Guinea-Bissau (2001) | Guadeloupe (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | none (overseas department of France) |
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: 24.4% (male 55,386; female 52,977)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 146,772; female 149,314) 65 years and over: 9% (male 16,730; female 23,336) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 9 (2003 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: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 1,780 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | 10 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. | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe |
Birth rate | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Bissau | Basse-Terre |
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 | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity |
Coastline | 350 km | 306 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
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 | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $964 million (1998 est.) | NA (yearend 2003 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 | none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (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. | The Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.2 million kWh (1999) | 1.074 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (1999) | 1.155 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | 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: Soufriere 1,484 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% |
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 |
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Paul GIROT DE LANGLADE (since 17 August 2004)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils election results: NA |
Exports | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) | bananas, sugar, rum |
Exports - partners | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.513 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 17% services: 68% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 16 15 N, 61 35 W |
Geography - note | - | a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre |
Highways | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
total: 2,467 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1998) |
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.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (1999) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | NA (2003 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 | WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 17 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 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) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique |
Labor force | 480,000 | 125,900 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 78% | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
total: 10.2 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.24%
permanent crops: 3.55% other: 85.21% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
Legal system | NA | French legal system |
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 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.71 years
male: 74.56 years female: 81.03 years (2004 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: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,240 GRT/109 DWT
by type: passenger 1 foreign-owned: France 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | no regular military forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY96) | - |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism |
Net migration rate | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Marlene MELISSE and Favrot DAVRAIN]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Marcel ESDRAS]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Robert JOYEUX] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement |
Population | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) | 444,515 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1991 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2001 est.) | 0.96% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 49,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 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: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 210,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 323,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.8% (1998) |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | - |