Dictionary:
Guin·ea-Bis·sau (gĭn'ē-bĭ-sou')  |
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| Guinea-Bissau |
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Land and People
The country is largely a low-lying coastal plain and has many rivers, some with wide swampy estuaries. The chief towns are Gabú, Oio, Cacheu, and Bolama. About half of the inhabitants adhere to traditional beliefs, and 45% are Muslim; there is a small Christian minority. The population is comprised mainly of five ethnic groups: the Balante, the Fulani, the Mandjack, the Mandinka, and the Papel. Portuguese is the official language, but Crioulo (a Portuguese creole) and a number of African languages are also spoken.
Economy
Guinea-Bissau is one of the world's poorest nations. Farming and fishing are the leading occupations; cashew nuts are the main cash crop, and rice, corn, beans, cassava, and cotton are grown for domestic use. The country's mineral resources, including phosphates, bauxite, granite, and limestone, are largely unexploited; however, prospecting for offshore petroleum deposits has begun. Industrial activity is mostly limited to the processing of agricultural products. Cashew nuts are by far the largest export; fish, seafood, peanuts, palm kernels, and timber are also exported. Imports include foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, and petroleum products. The nation's location has also made a major transshipment point for the illegal drug trade from Latin America to Europe and the Middle East. The main trading partners are India, Italy, Senegal, Nigeria, and Portugal.
Government
Guinea-Bissau is governed under the constitution of 1984 as amended. The president, who is the head of state, is popularly elected for a five-year term; there are no term limits. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is appointed by the president. The unicameral legislature consists of the 100-seat National People's Assembly, whose members are popularly elected for four-year terms. Administratively, Guinea-Bissau is made up of nine regions.
History
The area that became Portuguese Guinea was first visited by the Portuguese in 1446-47, and in the 16th cent. it was an important source of slaves sent to South America. The territory was administered as part of the Portuguese Cape Verde Islands possession until 1879, when it became a separate colony. In 1951 it was constituted an overseas province.
In 1956, Amilcar Cabral founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). After some years of sporadic violence, the PAIGC launched a war of independence in Portuguese Guinea in the early 1960s; in 1973 it declared the province, renamed Guinea-Bissau, independent of Portugal. A government was established and elections for a national assembly were held in PAIGC-controlled areas. Following the coup in Portugal (1974), the new Portuguese government initiated negotiations with the PAIGC.
In Aug., 1974, an agreement was reached under which Portugal granted (Sept. 10) independence to Guinea-Bissau. Luis de Almeida Cabral (the brother of Amilcar Cabral, who had been assassinated in 1973) became the first president, and Guinea-Bissau was admitted to the United Nations that year. Although Portugal refused to give the Cape Verde Islands and Guinea-Bissau independence together (granting Cape Verde separate independence in 1975), the two maintained the PAIGC as a common political party for five years. Guinea-Bissau remained a single-party state with limited civil rights. Security was a primary concern in the early years of independence, as the regime was weak in Bissau where there was lingering support for the Portuguese.
In 1980 a coup brought João Bernardo Vieira to power. The new regime opposed unification with Cape Verde, but relations between the two nations were normalized in 1983. Although Vieira's regime in the 1980s was characterized by purgings of political enemies and suppression of dissent, he also introduced health reforms and initiatives to increase agricultural production and economic diversity. However, the economy did poorly and the country relied on outside aid to make up for enormous deficits. In 1991 the national assembly officially revoked the PAIGC's status as the sole legal party, and in 1994 Vieira was chosen as president in the country's first free elections.
An army mutiny began in June, 1998, eventually turning into a war in which neighboring Senegal and Guinea intervened on Vieira's behalf, but the coup almost marked the beginning of a period of economic and political troubles. In May, 1999, the military ousted Vieira and installed Malam Bacai Sanhá, the former head of parliament, as interim president. In Dec., 1999, two opposition parties won a majority in parliament, and, after defeating Sanhá in a runoff in Jan., 2000, Party for Social Renewal (PRS) candidate Kumba Yala won the presidency. An army rebellion in Nov., 2000, by former junta leader Gen. Ansumane Mane was crushed and Mane was killed. Yala, hampered by the poor economy and heading an unstable government, was ousted in Sept., 2003, by a military coup that subsequently received the support of many civilian leaders. Businessman Henrique Rosa was appointed president of a transitional national government. Parliamentary elections in Mar., 2004, resulted in a plurality for the PAIGC, and Carlos Gomes, Jr., became prime minister with the support of the PRS. In October the chief of the armed forces was killed in a brief mutiny over back pay, but a peaceful end to uprising was negotiated.
