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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2001) - Jamaica (2005)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2001) z Jamaica (2005)

 Guinea-Bissau (2001)Jamaica (2005)
 Guinea-BissauJamaica
Administrative divisions 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland


note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
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: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398)


15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509)


65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks
Airports 29 (2000 est.) 35 (2004 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: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


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: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.)
Area total:
36,120 sq km

land:
28,000 sq km

water:
8,120 sq km
total: 10,991 sq km


land: 10,831 sq km


water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut slightly smaller than Connecticut
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. Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Birth rate 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$NA

expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $2.793 billion


expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.)
Capital Bissau Kingston
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; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline 350 km 1,022 km
Constitution 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 6 August 1962
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: Jamaica
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 -
Death rate 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $964 million (1998 est.) $5.964 billion (2004 est.)
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 Sue McCourt COBB


embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859


FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
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 Gordon SHIRLEY


chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660


FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081


consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $115.4 million (1995) $16 million (2003)
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 Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.
Electricity - consumption 51.2 million kWh (1999) 5.849 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 55 million kWh (1999) 6.289 billion kWh (2002)
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: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
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
Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000)
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 Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)


head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA
Exports - commodities cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004)
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 diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
54%

industry:
15%

services:
31% (1997 est.)
agriculture: 6.1%


industry: 32.7%


services: 61.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7.6% (2000 est.) 1.9% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 00 N, 15 00 W 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography - note - strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Highways total:
4,400 km

paved:
453 km

unpaved:
3,947 km (1996)
total: 18,700 km


paved: 13,109 km


unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.5%

highest 10%:
42.4% (1991)
lowest 10%: 2.7%


highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
Illicit drugs - major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004)
Independence 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 2.6% (1997 est.) -2% (2000 est.)
Industries agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3% (2000 est.) 12.4% (2004 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, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 17 sq km (1993 est.) 250 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) Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force 480,000 1.14 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 78% agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003)
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: 16.07%


permanent crops: 10.16%


other: 73.77% (2001)
Languages Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages English, patois English
Legal system NA based on English common law; 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 Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth total population:
49.42 years

male:
47.12 years

female:
51.78 years (2001 est.)
total population: 73.33 years


male: 71.63 years


female: 75.12 years (2005 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 ever attended school


total population: 87.9%


male: 84.1%


female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines


territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine none (2000 est.) total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005)
Military branches People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure $8 million (FY96) $31.2 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY96) 0.4% (2003)
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, 6 August (1962)
Nationality noun:
Guinean (s)

adjective:
Guinean
noun: Jamaican(s)


adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 50% (1991 est.) 19.7% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate 2.23% (2001 est.) 0.71% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios 49,000 (1997) -
Railways 0 km total: 272 km


standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge


note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
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: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network


domestic: NA


international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use 8,000 (1997) 444,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 1.4 million (2002)
Television broadcast stations 2 (1997) 7 (1997)
Terrain mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 15% (2004 est.)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping -
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