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.

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

12 00 N, 15 00 W

total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km

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

350 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

mostly low coastal plain rising to savannah in east

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m

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

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

250 sq km (2003)

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

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

1,442,029 (July 2006 est.)

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.)

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

2.07% (2006 est.)

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

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

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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.)

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.)

total population: 46.87 years
male: 45.05 years
female: 48.75 years (2006 est.)

4.86 children born/woman (2006 est.)

10% (2003 est.)

17,000 (2001 est.)

1,200 (2001 est.)

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)

noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

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

indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%

Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4%
male: 58.1%
female: 27.4% (2003 est.)

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

republic, multiparty since mid-1991

Bissau

9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos

24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)

Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, NA 1996

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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

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 misdemeanour criminal cases)

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.

$1.103 billion (2005 est.)

$280.1 million (2005 est.)

2.8% (2005 est.)

$800 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 62%
industry: 12%
services: 26% (1999 est.)

480,000 (1999)

agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)

4% (2002 est.)

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

agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

4.7% (2003 est.)

56 million kWh (2003)

52.08 million kWh (2003)

2,450 bbl/day (2003 est.)

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

cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber

India 52.2%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004)

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

foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products

Senegal 44.5%, Portugal 13.8%, China 4.2% (2004)

$941.5 million (2000 est.)

$115.4 million (1995)

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

calendar year

10,600 (2003)

1,300 (2003)

general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications
international: country code - 245

AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)

.gw

5 (2005)

26,000 (2005)

28 (2005)

total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2005)

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

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

Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim

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

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