Spratly Islands (2008) | Guinea-Bissau (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 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: 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 | - | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 27 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
Area | total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. | 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 | - | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | - | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical | 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 | 926 km | 350 km |
Constitution | - | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and in 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands |
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 |
Death rate | - | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands | 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 | - | $79.12 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. | 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, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to 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, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 55.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 60 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)
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 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 election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malam Bacai SANHA 47.6% |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | - | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 38 N, 111 55 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine enroute to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations thanks to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography around the capital facilitates drug smuggling |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | - | Portugal 18.8%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | - | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | - | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 103.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 93.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), 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 | 0 sq km | 250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | - | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
Languages | - | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | - | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | 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: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam | - |
Military branches | - | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | - | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; Guinea-Bissau Civic Forum/Social Democracy or FCGSD [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; Guinea-Bissau Democratic Party or PDG; Guinea-Bissau Socialist Democratic Party or PDSG [Serifo BALDE]; Labor and Solidarity Party or PST [Iancuba INDJAI]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP; Progress Party or PP [Ibrahima SOW]; Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD]; Union of Guinean Patriots or UPG [Francisca VAZ]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states |
1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 2.052% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Religions | - | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.995 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.924 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.703 male(s)/female total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity reached 7 per 100 in 2005 international: country code - 245 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 10,200 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 95,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | - | NA (2005) |
Terrain | flat | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | - | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
Waterways | - | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007) |