Map of Guinea-Bissau | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Guinea-Bissau has been ruled by the military, ever since its independence from Portugal.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 724 km total; Guinea 386, Senegal 338 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoon-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

Natural resources: unexploited deposits of petroleum, bauxite, phosphates; fish, timber

Land use: 11% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 43% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 7% other

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 998,963 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s; adjective--Guinea-Bissauan

Ethnic groups: about 99% African (30% Balanta, 20% Fula, 14% Manjaca, 13% Mandinga, 7% Papel; less than 1% European and mulatto

Languages: Portuguese (official; Criolo and numerous African languages

Religions: 65% indigenous beliefs, 30% Muslim, 5% Christian

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 43 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 19 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 127 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 48 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 34% (1986)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Government type: republic; highly centralized one-party regime since September 1974

Capital: Bissau

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular--regiao; Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali

Dependent areas

Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese Guinea)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

Constitution: 16 May 1984

Legal system: NA

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 15

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the Council of State Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14 November 1980 and elected President of Council of State on 16 May 1984; First Vice President Col. Iafai CAMARA (since 7 November 1985; Second Vice President Vasco CABRAL (since 21 June 1989)

Legislative branch: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; Army, Navy, and Air Force are separate components

Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the Council of Ministers

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IRC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL; Chancery (temporary) at the Guinea-Bissauan Permanent Mission to the UN, Suite 604, 211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10,017; telephone (212) 661-3,977; US--Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos, Bissau (mailing address is C. P. 297, Bissau; telephone p245o 212,816, 21,817, 213,674

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; similar to the flag of Cape Verde which has the black star raised above the center of the red band and is framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita GDP below $200. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic activities, with cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels the primary exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of development. The government's four-year plan (1988-91) has targeted agricultural development as the top priority.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for over 50% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports, and 80% of employment; rice is the staple food; other crops include corn, beans, cassava, cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, and cotton; not self-sufficient in food; fishing and forestry potential not fully exploited

Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate: - 1.7% (1986 est.)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $20 million; expenditures $25 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $15 million (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels
Partners: Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Cape Verde, China

Imports: $49 million (f.o.b., 1987)
Commodities: capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods, foods, petroleum
Partners: Portugal, USSR, EC countries, other Europe, Senegal, US

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $465 million (December 1989 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1--650 pesos (December 1989), NA (1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced, 30 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 3.2% of GDP (1987)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 37 total, 18 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered its decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary (in favor of Senegal)--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs