Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / British Virgin Islands (2002) - Guinea-Bissau (2008) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##
Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) - Guinea-Bissau (2008)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) z Guinea-Bissau (2008)
| British Virgin Islands (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.2% (male 302,408/female 303,786)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 394,799/female 427,055) 65 years and over: 3% (male 18,463/female 26,269) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
| Airports | 3 (2001) | 27 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
| Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
| Background | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
| Capital | Road Town | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
| Coastline | 80 km | 350 km |
| Constitution | 1 June 1977 | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
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 |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC |
| Disputes - international | none | in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | $79.12 million (2005) |
| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. | 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 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. 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 39.1 million kWh (1999) | 55.8 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 42 million kWh (1999) | 60 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
chief of state: President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Martinho N'Dafa CABI (since 9 April 2007) 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 in 2010); 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% |
| Exports | $6.2 million | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | 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 |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
| Highways | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center | 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 |
| Imports | $230 million (2000 est.) | 2,463 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | Portugal 18.7%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1985) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
| Infant mortality rate | 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 103.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 93.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2000) | 4% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) | ACCT, 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 (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | 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 misdemeanor criminal cases) |
| Labor force | 4,911 (1980) | 480,000 (1999) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official) | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
| Legal system | English law | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
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 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 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 47.18 years
male: 45.37 years female: 49.04 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
| Natural resources | NEGL | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
| Net migration rate | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | 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 Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; 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]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Progress Party or PP [Ibrahima SOW]; 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 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) | 1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.16% (2002 est.) | 2.052% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Road Town | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Radios | 9,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | - |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.995 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.924 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.703 male(s)/female total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
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 7 per 100 in 2005 international: country code - 245 |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (1996) | 10,200 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 95,000 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | NA (2005) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3% (1995) | NA% |
| Waterways | none | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.