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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2005) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Guinea-Bissau (2005) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Guinea-Bissau (2005) | British Virgin Islands (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.5% (male 293,280/female 294,483)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 376,719/female 409,402) 65 years and over: 3% (male 17,865/female 24,278) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 28 (2004 est.) | 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Area | total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Background | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 37.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| Capital | Bissau | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of 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 | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 350 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 | 13 June 2007 |
| 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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Death rate | 16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $941.5 million (2000 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| 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; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Disputes - international | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region | 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. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in continued low growth in 2004. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 51.15 million kWh (2002) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (2002) | 45 million kWh (2005) |
| 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: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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% | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
the US dollar is used |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew 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 Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May 2004) 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 May 2005); 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 David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
| Exports | NA | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | India 52.1%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2004 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| Geography - note | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| 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% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | NA | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | Senegal 44.6%, Portugal 13.8%, China 4.2% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (1997 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 107.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 117.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 96.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2002 est.) | 2% (2005) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| Irrigated land | 170 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices 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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 480,000 (1999) | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| Land boundaries | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | English (official) |
| Legal system | NA | English law |
| 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 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.61 years
male: 44.77 years female: 48.52 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 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: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8.9 million (2004) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2004) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) |
| Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | -1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; 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 Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 1,416,027 (July 2005 est.) | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.96% (2005 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 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: country code - 245 |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 10,600 (2003) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (2003) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA (1997) | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 4.93 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA (1998) | 3.6% (1997) |
| Waterways | 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004) | - |
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