Compare Guinea-Bissau (2008) - Christmas Island (2006)

Compare Guinea-Bissau (2008) z Christmas Island (2006)

	Guinea-Bissau (2008)	Christmas Island (2006)

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 (territory of Australia)
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: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish	NA
Airports	27 (2007)	1 (2006)
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: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 24 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007)	-
Area	total: 36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut	about three-quarters 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.	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Birth rate	36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
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: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 18 44 N, 64 19 W time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours 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	tropical with a wet and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds; wet season (December to April)
Coastline	350 km	138.9 km
Constitution	16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
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: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$941.5 million (2000 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
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 (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC	none (territory of Australia)
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.	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993. The casino closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, projected to begin operations in the near future.
Electricity - consumption	55.8 million kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	60 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: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
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%	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
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	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)
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 the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Exports - commodities	cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber	phosphate
Exports - partners	India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006)	Australia, NZ (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
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	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 62% industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3.7% (2007 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	12 00 N, 15 00 W	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)	-
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	2,463 bbl/day (2004)	$NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products	consumer goods
Imports - partners	Portugal 18.7%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006)	principally Australia (2004)
Independence	24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	4.7% (2003 est.)	-
Industries	agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
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: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4% (2002 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, 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	none
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)	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	480,000 (1999)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 82% industry and services: 18% (2000 est.)	-
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: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian 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 Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 47.18 years male: 45.37 years female: 49.04 years (2007 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.)	NA
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Australia
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)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	NA
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	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	none
Population	1,472,780 (July 2007 est.)	1,493 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	2.052% (2007 est.)	0% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
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.)	NA
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; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 7 per 100 in 2005 international: country code - 245	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - one INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	10,200 (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	95,000 (2005)	NA
Television broadcast stations	NA (2005)	0; note - TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia (2006)
Terrain	mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	NA%	-
Waterways	rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007)	-

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