Presidential elections were held in June, 2005, and were dominated by the candidacies of former presidents Vieira (who returned from exile), Sanhá, and Yala (who had originally been barred from political activity but was nominated by the PRS and was permitted to run). The month before the election Yala claimed to be the rightful president, revoking his "renunciation of power" and occupying the presidential palace. Although Yala's move came to nothing, it raised tensions in the nation. When he placed third in the June vote Yala claimed to have won nonetheless, but ended up accepting the results even as he denied them. A runoff between Sanhá, who placed first but failed to win a majority, and Vieira in July resulted in a win for Vieira. Sanhá asserted the vote was marred by fraud, and his party, the PAIGC, refused until September to recognize the result.
At the end of Oct., 2005, Vieira dismissed Gomes as prime minister, and then appointed Aristides Gomes, a political ally, to the post. In Mar., 2006, fighting erupted when government troops attempted to oust Casamance rebels from Senegal who had established bases in NW Guinea-Bissau. A no-confidence vote in Gomes's goverment in Mar., 2007, led to the appointment of Martinho N'Dafa Cabi, a PAIGC leader, to the post the next month. In July, 2007, the president, citing the nation's financial straits, rescheduled the Mar., 2008, parliamentary elections so that they would coincide with the 2009 presidential election.
When Prime Minister Cabi dismissed several officials in July, 2008, without consulting the coalition parties, the PAIGC withdrew from the government; the president subsequently dissolved parliament and the cabinet and called for new elections in November. In August, Carlos Correia was named prime minister. Also that month, an attempted coup by the head of the navy was foiled. The parliamentary elections were won by the PAIGC, and in Jan., 2009, Carlos Gomes, Jr., again became prime minster.
Meanwhile, in Nov., 2008, there was another apparent coup attempt against the president; the armed forces chief of staff had, during the elections, accused the president of being involved with drug traffickers. In Jan., 2009, the president's guard was blamed for an assassination attempt against the armed forces chief, who subsequently was killed in an explosion in March. Vieira was assassinated the next day by soldiers who blamed him for the bombing, and parliament speaker Raimundo Pereira became interim president. The military subsequently continued a campaign of violence against perceived opponents. In April a former prime minister who had criticized the military was severely beaten by soldiers, and in June a presidential candidate and a former defense minister were killed (and subsequently accused of plotting a coup). In the presidential election in late June, PAIGC candidate Malam Bacai Sanhá came in first but won only a plurality of the vote, necessitating a runoff in August against Kumba Yala.
Bibliography
See C. Lopes, Guinea-Bissau: From Liberation Struggle to Independent Statehood (1987); R. Lobban and J. Forrest, Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (2d ed. 1988).
| Dialing Code: Guinea-Bissau |
The international dialing code for Guinea-Bissau is: 245
| Local Time: Guinea-Bissau |
| Statistics: Guinea-Bissau |
| 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. He was assassinated in March 2009; new elections are to take place in June 2009. |
| 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 land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 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: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
| Land use: | arable land: 8.31% permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 250 sq km (2003) |
| Total renewable water resources: | 31 cu km (2003) |
| Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 0.18 cu km/yr (13%/5%/82%) per capita: 113 cu m/yr (2000) |
| 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland |
| Population: | 1,533,964 (July 2009 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 40.8% (male 312,253/female 313,609) 15-64 years: 56.1% (male 414,924/female 445,639) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 19,191/female 28,348) (2009 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 19.3 years male: 18.7 years female: 19.8 years (2009 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.019% (2009 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 35.97 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| Death rate: | 16.05 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| Urbanization: | urban population: 30% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 3.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 99.82 deaths/1,000 live births male: 109.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 89.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 47.9 years male: 46.07 years female: 49.79 years (2009 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 4.65 children born/woman (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.8% (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 16,000 (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 1,100 (2007 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies (2009) |
| Nationality: | noun: Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean |
| Ethnic groups: | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
| Religions: | Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 10% |
| 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.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 5 years male: 7 years female: 4 years (2001) |
| Education expenditures: | 5.2% of GDP (1999) |
| 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 |
| Government type: | republic |
| Capital: | name: Bissau geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| 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 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from 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 in 1996 |
| Legal system: | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Raimundo PEREIRA, who as Parliamentary Speaker succeeded President VIERA following VIERA's assassination on 2 March 2009; a presidential election is scheduled for 28 June 2009 head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 25 December 2008) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held 28 June 2009 following the assassination of President VIERA); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malam Bacai SANHA 47.6% |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 November 2008 (next to be held 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 49.8%, PRS 25.3%, PRID 7.5%, PND 2.4%, AD 1.4%, other parties 13.6%; seats by party - PAIGC 67, PRS 28, PRID 3, PND 1, AD 1 |
| Judicial branch: | 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 more than $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less than $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
| Political parties and leaders: | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Democratic Alliance or AD [Victor MANDINGA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS [Rafael BARBOSA]; Electoral Union or UE [Joaquim BALDE]; Guinea-Bissau Civic Forum/Social Democracy or FCGSD [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; Guinea-Bissau Democratic Party or PDG; Guinea-Bissau Socialist Democratic Party or PDSG [Serifo BALDE]; Labor and Solidarity Party or PST [Iancuba INDJAI]; New Democracy Party or PND; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Progress Party or PP; Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES]; Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD]; Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Frnacisco FADUL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC |
| 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; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau |
| 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 - 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 fifth 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 and 3.9% in 2008. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $857 million (2008 est.) $830.4 million (2007) $808.6 million (2006) note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $442 million (2008 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 3.2% (2008 est.) 2.7% (2007 est.) 1.8% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $600 (2008 est.) $600 (2007 est.) $600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 62% industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
| Labor force: | 480,000 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 82% industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | NA% |
| Population below poverty line: | NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
| Budget: | revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 3.8% (2007 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate: | 4.25% (31 December 2007) |
| Stock of money: | $142.5 million (31 December 2007) |
| Stock of quasi money: | $12.04 million (31 December 2007) |
| Stock of domestic credit: | $46.44 million (31 December 2007) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA |
| Agriculture - products: | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
| Industries: | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 60 million kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 55.8 million kWh (2006 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 2,520 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 0 bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil - imports: | 2,560 bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$6 million (2007 est.) |
| Exports: | $133 million f.o.b. (2006) |
| Exports - commodities: | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
| Exports - partners: | Brazil 56.2%, India 33.6%, Nigeria 8.3% (2007) |
| Imports: | $200 million f.o.b. (2006) |
| Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners: | Portugal 21.7%, Senegal 16.8%, France 6%, Pakistan 4.7% (2007) |
| Debt - external: | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
| Currency (code): | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Currency code: | XOF; GWP |
| Exchange rates: | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 447.81 (2008 est.), 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004) note: since 1 January 1999, the West African CFA franc (XOF) has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro; West African CFA franc (XOF) coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs (XAF), and vice versa, even though the two currencies trade at par |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 4,600 (2007) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 296,200 (2007) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: small system domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 20 per 100 in 2007 international: country code - 245 |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Radios: | 49,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2007) |
| Televisions: | NA |
| Internet country code: | .gw |
| Internet hosts: | 82 (2008) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2002) |
| Internet users: | 37,000 (2006) |
| Airports: | 9 (2008) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2008) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2008) |
| Roadways: | total: 3,455 km paved: 965 km unpaved: 2,490 km (2002) |
| Waterways: | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2008) |
| Ports and terminals: | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
| Military branches: | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-25 years of age for selective compulsory military service; 16 years of age or younger with parental consent, for voluntary service (2009) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 344,087 females age 16-49: 347,886 (2008 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 194,110 females age 16-49: 200,660 (2009 est.) |
| Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | male: 16,957 female: 17,172 (2009 est.) |
| Military expenditures: | 3.1% of GDP (2005 est.) |
| Disputes - international: | in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 7,454 (Senegal) (2007) |
| Trafficking in persons: | current situation: Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children trafficked primarily for forced begging and forced agricultural labor to other West African countries tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for the second year in a row, Guinea-Bissau is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons, as evidenced by the continued failure to pass an anti-trafficking law and inadequate efforts to investigate or prosecute trafficking crimes or convict and punish trafficking offenders (2008) |
| Illicit drugs: | increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine enroute to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations thanks to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography around the capital facilitates drug smuggling |
| Wikipedia: Guinea-Bissau |
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau (pronounced /ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/; Portuguese: República da Guiné-Bissau, pronounced [ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɐ ɡiˈnɛ biˈsau]) is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest states 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.
Its size is nearly 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000. Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau's GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world.
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Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, part of the Mali Empire; parts of this kingdom persisted until the eighteenth century, while others were part of the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese Guinea was known also, from its main economic activity, as the Slave Coast.
Early reports of Europeans reaching this area include those of the Venetian Alvise Cadamosto's voyage of 1455, the 1479-1480 voyage by Flemish-French trader Eustache de la Fosse, and Diogo Cão who in the 1480s reached the Congo River and the lands of Bakongo, setting up thus the foundations of modern Angola, some 1200 km down the African coast from Guinea-Bissau.
Although the rivers and coast of this area were among the first places colonized by the Portuguese, since the 16th century, the interior was not explored until the nineteenth century. The local African rulers in Guinea, some of whom prospered greatly from the slave trade, had no interest in allowing the Europeans any further inland than the fortified coastal settlements where the trading took place. African communities which fought back against slave traders had even greater incentives to distrust European adventurers and would-be settlers. The Portuguese presence in Guinea was therefore largely limited to the port of Bissau and Cacheu, although isolated European farmer-settlers established farms along Bissau's inland rivers.
For a brief period in the 1790s the British attempted to establish a rival foothold on an offshore island, at Bolama. But by the 19th century the Portuguese were sufficiently secure in Bissau to regard the neighbouring coastline as their own special territory, also up north in part of present South Senegal.
An armed rebellion beginning in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) under the leadership of Amílcar Cabral gradually consolidated its hold on then Portuguese Guinea. Unlike guerrilla movements in other Portuguese colonies, the PAIGC rapidly extended its military control over large portions of the territory, aided by the jungle-like terrain, its easily reached borderlines with neighbouring allies and large quantities of arms from Cuba, China, the Soviet Union, and left-leaning African countries.
Cuba also agreed to supply artillery experts, doctors and technicians.[4] The PAIGC even managed to acquire a significant anti-aircraft capability in order to defend itself against aerial attack. By 1973, the PAIGC was in control of many parts of Guinea. Independence was unilaterally declared on September 24, 1973. Recognition became universal following the April 25, 1974 socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal which overthrew Lisbon's Estado Novo regime.
Luís Cabral was appointed the first President of Guinea-Bissau. Following independence local black soldiers that fought along with the Portuguese Army against the PAIGC guerrillas were slaughtered by the thousands. Some managed to escape and settled in Portugal or other African nations, one of the massacres occurred in the town of Bissorã. In 1980 the PAIGC admitted in its newspaper "Nó Pintcha" (dated November 29, 1980) that many were executed and buried in unmarked collective graves in the woods of Cumerá, Portogole and Mansabá.
The country was controlled by a revolutionary council until 1984. The first multi-party elections were held in 1994, but an army uprising in 1998 led to the president's ousting and the Guinea-Bissau Civil War. Elections were held again in 2000 and Kumba Ialá was elected president.
In September 2003, a coup took place in which the military arrested Ialá on the charge of being "unable to solve the problems." After being delayed several times, legislative elections were held in March 2004 . A mutiny of military factions in October 2004 resulted in the death of the head of the armed forces, and caused widespread unrest.
In June 2005, presidential elections were held for the first time since the coup that deposed Ialá. Ialá returned as the candidate for the PRS, claiming to be the legitimate president of the country, but the election was won by former president João Bernardo Vieira, deposed in the 1999 coup. Vieira beat Malam Bacai Sanhá in a runoff election, but Sanhá refused initially to concede, claiming that the elections have been fraudulent in two constituencies, including the capital, Bissau.
Despite reports that there had been an influx of arms in the weeks leading up to the election and reports of some "disturbances during campaigning" — including attacks on government offices by unidentified gunmen — foreign election monitors labelled the election as "calm and organized".[5] PAIGC won a strong parliamentary majority, with 67 of 100 seats, in the parliamentary election held in November 2008.
In November 2008, President Vieira's official residence was attacked by members of the armed forces, killing a guard but leaving the president unharmed. On March 2, 2009, however, Vieira was assassinated by what preliminary reports indicated to be a group of soldiers avenging the death of the head of joint chiefs of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Wai. Tagme died in an explosion on Sunday, March 1, 2009 in an assassination in which - according to some sources - Vieira could have been involved. Military leaders in the country have pledged to respect the constitutional order of succession. National Assembly Speaker Raimundo Pereira was appointed as an interim president until a nationwide election on June 28, 2009,[6] which was won by Malam Bacai Sanhá.
Guinea-Bissau is a republic. In the past, the government had been highly centralized, and multiparty governance has been in effect since mid-1991. The president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. At the legislative level, there is a unicameral "Assembleia Nacional Popular" (National People's Assembly) made up of 100 members. They are popularly elected from multi-member constituencies to serve a four-year term. At the judicial level, there is a "Tribunal Supremo da Justiça" (Supreme Court) which consists of nine justices appointed by the president, they serve at the pleasure of the president.
