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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) - West Bank (2008)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2003) z West Bank (2008)

 Guinea-Bissau (2003)West Bank (2008)
 Guinea-BissauWest Bank
Administrative divisions 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos -
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: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)


15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382)


65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports 28 (2002) 3 (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: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (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)
-
Area total: 36,120 sq km


land: 28,000 sq km


water: 8,120 sq km
total: 5,860 sq km


land: 5,640 sq km


water: 220 sq km


note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut slightly smaller than Delaware
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 September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008.
Birth rate 38.41 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
revenues: $1.149 billion


expenditures: $2.31 billion


note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)
Capital Bissau -
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 temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline 350 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 -
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: West Bank
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.) 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $941.5 million (2000 est.) $NA
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 -
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
-
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 West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Economic aid - recipient $115.4 million (1995) $1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
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 West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance.
Electricity - consumption 51.15 million kWh (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) NA kWh
Electricity - production 55 million kWh (2001) NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
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: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
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
-
Ethnic groups African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
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
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)
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
-
Exports NA (2001) $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Exports - commodities cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners India 51.5%, Uruguay 19.5%, Thailand 19.4% (2002) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
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 -
GDP purchasing power parity - $901.4 million (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 8%


industry: 13%


services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate -4.3% (2002 est.) -8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 12 00 N, 15 00 W 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
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%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Imports NA (2001) $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners Senegal 19.6%, Portugal 19.1%, India 15.3%, Taiwan 5.1% (2002) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Independence 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) -
Industrial production growth rate 2.6% (1997 est.) 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Industries agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
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: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2002 est.) 3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006)
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 -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 2 (2002) -
Irrigated land 170 sq km (1998 est.) 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
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) -
Labor force 480,000 605,000 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 82% (2000 est.) agriculture: 18%


industry: 15%


services: 67% (2006)
Land boundaries total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 1.78%


other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
arable land: 16.9%


permanent crops: 18.97%


other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system NA -
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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 46.97 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.91 years (2003 est.)
total population: 73.46 years


male: 71.68 years


female: 75.35 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 can read and write


total population: 92.4%


male: 96.7%


female: 88% (2004 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references Africa Middle East
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) -
Military branches People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $5.6 million (FY02) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY02) NA
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) -
Nationality noun: Guinean(s)


adjective: Guinean
noun: NA


adjective: NA
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires droughts
Natural resources fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum arable land
Net migration rate -1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.71 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] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 1,360,827 (July 2003 est.) 2,535,927


note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 46% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate 2.02% (2003 est.) 2.985% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim -
Radio broadcast stations AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)
Railways 0 km -
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
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: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female


total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 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: NA


domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services


international: country code - 970 (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use 10,000 (2001) 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (2001) 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations NA (1997) 30 (2008)
Terrain mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate 5.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 18.6% (2006)
Waterways several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping -
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