Guinea-Bissau (2001) | Samoa (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | 11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano |
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: 38.1% (male 41,551/female 40,085)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 63,320/female 57,277) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,416/female 6,616) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 4 (2007) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
Area | total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 2,944 sq km
land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997. |
Birth rate | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 28.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $171.3 million
expenditures: $78.1 million (FY04/05 est.) |
Capital | Bissau | name: Apia
geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 44 W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October) |
Coastline | 350 km | 403 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 1 January 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: Independent State of Samoa
conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa |
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.) | 5.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $964 million (1998 est.) | $177 million (2004) |
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: none; US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa
embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030 |
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 Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $43.95 million (2005) |
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 economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The fish catch declined during the El Nino of 2002-03 but returned to normal by mid-2005. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 100,000 tourists visited the islands in 2005. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.2 million kWh (1999) | 97.65 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (1999) | 105 million kWh (2005) |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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% | Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4% |
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 |
tala per US dollar - 2.7594 (2006), 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002) |
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: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi (since 20 June 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: chief of state is elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly election results: TUIATUA Tupua Tamasese Efi unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly |
Exports | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) | fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer |
Exports - partners | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) | Australia 44%, American Samoa 29.9%, Taiwan 11.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | June 1 - May 31 |
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 a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 13 35 S, 172 20 W |
Geography - note | - | occupies an almost central position within Polynesia |
Highways | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
- |
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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) | machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) | NZ 21.5%, Fiji 14.8%, Singapore 13.2%, Australia 8.6%, Japan 8.6%, US 6.2%, Indonesia 5%, China 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | 2.8% (2000) |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | food processing, building materials, auto parts |
Infant mortality rate | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2005) |
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, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 17 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
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; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court |
Labor force | 480,000 | 90,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 78% | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
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: 21.13%
permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | Samoan (Polynesian), English |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; 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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats, 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms)
elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.3 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2007 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: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Cyprus 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8 million (FY96) | - |
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 Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship; it is observed in June |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Samoan(s)
adjective: Samoan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | occasional typhoons; active volcanism |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | hardwood forests, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -9.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) | 214,265
note: prior estimates used official net migration data by sex, but a highly unusual pattern for 1993 lead to a significant imbalance in the sex ratios (more men and fewer women) and a seeming reduction in the female population; the revised total was calculated using a 1993 number that was an average of the 1992 and 1994 migration figures (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1991 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2001 est.) | 1.291% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 49,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census) |
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: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.819 male(s)/female total population: 1.061 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 19,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 24,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 2 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | - |