Guinea-Bissau (2001) | Antigua and Barbuda (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536) 15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889) 65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
27.97% (male 9,527; female 9,203) 15-64 years: 67.15% (male 22,450; female 22,519) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 1,360; female 1,911) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total:
442 sq km (Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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 Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. | The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995. |
Birth rate | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
$122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Bissau | Saint John's |
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 | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 350 km | 153 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 1 November 1981 |
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 |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
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 | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $964 million (1998 est.) | $357 million (1998) |
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 does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mario LOPES DA ROSA chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $2.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | One of the 20 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 1999-2000. 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. | Tourism continues to be the dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP. The budding offshore financial sector has been seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the US and UK as a result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government has made efforts to comply with international demands in order to get the sanctions lifted. Antigua and Barbuda was listed as a tax haven by the OECD in 2000. The dual island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about one-third of all tourist arrivals. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.2 million kWh (1999) | 88.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (1999) | 95 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373 (1996)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro |
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001) cabinet: NA 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: Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $38 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $533 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | 4.6% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 17 03 N, 61 48 W |
Highways | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
total:
1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as a drug-money-laundering center |
Imports | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $330 million (1998) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
Imports - partners | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 1 November 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | 6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) |
Infant mortality rate | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 1.6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 17 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 480,000 | 30,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 78% | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) |
Land boundaries | total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
18% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 11% other: 62% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | English (official), local dialects |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law |
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 by NA 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
70.74 years male: 68.45 years female: 73.14 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53.9% male: 67.1% female: 40.7% (1997 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total:
681 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,070,390 GRT/5,289,904 DWT ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 424, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 4, container 176, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 29 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Germany 4, Slovenia 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8 million (FY96) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY96) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Independence Day, 1 November (1981) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
noun:
Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism |
Net migration rate | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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 [Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement or PLM) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] |
Population | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) | 66,970 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2001 est.) | 0.74% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | Saint John's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 49,000 (1997) | 36,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic |
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
small system domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
general assessment:
NA domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 28,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1,300 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | none |