GUINEA-BISSAU
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 36,120 km2; land area: 28,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of
Connecticut
Land boundaries: 724 km total; Guinea 386, Senegal 338 km
Coastline: 350 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered its
decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary (in favor
of Senegal)--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau
Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoon-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%
Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility
during dry season
PEOPLE
Population: 1,023,544 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 125 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 48 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s); adjective--Guinea-Bissauan
Ethnic divisions: African about 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca
14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%); European and mulatto less than 1%
Religion: indigenous beliefs 65%, Muslim 30%, Christian 5%
Language: Portuguese (official); Criolo and numerous African
languages
Literacy: 36% (male 50%, female 24%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 403,000 (est.); agriculture 90%, industry, services,
and commerce 5%, government 5%; population of working age 53% (1983)
Organized labor: only one trade union--the National Union of
Workers of Guinea-Bissau (UNTG)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Type: republic; highly centralized one-party regime since September
1974; the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape
Verde (PAIGC) held an extraordinary party congress in December 1990 and
established a two-year transition program during which the constitution
will be revised, allowing for multiple political parties and a
presidential election in 1993
Capital: Bissau
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes,
singular--regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu,
Oio, Quinara, Tombali
Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese
Guinea)
Constitution: 16 May 1984
Legal system: NA
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Executive branch: president of the Council of State, vice
presidents of the Council of State, Council of State, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly
(Assembleia Nacional Popular)
Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the
Council of Ministers
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the
Council of State Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14
November 1980 and elected President of Council of State on 16 May 1984);
First Vice President Col. Iafai CAMARA (since 7 November 1985); Second
Vice President Vasco CABRAL (since 21 June 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party--African Party for the
Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President
Joao Bernardo VIEIRA, leader; the party decided to retain the
binational title despite its formal break with Cape Verde
Suffrage: universal at age 15
Elections:
President of Council of State--last held 19 June 1989
(next to be held NA 1993);
results--Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA was reelected without
opposition by the National People's Assembly;
National People's Assembly--last held 15 June 1989 (next
to be held 15 June 1994);
results--PAIGC is the only party;
seats--(150 total) PAIGC 150, appointed by Regional Councils
Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOM (observer), ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL;
Chancery (temporary) at the Guinea-Bissauan Permanent Mission to the UN,
Suite 604, 211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212)
661-3977;
US--Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN, Jr.; Embassy at 17 Avenida
Domingos Ramos, Bissau (mailing address is 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau,
Guinea-Bissau); telephone 245 20-1139, 20-1145, 20-1113
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, with a per capita GDP below $200. Agriculture and fishing are the
main economic activities, with cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels the
primary exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at
present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of
development. The government's four-year plan (1988-91) has targeted
agricultural development as the top priority.
GDP: $154 million, per capita $160; real growth rate 5.0% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $22.7 million; expenditures $30.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $18.0 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $14.2 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;
partners--Portugal, Senegal, France, The Gambia, Netherlands,
Spain
Imports: $68.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed
goods, foods, petroleum;
partners--Portugal, Netherlands, Senegal, USSR, Germany
External debt: $462 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.0% (1989 est.); accounts
for 10% of GDP (1989 est.)
Electricity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks
Agriculture: accounts for over 50% 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: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $561 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $68 million
Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural--pesos);
1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1--1987.2 (1989),
1363.6 (1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 3,218 km; 2,698 km bituminous, remainder earth
Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal
commerce
Ports: Bissau
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 37 total, 18 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor system of radio relay, open-wire lines,
and radiocommunications; 3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; including
Army, Navy, Air Force), paramilitary force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 222,371; 126,797 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $5 million, 3.2% of GDP (1987)