Guinea-Bissau (2001) | Botswana (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern |
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: 40% (male 319,988; female 316,961)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 428,638; female 458,777) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 26,965; female 39,903) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 92 (2001) |
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: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than Texas |
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. | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. |
Birth rate | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 ) |
Capital | Bissau | Gaborone |
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 | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 350 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 |
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: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
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 | pula (BWP) |
Death rate | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $964 million (1998 est.) | $325 million (2001) |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph HUGGING
embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 312782 |
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 Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV
chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $73 million (1995) (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. | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $7,800 in 2001. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for four-fifths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.2 million kWh (1999) | 1.451 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 986 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (1999) | 500 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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% | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
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 |
pulas per US dollar - 6.8353 (January 2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997) |
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: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
Exports | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) | diamonds 80%, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles (2001) |
Exports - partners | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) | EFTA 85%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 10%, Zimbabwe 2% (1999) |
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 | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 44% (including 36% mining) services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 22 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country |
Highways | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
total: 10,217 km
paved: 5,620 km unpaved: 4,597 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products (2000) |
Imports - partners | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 77%, EFTA 9%, Zimbabwe 4% (1999) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | 2.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 64.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 6.6% (2001 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, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 11 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 17 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
Labor force | 480,000 | 264,000 formal sector employees (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 78% | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.38% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | English (official), Setswana |
Legal system | NA | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 are appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 54.3%, BNF 24.7%, other 21%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 35.29 years
male: 35.15 years female: 35.43 years (2002 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 can read and write
total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Southern Africa, north of South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8 million (FY96) | $135 million (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY96) | 3.5% (FY01/02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 384,888 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 202,685 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 19,479 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver |
Net migration rate | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) | 1,591,232
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1991 est.) | 47% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2001 est.) | 0.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 49,000 (1997) | 252,720 (2000) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 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 (2002 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: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile cellular service and participation in regional development
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 131,000 (September 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 270,000 (September 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | none |