The main political parties are the PAIGC (Partido da Africa Independencia da Guine-Bissau e Cape Verde) and PRS (Partido Renovacao Social), with over twenty smaller parties. Kumba Iala, also recently known as Muhammed Kumba Iala, was the presidential candidate of the PRS during the 2009 election. Malam Bacai Sanha was the presidential candidate of the PAIGC in 2009, who won the second round and was sworn in as president on September 8, 2009.
João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira became President of Guinea-Bissau in 2005 as an independent candidate, being declared winner of the second round by the CNE (Comite Nacional da Eleicoes. Vieira returned to power in 2005 after winning the presidential election only six years after being ousted from office during a civil war. Previously, he held power for 19 years after taking power in 1980 in a bloodless coup. In that action, he toppled the government of Luís Cabral. He was killed on March 2, 2009, possibly by soldiers in retaliation for the killing of the head of the joint chiefs of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie.[7] The current President of Guinea-Bissau is Malam Bacai Sanhá.
Guinea-Bissau is divided into 8 regions (regiões) and one autonomous sector (sector autónomo). These in turn are subdivided into thirty-seven sectors. The regions are:
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* autonomous sector |
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At 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi), Guinea-Bissau is larger in size than Taiwan, Belgium, or the U.S. state of Maryland. This small, tropical country lies at a low altitude; its highest point is 300 metres (984 ft). The interior is savanna, and the coastline is swampy plain. Its monsoon-like rainy season alternates with periods of hot, dry harmattan winds blowing from the Sahara. The Bijagos Archipelago extends out to sea.
| Cities in Guinea-Bissau | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | Population | Region | ||
| 1979 Census | 2005 estimate | ||||
| 1 | Bissau | 109,214 | 388,028 | Bissau | |
| 2 | Bafatá | 13,429 | 22,521 | Bafatá | |
| 3 | Gabú | 7,803 | 14,430 | Gabú | |
| 4 | Bissorã | N/A | 12,688 | Oio | |
| 5 | Bolama | 9,100 | 10,769 | Bolama | |
| 6 | Cacheu | 7,600 | 10,490 | Cacheu | |
| 7 | Bubaque | 8,400 | 9,941 | Bolama | |
| 8 | Catió | 5,170 | 9,898 | Tombali | |
| 9 | Mansôa | 5,390 | 7,821 | Oio | |
| 10 | Buba | N/A | 7,779 | Quinara | |
| 11 | Quebo | N/A | 7,072 | Quinara | |
| 12 | Canchungo | 4,965 | 6,853 | Cacheu | |
| 13 | Farim | 4,468 | 6,792 | Oio | |
| 14 | Quinhámel | N/A | 3,128 | Biombo | |
| 15 | Fulacunda | N/A | 1,327 | Quinara | |
Guinea-Bissau is warm all year around and there is little temperature fluctuation; it averages 26.3 °C (79.3 °F). The average rainfall for Bissau is 2024 mm although this is almost entirely accounted for during the rainy season which falls between June and September/October. From December through April, the country experiences drought.
Guinea-Bissau's GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world. Its Human Development Index is also one of the lowest on earth. More than two-thirds of Guinea-Bissau's population lives below the poverty line. The economy depends mainly on agriculture; fish, cashew nuts and ground nuts are its major exports. A long period of political instability has resulted in depressed economic activity, deteriorating social conditions, and increased macroeconomic imbalances.
Guinea-Bissau has started to show some economic advances after a pact of stability was signed by the main political parties of the country, leading to an IMF-backed structural reform program. The key challenges for the country in the period ahead would be to achieve fiscal discipline, rebuild public administration, improve the economic climate for private investment, and promote economic diversification. After becoming independent from Portugal in 1974 due to the Portuguese Colonial War and the Lisbon's Carnation Revolution, the exodus of the Portuguese civilian, military and political authorities brought tremendous damage to the country's economic infrastructure, social order and standard of living.
After several years of economic dowturn and political instability, in 1997, Guinea Bissau entered the CFA franc monetary system, bringing about some internal monetary stability. The civil war that took place in 1998 and 1999 and a military coup in September 2003 again disrupted economic activity, leaving a substantial part of the economic and social infrastructure in ruins and intensifying the already widespread poverty. Following the parliamentary elections in March 2004 and presidential elections in July 2005, the country is trying to recover from the long period of instability despite a still-fragile political situation.
