Seychelles (2004) | Guinea-Bissau (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 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: 26.9% (male 10,987; female 10,717)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 26,380; female 27,731) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,638; female 3,379) (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 15 (2003 est.) | 27 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
Area | total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | 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. The most recent presidential elections were held 31 August-2 September 2001. President RENE, who has served since 1977, was re-elected. On 14 April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president. | 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. |
Birth rate | 16.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $338.7 million
expenditures: $323.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Victoria | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) | 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 | 491 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 18 June 1993 | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form: Seychelles |
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 | Seychelles rupee (SCR) | - |
Death rate | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $213 million (2003 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) | in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau |
Economic aid - recipient | $16.4 million (1995) | $79.12 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit, including the containment of social welfare costs, and further privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Also, tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee 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. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 148.8 million kWh (2001) | 55.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 160 million kWh (2001) | 60 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002), 5.8575 (2001), 5.7138 (2000), 5.3426 (1999) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); 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 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: France Albert RENE re-elected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections; France Albert RENE stepped down 14 April 2004 and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president |
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% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | UK 38.8%, France 31.8%, Italy 14.5%, Germany 7.5% (2003) | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side | 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 - $626 million (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 28.7% services: 68.9% (2003) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 3.7% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 35 S, 55 40 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 373 km
paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | NA (2001) | 2,463 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 15.7%, South Africa 10.9%, Spain 10.4%, France 9.7%, Italy 9.2%, Singapore 7%, UK 6.8% (2003) | Portugal 18.7%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 29 June 1976 (from UK) | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2003 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | 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 | 30,900 (1996) | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 19%, services 71% (1989) | agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.22%
permanent crops: 13.33% other: 84.45% (2001) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), Creole | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next held by 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.53 years
male: 66.1 years female: 77.14 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 47.18 years
male: 45.37 years female: 49.04 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58% male: 56% female: 60% (1971 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 42,223 GRT/63,538 DWT
by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1 foreign-owned: Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 1, Nigeria 1, South Africa 2 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Coast Guard (including Navy Wing, Air Wing), National Guard, Presidential Protection Unit (includes Presidential Guard), Seychelles National Police (includes Police Mobile Unit) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $11.6 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 23,661 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 11,712 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychellois |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | fish, copra, cinnamon trees | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | -5.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] - the governing party | 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions | NA |
Population | 80,832 (July 2004 est.) | 1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.45% (2004 est.) | 2.052% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Victoria | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86.6%, Anglican 6.8%, other Christian 2.5%, other 4.1% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: effective system
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,700 (2002) | 10,200 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,500 (2003) | 95,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) | NA (2005) |
Terrain | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 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) |