Guinea-Bissau (2007) | Seychelles (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos | 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.2% (male 302,408/female 303,786)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 394,799/female 427,055) 65 years and over: 3% (male 18,463/female 26,269) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
28.27% (male 11,367; female 11,167) 15-64 years: 65.47% (male 25,453; female 26,737) 65 years and over: 6.26% (male 1,673; female 3,318) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish |
Airports | 27 (2007) | 14 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
total:
8 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
total:
455 sq km land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA, after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. |
Birth rate | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$249 million expenditures: $262 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Victoria |
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 marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 350 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996 | 18 June 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
conventional long form:
Republic of Seychelles conventional short form: Seychelles |
Currency | - | Seychelles rupee (SCR) |
Death rate | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $941.5 million (2000 est.) | $240 million (1999 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; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau | the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC | chief of mission:
Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - recipient | $79.12 million (2005) | $16.4 million (1995) |
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, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to 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, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. The vulnerability of the tourist sector was illustrated by the sharp drop in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war. Although the industry has rebounded, the government recognizes the continuing need for upgrading the sector in the face of stiff international competition. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit and further privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2000, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have hindered short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles ruppee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector should remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. |
Electricity - consumption | 55.8 million kWh (2005) | 148.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 60 million kWh (2005) | 160 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% | Seychellois (mixture of Asians, Africans, Europeans) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 6.0397 (November 2000), 5.6009 (2000), 5,3426 (1999), 5.2622 (1998), 5.0263 (1997), 4.9700 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Martinho N'Dafa CABI (since 9 April 2007) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malam Bacai SANHA 47.6% |
chief of state:
President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20-22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: France Albert RENE reelected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 66.7%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 19.5%, Sir James MANCHAM (DP) 13.8% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $111 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber | fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) | France, UK, Netherlands, Italy, China, Germany, Japan |
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 | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $610 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
3.1% industry: 26.3% services: 70.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W | 4 35 S, 55 40 E |
Geography - note | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland | 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands |
Highways | - | total:
373 km paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine enroute to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations thanks to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography around the capital facilitates drug smuggling | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $440 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Portugal 18.8%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) | South Africa, UK, China, Singapore, France, Italy |
Independence | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | total: 103.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 93.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
17.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2002 est.) | 6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
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) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 480,000 (1999) | 30,900 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
industry 19%, services 71%, agriculture 10% (1989) |
Land boundaries | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 11% other: 74% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | English (official), French (official), Creole |
Legal system | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least ten percent of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20-22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 61.7%, UO 26.1%, DP 12.1%; seats by party - SPPF 30, UO 3, DP 1 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the share of each party in the total vote |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.18 years
male: 45.37 years female: 49.04 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
70.69 years male: 65.17 years female: 76.37 years (2001 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: 58% male: 56% female: 60% (1971 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal | Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,353 GRT/7,638 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force | Army, Coast Guard, air wing, National Guard, Presidential Protection Unit, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $13 million (FY93) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2005 est.) | 2.8% (FY93) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
22,951 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
11,452 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) | Constitution Day, 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun:
Seychellois (singular and plural) adjective: Seychelles |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -6.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; Guinea-Bissau Civic Forum/Social Democracy or FCGSD [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; Guinea-Bissau Democratic Party or PDG; Guinea-Bissau Socialist Democratic Party or PDSG [Serifo BALDE]; Labor and Solidarity Party or PST [Iancuba INDJAI]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Progress Party or PP [Ibrahima SOW]; Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD]; Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD | Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE] - the governing party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) | 79,715 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.052% (2007 est.) | 0.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Victoria |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 42,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% | Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.995 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.924 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.703 male(s)/female total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 7 per 100 in 2005 international: country code - 245 |
general assessment:
effective system domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,200 (2005) | 19,635 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 95,000 (2005) | 16,316 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA (2005) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.83 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007) | none |