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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) - Jamaica (2003)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) z Jamaica (2003)

 Guinea-Bissau (2003)Jamaica (2003)
 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
Age structure 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 284,150; female 285,370)


15-64 years: 55.2% (male 358,891; female 392,703)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,285; female 22,428) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 28.6% (male 395,074; female 376,870)


15-64 years: 64.5% (male 870,486; female 869,431)


65 years and over: 6.8% (male 82,022; female 101,984) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk
Airports 28 (2002) 35 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 5 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (2002)
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. A military junta ousted the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Birth rate 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 17.35 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $2.23 billion


expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY 99/00 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 Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Death rate 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $941.5 million (2000 est.) $5.3 billion (2002 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; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA


chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005


telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950


FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954
chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour MULLINGS


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 separatist war in Senegal's Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling and other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau none
Economic aid - recipient $115.4 million (1995) NA
Economy - overview One of the 10 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 1999-2002. 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 inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002 and dim prospects for 2003. The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy inched ahead, by 0.8% in 2000, 1.7% in 2001, and 0.8% in 2002; the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including serious violent crime. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment and tourism, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.
Electricity - consumption 51.15 million kWh (2001) 5.833 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 55 million kWh (2001) 6.272 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 96.8%


hydro: 1.8%


nuclear: 0%


other: 1.5% (2001)
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)


note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 48.42 (2002), 46 (2001), 42.7 (2000), 39.04 (1999), 36.55 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrough the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003


head of government: Prime Minister Artur SANHA (since 28 September 2003)


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: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%


note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government
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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum
Exports - partners India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) US 28.1%, Canada 12.2%, Norway 10.7%, UK 10.5%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002)
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 - $901.4 million (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $10.08 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 6%


industry: 31%


services: 63% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -4.3% (2002 est.) 1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 00 N, 15 00 W 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography - note this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland 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 (1999 est.)
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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers
Imports - partners Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) US 45%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 4.7% (2002)
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, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products
Infant mortality rate total: 110.29 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 120.99 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 99.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 13.26 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2002 est.) 7% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 2 (2002) 21 (2000)
Irrigated land 170 sq km (1998 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 1.13 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 82% (2000 est.) services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998)
Land boundaries total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
0 km
Land use arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 1.78%


other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
arable land: 16.07%


permanent crops: 9.23%


other: 74.7% (1998 est.)
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); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, and were last scheduled to occur in September 2003


elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA September 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 NA 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: 46.97 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.91 years (2003 est.)
total population: 75.85 years


male: 73.84 years


female: 77.97 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 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 baselines


contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,536 GRT/62,868 DWT


ships by type: bulk 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, US 2 (2002 est.)
Military branches People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5.6 million (FY02) $30 million (FY95/96 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY02) NA%
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 755,698 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 528,689 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 27,398 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 24 September (1973) Independence Day, first Monday in 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 -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -5.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - petroleum products 10 km
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 [Kumba YALA]; 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 [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; 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 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) 2,695,867 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 34.2% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate 2.02% (2003 est.) 0.61% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways 0 km total: 272 km


standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2002)
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: 0.77 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female


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


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use 10,000 (2001) 353,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (2001) 54,640 (1996)
Television broadcast stations NA (1997) 7 (1997)
Terrain mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.01 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 15.4% (2002 est.)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping none
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