Beginning around 2005, drug traffickers based in Latin America began to use Guinea-Bissau, along with several neighboring West African nations, as a transshipment point to Europe for cocaine. The nation was described by a United Nations official as being at risk for becoming a "narco-state".[8][9]
Guinea-Bissau is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[10]
 BCEAO Bissau |
 BCEAO Bissau |
 Bus in downtown Bissau |
 Che Guevara Square |
 Residential area in Bissau |
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 Carnival in Bissau |
| Religion in Guinea-Bissau[11], [12] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| religion | percent | |||
| Islam | 40% | |||
| Indigenous | 50% | |||
| Christianity | 10% | |||
The population of Guinea-Bissau is ethnically diverse and has many distinct languages, customs, and social structures. Guinea-Bissauans can be divided into the following three ethnic groups: Fula and the Mandinka-speaking people, who comprise the largest portion of the population and are concentrated in the north and northeast; the Balanta and Papel people, who live in the southern coastal regions; and the Manjaco and Mancanha, who occupy the central and northern coastal areas. Most of the remainder are mestiços of mixed Portuguese and African descent, including a Cape Verdean minority.
Portuguese natives comprise a very small percentage of Guinea-Bissauans. This deficit was directly caused by the exodus of Portuguese settlers that took place after Guinea-Bissau gained independence. The country has also a tiny Chinese population, including those of mixed Portuguese and Chinese ancestry from Macau, a former Asian Portuguese colony. Only 14% of the population speaks the official language Portuguese. 44% speak Kriol, a Portuguese-based creole language, and the remainder speaks native African languages. Most Portuguese and Mestiços speak one of the African languages and Kriol as second languages. French is also learned in schools, as the country is surrounded by French-speaking countries and is a full member of the Francophonie.
Throughout the 20th century, most Bissau-Guineans practiced some form of Animism. Recently, many more have adopted Islam, which is currently practiced by 40-50 percent of the country's population; most of Guinea-Bissau's Muslims practice Sunni Islam. Approximately 10 percent of the country's population belong to the Christian community, and 40 percent continue to hold Indigenous beliefs. These statistics can be misleading, however, as both Islamic and Christan practices may be largely influenced and enriched by syncretism with traditional African beliefs.[11][12]
There are about 12 physicians per 100,000 persons in the country. [13] The prevalence of HIV-infection among the adult population is above 10 %. [14] Guinea-Bissau has a high infant mortality. [15] Life expectancy at birth among both sexes was at below 50 years in 2004. [16]
The music of Guinea-Bissau is usually associated with the polyrhythmic gumbe genre, the country's primary musical export. However, civil unrest and other factors have combined over the years to keep gumbe, and other genres, out of mainstream audiences, even in generally syncretist African countries.
The calabash is the primary musical instrument of Guinea-Bissau, and is used in extremely swift and rhythmically complex dance music. Lyrics are almost always in Guinea-Bissau Creole, a Portuguese-based creole language, and are often humorous and topical, revolving around current events and controversies, especially AIDS.
The word gumbe is sometimes used generically, to refer to any music of the country, although it most specifically refers to a unique style that fuses about ten of the country's folk music traditions. Tina and tinga are other popular genres, while extent folk traditions include ceremonial music used in funerals, initiations and other rituals, as well as Balanta brosca and kussundé, Mandinga djambadon, and the kundere sound of the Bissagos Islands.
Flora Gomes is an internationally renowned film director. His most famous film is "Nha Fala".
Education is compulsory from the age of 7 to 13. [17] The enrollment for boys is higher than the one for girls. [18] Child labor is very common. [19] A significant minority of the population are illiterate. [20] Guinea-Bissau has universities.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.
Guinea-Bissau elections - BEFORE Project has a lot of information on the history of political violence and how it has been overcome. http://beforeproject.org/2009/05/on-the-radio-waves-in-guinea-bissau/
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| Translations: Guinea-Bissau |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - Guinea-Bissau
Français (French)
n. - Guinée-Bissau
Deutsch (German)
n. - Guinea-Bissau
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Guinea Bissay
Español (Spanish)
n. - Guinea-Bissau
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
几内亚比绍
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 幾內亞比索
한국어 (Korean)
기니비사우 공화국 (서아프리카의 구 Portuguese Guinea; 수도 Bissau)
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - גיניאה-ביסאו
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| Bissagos Islands |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Dialing Code. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Statistics. The World Factbook 2009 is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Guinea-Bissau". Read more |
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