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Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in western Africa and one of the smallest nations in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.

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

Nationality:

  • noun: Guinean(s)
  • adjective: Guinean

Capital:

  • name: Bissau
  • geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W
  • time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Independence:

  • 24 September 1973 (declared)
  • 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

Population:

  • 1,503,182 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

  • 2.035% (2008 est.

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

  • 10% (2003 est.)

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.)

Government type:

  • republic

Location:

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

Area - comparative:

  • slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

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

Natural resources:

  • fish
  • timber
  • phosphates
  • bauxite
  • clay
  • granite
  • limestone
  • unexploited deposits of petroleum

Economy - overview:

One of the five 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. Offshore oil prospecting is underway in several sectors but has not yet led to commercially viable crude deposits. 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, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06. Higher raw material prices boosted growth to 3.7% in 2007.

GDP - real growth rate:

  • 2.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

  • $500 (2007 est.)

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 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation.

Environment - current issues:

  • deforestation
  • soil erosion
  • overgrazing
  • overfishing

For more info please contact:
African Studies
(310) 825-3686
africa@international.ucla.edu