Vanuatu (2002) | Guinea-Bissau (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba | 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: 35.6% (male 35,681; female 34,164)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 61,384; female 58,473) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 3,473; female 3,003) (2002 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 | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 31 (2001) | 27 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
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 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 27
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2002) |
total: 24
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
Area | total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Connecticut | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | The British and French who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. | 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 | 24.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $94.4 million
expenditures: $99.8 million, including capital expenditures of $30.4 million |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Port-Vila | 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; moderated by southeast trade winds | 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 | 2,528 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 30 July 1980 | 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 Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
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 | vatu (VUV) | - |
Death rate | 8.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $64.6 million (1999 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu | 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 | Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN | chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France | 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 | $45.8 million (1995) | $79.12 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. A severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami, caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left thousands homeless. Another powerful earthquake in January 2002 caused extensive damage in the capital, Port-Vila, and surrounding areas, and also was followed by a tsunami. GDP growth has risen less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. | 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 | 36.27 million kWh (2000) | 55.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 39 million kWh (2000) | 60 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | a majority of the population does not have access to a potable and reliable supply of water; deforestation | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
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 | indigenous Melanesian 98%, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, other Pacific Islanders | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | vatu per US dollar - 146.02 (December 2001), 145.31 (2001), 137.64 (2000), 129.08 (1999), 127.52 (1998), 115.87 (1997) | 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 Father John BANI (since 25 March 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Edward NATAPEI (since 16 April 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Serge VOHOR (since 16 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a four-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils for a five-year term; election for president last held 25 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 2 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Father John BANI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA%; Edward NATAPEI reelected prime minister by Parliament note: the government of Prime Minister Barak SOPE was ousted in a no confidence vote on 14 April 2001 and Edward NATAPEI was elected the new prime minister by Parliament |
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 | $22.8 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra, kava, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Japan 32%, Belgium 17%, US 17%, Germany 8% (2000) | India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow | 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 - $257 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 26%
industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 S, 167 00 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1996) |
- |
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 | $87.5 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Australia 28%, Singapore 14%, New Zealand 8%, Japan 4%, US 1% (2000) | Portugal 18.8%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) | 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | 59.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, 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, 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) | 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 | NA | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (2000 est.) | 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: 2.46%
permanent crops: 7.38% other: 90.16% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
Languages | three official languages: English, French, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama), plus more than 100 local languages | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems | based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 15, VP 14, VRP 3, MPP 2, other and independent 18; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom and land |
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: 61.33 years
male: 59.93 years female: 62.8 years (2002 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: 53% male: 57% female: 48% (1979 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,092,838 GRT/1,329,576 DWT
ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, container 2, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 7, vehicle carrier 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 3, Canada 2, China 1, Japan 25, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, New Zealand 5, Panama 1, Poland 1, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 4, US 2, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF; including the paramilitary Mobile Force or VMF) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 July (1980) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | manganese, hardwood forests, fish | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [Dinh Van THAN]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] | 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 | NA |
Population | 196,178 (July 2002 est.) | 1,472,780 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.66% (2002 est.) | 2.052% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 67,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% (including Jon Frum Cargo cult) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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 | 5,500 (1998) | 10,200 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 310 (2000) | 95,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | NA (2005) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.08 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007) |