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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) - Jamaica (2007)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) z Jamaica (2007)

 Guinea-Bissau (2003)Jamaica (2007)
 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: 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: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)


15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310)


65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Airports 28 (2002) 34 (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 (2002)
total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 5 (2007)
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: 23


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 21 (2007)
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. The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Birth rate 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $3.214 billion


expenditures: $3.772 billion (2006 est.)
Capital Bissau name: Kingston


geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W


time difference: UTC-5 (same time as 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; 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 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $941.5 million (2000 est.) $6.926 billion (2006 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 Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON


embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6


mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5


telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000


FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348
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 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, 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) $35.74 million (2005)
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 Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan in late 2004, but has made a gradual recovery. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a high debt burden - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Following a strategy begun in 2004, Jamaica has reduced its public debt to 133.3% of GDP. Inflation also had declined to 5.8% at the end of 2006. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. The government faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.
Electricity - consumption 51.15 million kWh (2001) 6.131 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 55 million kWh (2001) 6.985 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (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, 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 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)
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 - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002)
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 Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)


head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007)


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 bbl/day
Exports - commodities cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006)
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.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 5.4%


industry: 33.8%


services: 60.8% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate -4.3% (2002 est.) 2.5% (2006 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.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)
Illicit drugs - transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption 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 bbl/day
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006)
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, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
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: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2002 est.) 8.6% (2006 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, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 2 (2002) -
Irrigated land 170 sq km (1998 est.) 250 sq km (2002)
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 1.249 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 82% (2000 est.) agriculture: 18.1%


industry: 17.3%


services: 64.6% (2004)
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: 15.83%


permanent crops: 10.01%


other: 74.16% (2005)
Languages Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages English, English patois
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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27
Life expectancy at birth total population: 46.97 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.91 years (2003 est.)
total population: 73.12 years


male: 71.43 years


female: 74.9 years (2007 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 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 (2002 est.) total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2)


registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)
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 (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5.6 million (FY02) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY02) 0.6% (2006 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 318,711 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 181,318 (2003 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 -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -6.07 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 [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 [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
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.) 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 14.8% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 2.02% (2003 est.) 0.777% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways 0 km -
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (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: 0.77 male(s)/female


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


under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female


total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 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: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining


international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 10,000 (2001) 319,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (2001) 2.804 million (2005)
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.) 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 11.3% (2006 est.)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping -
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