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$Unique_ID{COW01542}
$Pretitle{420}
$Title{Guinea-Bissau
Statistical Profile of Guinea-Bissau}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{rate
million
guinea-bissau
president
bissau
government
guinea-bissauan
km
population
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{National Anthem*59400010.aud
Map of Guinea-Bissau*0154201.scf
Flag of Guinea-Bissau*0154202.scf
}
Country: Guinea-Bissau
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[Hear National Anthem]
[See Map of Guinea-Bissau]
[See Flag of Guinea-Bissau]
Statistical Profile of 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:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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: 9% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures;
38% forest and woodland; 6% other
Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during
dry season
People
Population: 973,803 (July 1989), growth rate 2.4% (1989)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 130 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 47 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s); adjective--Guinea-Bissauan
Ethnic divisions: about 99% African (30% Balanta, 20% Fula, 14% Manjaca,
13% Mandinga, 7% Papel); less than 1% European and mulatto
Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, 30% Muslim, 5% Christian
Language: Portuguese (official); Criolo and numerous African languages
Literacy: 15% (est.)
Labor force: NA; 90% agriculture, 5% industry, services, and commerce,
5% government; 53% of population of working age (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
Capital: Bissau
Administrative divisions: 8 regions; Bafata, Bissau, Bolama, Buba,
Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Tombali
Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese
Guinea)
Constitution: 16 May 1984
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Branches: president and Cabinet; 150-member National Popular Assembly,
overseen by 15-member Council of State
Leader:
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)
Suffrage: universal over age 15
Elections: legislative elections held March 1984; legislature elected
Vieira to serve a five-year term as President on 16 May 1984, and it
relected him again for a further five-year term on 19 June 1989
Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), led by President Vieira, only legal party;
Guinea-Bissau decided to retain the binational party title despite its formal
break with Cape Verde
Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
Member of: AfDB, CEAO, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAU,
OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, 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 John Dale BLACKEN; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos,
Bissau (mailing address is C. P. 297, Bissau); telephone [245] 212816 or 212817
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 peanuts the primary export. 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: $168 million (1986), per capita $170; real growth rate
- 0.6% (1986 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $60 million; expenditures $93 million, including
capital expenditures of $52 million (1986)
Exports: $16.5 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;
partners--Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Cape Verde, China
Imports: $48.8 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods,
foods, petroleum;
partners--Portugal, USSR, EC countries, other Europe, Senegal, US
External debt: $340 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.7% (1986 est.)
Electricity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1988)
Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks
Agriculture: rice, palm products, root crops, coconuts, peanuts, wood
Aid: NA
Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural--pesos);
1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US $1--649.2 pesos
(September 1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Highways: 3,218 km (418 km bituminous, remainder earth)
Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce
Ports: Bissau
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 48 total, 32 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with
runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate system of open-wire lines, radio relay links,
and radiocommunication stations; provincial capitals connected by radio relay;
3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; scheduled to receive satellite
system
Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air
Force are separate components
Military manpower: males 15-49, 208,435; 118,673 fit for military service
Military budget: $9.3 million, 17% of central government budget (1982)