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Compare Guinea-Bissau (2008) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Guinea-Bissau (2008) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Guinea-Bissau (2008) | 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: 41.2% (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: 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 | 27 (2007) | 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 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
| 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: 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 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. | 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 | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| Capital | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 in 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 | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 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; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $79.12 million (2005) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | One of the five 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. Offshore oil prospecting is underway in several sectors but has not yet led to commercially viable crude deposits. 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. Higher raw material prices boosted growth to 3.7% in 2007. | 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 | 55.8 million kWh (2005) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 60 million kWh (2005) | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
| Ethnic groups | African 99% (includes 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 - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been 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 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 after consultation with party leaders in the legislature 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: 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) | 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 - real growth rate | 3.7% (2007 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 |
| 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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | 2,463 bbl/day (2004) | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | Portugal 18.7%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| 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.) |
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, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, 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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2003) | 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%
industry and services: 18% (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: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages | English (official) |
| Legal system | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English 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 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: 47.18 years
male: 45.37 years female: 49.04 years (2007 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): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (2005 est.) | - |
| 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 | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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]; 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 | 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 | 1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.052% (2007 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) | 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: 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: 1.05 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; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 7 per 100 in 2005 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 | 10,200 (2005) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 95,000 (2005) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA (2005) | 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 | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.6% (1997) |
| Waterways | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007) | - |
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