Reunion (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 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: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 28 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. |
Birth rate | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 37.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Bissau |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 207 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
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 |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | - |
Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $115.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 51.15 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 55 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 |
Exports | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | NA |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | India 52.1%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 2.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Imports | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | NA |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | Senegal 44.6%, Portugal 13.8%, China 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | 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) |
Labor force | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | agriculture 82% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | French law | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 46.61 years
male: 44.77 years female: 48.52 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | 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) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 743,981 (July 2002 est.) | 1,416,027 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 1.96% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | 173,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 268,500 (1999) | 10,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 1,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | NA (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.93 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | NA (1998) |
Waterways | none | 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004) |