elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 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 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]; Democratic Social Front or FDS [leader NA];
  Electoral Union or UE [leader NA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD
  [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]; 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 Popular Alliance or APU [leader NA]; United Social
  Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEMAC, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
  (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW
  (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano
    DA SILVA; note - his address is 15929 Yukon Lane, Rockville, MD 20855
  mailing address: P. O. Box 33813, Washington, DC 20033
  telephone: [1] (301) 947-3958
  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; US Embassy Dakar is responsible
    for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221]
    822-5903

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

§5. Guinea-Bissau Economy

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, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to 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. 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, have resulted in continued low
  growth in 2002-05.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $1.103 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $280.1 million (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  2.8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 62%
  industry: 12%
  services: 26% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
  480,000 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 82% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 0.5%
  highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  4% (2002 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA

Agriculture - products:
  rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels,
  cotton; timber; fish

Industries:
  agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate:
  4.7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
  56 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  52.08 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  2,450 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $116 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber

Exports - partners:
  India 52.2%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004)

Imports:
  $176 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
  Senegal 44.6%, Portugal 13.8%, China 4.2% (2004)

Debt - external:
  $941.5 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $115.4 million (1995)

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 - 527.47 (2005),
  528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)
  note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a
    rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Guinea-Bissau Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  10,600 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  1,300 (2003)

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 (2005)

Internet country code:
  .gw

Internet hosts:
  5 (2005)

Internet users:
  26,000 (2005)

§7. Guinea-Bissau Transportation

Airports:
  28 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 3
  over 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 25
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 20 (2005)

Roadways:
  total: 4,400 km
  paved: 453 km
  unpaved: 3,947 km (1999)

Waterways:
  four largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks
  give shallow-water access to much of interior (2006)

Ports and terminals:
  Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim

§8. Guinea-Bissau Military

Military branches:
  People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air
  Force), paramilitary force

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age for compulsory military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 288,770 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 152,760 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $9.46 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  3.1% (2005 est.)

§9. Guinea-Bissau Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and
  political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance
  region


<Factbook 2006>
