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Guinea-Bissau Tourism - Travel to Guinea-Bissau

        

This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real aTRAVELdirectory country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and edit it.

In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy devastated in the civil war.

Table of contents

1 Geography 2 People 3 Government 4 Economy 5 Communications 6 Transportation 7 Military 8 Transnational Issues

Geography in Guinea-Bissau

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

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

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use

arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 1.78%
other: 87.55% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land

170 sq km (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

People in Guinea-Bissau

Population

1,345,479 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 41.9% (male 281,394; female 282,641)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 353,755; female 388,968)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,130; female 21,591) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

2.23% (2002 est.)

Birth rate

38.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate

15.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate

108.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 49.8 years
female: 52.2 years (2002 est.)
male: 47.47 years

Total fertility rate

5.13 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

2.5% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

14,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,300 (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun: Guinean (s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups

African 99% (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: 34%
male: 50%
female: 18% (2000 est.)

Government in Guinea-Bissau

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau
local short form: Guine-Bissau
local long form: Republica da 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, and 1996

Legal system

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Kumba YALA (since 18 February 2000)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature
election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%
cabinet: NA
head of government: Prime Minister Mario PIRES (since 17 November 2002)

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 November 1999 (next to be held 20 April 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are 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 [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

International organization participation

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950
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; for the time being, 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

Economy in Guinea-Bissau

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 1999-2001. 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, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide 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.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

7.2% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 54%
industry: 15%
services: 31% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 42% (1991) (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5% (2001 est.)

Labor force

480,000

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 82% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Budget

revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries

agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate

2.6% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production

60 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption

55.8 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$80 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)

Exports - commodities

cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber

Exports - partners

India 51.4%, Italy 2.7%, South Korea 2.0%, Belgium 2.0% (2000)

Imports

$55.2 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)

Imports - commodities

foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products

Imports - partners

Portugal 30%, Senegal 14.6%, Thailand 8.5%, China 5.7% (2000)

Debt - external

$931 million (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$115.4 million (1995) (1995)

Currency

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used

Currency code

XOF; GWP

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use

10,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular

0 (2001)

Telephone system

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

Radio broadcast stations

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

Radios

49,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations

NA (1997)

Televisions

NA

Internet country code

.gw

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

2 (2002)

Internet users

4,000 (2002)

Transportation in Guinea-Bissau

Railways

0 km

Highways

total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km
unpaved: 3,947 km (1996)

Waterways

several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping

Ports and harbors

Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim

Merchant marine

none (2002 est.)

Airports

28 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2002)

Military

Military branches

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

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 313,573 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 178,404 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$5.6 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.8% (FY01)

Transnational Issues in Guinea-Bissau

Disputes - international

Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities

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