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Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - Guinea-Bissau (2004)

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z Guinea-Bissau (2004)

 Sierra Leone (2007)Guinea-Bissau (2004)
 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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)


15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)


15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334) (2004 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 10 (2007) 28 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
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: 9


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.)
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 The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. 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 VIERA'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 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 38.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $96 million


expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)
revenues: NA


expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital name: Freetown


geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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


local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone


local 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 - 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 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 16.57 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $1.61 billion (2003 est.) $941.5 million (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL


embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000


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; 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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA


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 as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 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 $343.4 million (2005 est.) $115.4 million (1995)
Economy - overview Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. 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. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004.
Electricity - consumption 227.9 million kWh (2005) 51.15 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 245 million kWh (2005) 55 million kWh (2001)
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 depleted natural resources; overfishing deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
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 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 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 - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)


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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007)


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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
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 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%


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 NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Exports - commodities diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) India 76.8%, Nigeria 12.1%, Italy 5.1% (2003)
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 - $1.063 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 49%


industry: 31%


services: 21% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7.1% (2006 est.) -7% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 30 N, 11 30 W 12 00 N, 15 00 W
Geography - note rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
Heliports 2 (2007) -
Highways - total: 4,400 km


paved: 453 km


unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
Imports NA bbl/day NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) Senegal 18.1%, India 14.6%, Portugal 14.6%, China 9.7%, Italy 9%, Spain 4.9% (2003)
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 diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Infant mortality rate total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 108.72 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1% (2002 est.) 4% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO 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
Irrigated land 300 sq km (2003) 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.) 480,000 (1999)
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: 7.95%


permanent crops: 1.05%


other: 91% (2005)
arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 8.82%


other: 80.51% (2001)
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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to April, then July, then September, and were last scheduled to occur in March 2004


elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)


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: 40.58 years


male: 38.36 years


female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)
total population: 46.98 years


male: 45.09 years


female: 48.92 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic


total population: 35.1%


male: 46.9%


female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 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: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4


foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)
none
Military branches Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $8.4 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.3% (2006) 2.8% (2003)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 185,801 (2004 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 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)
-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Political parties and leaders All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others 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 trade unions and student unions NA
Population 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) 1,388,363 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 70.2% (2004) NA
Population growth rate 2.292% (2007 est.) 1.99% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors - Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)
Religions Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female


total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.75 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service


domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema


international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
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 24,000 (2002) 10,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 113,200 (2003) 1,300 (2003)
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 (2007 est.) 5 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% NA (1998)
Waterways 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004)
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