Guinea-Bissau

Geography

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

Map references: Africa

Area:
total area: 36,120 sq km
land area: 28,000 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

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

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

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

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

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

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification

People

Population: 1,124,537 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (female 242,518; male 243,093)
15-64 years: 54% (female 320,987; male 286,308)
65 years and over: 3% (female 16,129; male 15,502) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.36% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 40.24 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 117.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.87 years
male: 46.21 years
female: 49.57 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.43 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

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

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

Languages: Portuguese (official), Criolo, African languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 36%
male: 50%
female: 24%

Labor force: 403,000 (est.)
by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry, services, and commerce 5%, government 5%

Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau
local long form: Republica de Guine-Bissau
local short form: Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese Guinea

Digraph: PU

Type: republic, formerly highly centralized, multiparty since mid-1991

Capital: Bissau

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

Independence: 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 September (1974)

Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991 (currently undergoing revision to liberalize popular participation in the government)

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14 November 1980); election last held August 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52%, Kumba YALLA 48%
head of government: Prime Minister Manuel SATURNINO, since 5 November 1994
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
National People's Assembly: (Assembleia Nacional Popular) elections last held 3 July and 7 August 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total) PAIGC 62, RGB 19, PRS 12, Union for Change Coalition 6, FLING 1

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

Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President Joao Bernardo VIEIRA, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB); Democratic Front (FD), Aristides MENEZES, leader; Social Renovation Party (PRS); Union for Change Coalition; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING); Democratic Social Front (FDS), Rafael BARBOSA, leader; Bafata Movement, Domingos Fernandes GARNER, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB); Union for Change Coalition; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING)

Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL
chancery: 918 16th Street NW, Mezzanine Suite, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 872-4222
FAX: [1] (202) 872-4226

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Roger A. McGUIRE
embassy: Bairro de Penha, Bissau
mailing address: C.P. 297, 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
telephone: [245] 252273, 252274, 252275, 252276
FAX: [245] 252282

Flag: 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

Economy

Overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic activities. Cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels are the primary exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of development. With IMF support the country is committed to an economic reform program emphasizing monetary stability and private sector growth. This process will continue at a slow pace because of a heavy foreign debt burden and internal constraints.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $900 million (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 2.9% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $840 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $33.6 million
expenditures: $44.8 million, including capital expenditures of $570,000 (1991 est.)

Exports: $19 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels
partners: Portugal, Spain, Senegal, India, Nigeria

Imports: $56 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products, machinery and equipment
partners: Portugal, Netherlands, China, Germany, Senegal

External debt: $462 million (December 1990 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate NA (1991 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 22,000 kW
production: 40 million kWh
consumption per capita: 37 kWh (1993)

Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks

Agriculture: accounts for over 45% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports, and 90% 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

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $615 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $68 million

Currency: 1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1 - 14,482 (December 1994), 12,892 (1994), 10,082 (1993), 6,934 (1992), 3,659 (1991), 2,185 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 3,218 km
paved: bituminous 2,698 km
unpaved: earth 520 km

Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce

Ports: Bissau

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
total: 32
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 22
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6

Communications

Telephone system: 3,000 telephones; poor system; telephone density - 2.7 telephones/1,000 persons
local: NA
intercity: combination of microwave radio relay, open wire lines and radiocommunications
international: NA

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA

Defense Forces

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

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 251,636; males fit for military service 143,694 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9 million, 4.5% of GDP (1994)