Guinea-Bissau (2001) | Senegal (2004) | |
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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 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor |
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: 43.2% (male 2,368,011; female 2,325,298)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,803,192; female 3,025,304) 65 years and over: 3% (male 158,881; female 171,461) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 20 (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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (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: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than South Dakota |
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. | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. |
Birth rate | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 35.72 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $1.304 billion
expenditures: $1.367 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Bissau | Dakar |
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; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind |
Coastline | 350 km | 531 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 |
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 Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.74 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $964 million (1998 est.) | $3.009 billion (2003 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 Richard Alan ROTH
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
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 Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem refugees, cross border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - recipient | $115.4 million (1995) | $362.6 million (2002 est.) |
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. | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2003. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. |
Electricity - consumption | 51.2 million kWh (1999) | 1.412 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) | 1.518 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% |
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 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (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 Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Macky SALL (since 21 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
Exports | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
Exports - partners | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) | India 13%, France 12.2%, Mali 9.5%, Italy 8.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.4%, Spain 5% (2003) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.09 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 16.8%
industry: 27.2% services: 56% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 14 00 N, 14 00 W |
Geography - note | - | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal |
Highways | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km including 7 km of expressways unpaved: 10,305 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis |
Imports | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) | foods and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) | France 24.9%, Nigeria 12.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Spain 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | 2.9% (2003 est.) |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 56.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 0% (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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 17 sq km (1993 est.) | 710 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) | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992 |
Labor force | 480,000 | 4.62 million NA (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 78% | agriculture 70% |
Land boundaries | total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.78%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.01% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
Legal system | NA | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.56 years
male: 54.94 years female: 58.23 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: 40.2% male: 50% female: 30.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8 million (FY96) | $95.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (FY96) | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,490,290 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,301,761 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 119,833 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum | fish, phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 564 km (2004) |
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] | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers |
Population | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) | 10,852,147 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1991 est.) | 54% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2001 est.) | 2.52% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 49,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (2003) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 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: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: country code - 221; 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 228,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 575,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.84 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping | 1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2003) |