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Compare Sierra Leone (2001) - Guinea-Bissau (2002)

Compare Sierra Leone (2001) z Guinea-Bissau (2002)

 Sierra Leone (2001)Guinea-Bissau (2002)
 Sierra LeoneGuinea-Bissau
Administrative divisions 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* 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:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326)

15-64 years:
52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155)

65 years and over:
3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 281,394; female 282,641)


15-64 years: 55.2% (male 353,755; female 388,968)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,130; female 21,591) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Airports 11 (2000 est.) 28 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total:
1

over 3,047 m:
1 (2000 est.)
total: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
10

914 to 1,523 m:
7

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
total: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area total:
71,740 sq km

land:
71,620 sq km

water:
120 sq km
total: 36,120 sq km


land: 28,000 sq km


water: 8,120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Background Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy devastated in the civil war.
Birth rate 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 38.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$96 million

expenditures:
$351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Capital Freetown Bissau
Climate tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December 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 402 km 350 km
Constitution 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone

conventional short form:
Sierra Leone
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 leone (SLL) Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used
Death rate 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 15.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1.28 billion (1999) $931 million (1999 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr.

embassy:
Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[232] (22) 226481 through 226485

FAX:
[232] (22) 225471
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; for the time being, US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH

chancery:
1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263

FAX:
[1] (202) 483-1793
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 civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities
Economic aid - recipient $203.7 million (1995) $115.4 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. 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 1999-2001. 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.
Electricity - consumption 223.2 million kWh (1999) 55.8 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 240 million kWh (1999) 60 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
Environment - current issues rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected 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 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Exchange rates leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997)


note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the national currency; 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms

election results:
Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5%
chief of state: President Kumba YALA (since 18 February 2000)


head of government: Prime Minister Mario PIRES (since 17 November 2002)


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 NA 2004); 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%
Exports $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $80 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) India 51.4%, Italy 2.7%, South Korea 2.0%, Belgium 2.0% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue 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 - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
43%

industry:
26%

services:
31% (1999)
agriculture: 54%


industry: 15%


services: 31% (1997 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.2% (2000 est.) 7.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 30 N, 11 30 W 12 00 N, 15 00 W
Geography - note - this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
Heliports 1 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
11,300 km

paved:
904 km

unpaved:
10,396 km (1997)
total: 4,400 km


paved: 453 km


unpaved: 3,947 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.5%

highest 10%:
43.6% (1989)
lowest 10%: 1%


highest 10%: 42% (1991) (1991)
Imports $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $55.2 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) Portugal 30%, Senegal 14.6%, Thailand 8.5%, China 5.7% (2000)
Independence 27 April 1961 (from UK) 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 2.6% (1997 est.)
Industries mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Infant mortality rate 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 108.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 15% (2000 est.) 5% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 2 (2002)
Irrigated land 290 sq km (1993 est.) 170 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are 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 1.369 million (1981 est.)

note:
only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
480,000
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% agriculture 82% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries total:
958 km

border countries:
Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Land use arable land:
7%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
31%

forests and woodland:
28%

other:
33% (1993 est.)
arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 1.78%


other: 87.55% (1998 est.)
Languages English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
Legal system based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction NA
Legislative branch unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992
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 November 1999 (next to be held 20 April 2003)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates
Life expectancy at birth total population:
45.6 years

male:
42.69 years

female:
48.61 years (2001 est.)
total population: 49.8 years


male: 47.47 years


female: 52.2 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic

total population:
31.4%

male:
45.4%

female:
18.2% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 34%


male: 50%


female: 18% (2000 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea:
200 NM

continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT

ships by type:
cargo 1 (2000 est.)
none (2002 est.)
Military branches Army People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $46 million (FY96/97) $5.6 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2% (FY96/97) 2.8% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 313,573 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 178,404 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 27 April (1961) Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Nationality noun:
Sierra Leonean(s)

adjective:
Sierra Leonean
noun: Guinean (s)


adjective: Guinean
Natural hazards dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Natural resources diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Net migration rate 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

note:
by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning
-1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Political parties and leaders All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; 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 Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA]
Political pressure groups and leaders Trade Unions and Student Unions NA
Population 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) 1,345,479 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 68% (1989 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 3.61% (2001 est.) 2.23% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)
Radios 1.12 million (1997) 49,000 (1997)
Railways total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed

narrow gauge:
84 km 1.067-m gauge
0 km
Religions Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
0.96 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.98 male(s)/female

total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service

domestic:
national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001)

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: small system


domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 17,000 (1997) 10,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 650 (1999) 0 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 2 (1999) NA (1997)
Terrain coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Total fertility rate 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) 5.13 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA%
Waterways 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping
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