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Compare West Bank (2008) - Guinea-Bissau (2008)

Compare West Bank (2008) z Guinea-Bissau (2008)

 West Bank (2008)Guinea-Bissau (2008)
 West BankGuinea-Bissau
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: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)


15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382)


65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 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 olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Airports 3 (2007) 27 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 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: 24


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 19 (2007)
Area total: 5,860 sq km


land: 5,640 sq km


water: 220 sq km


note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
total: 36,120 sq km


land: 28,000 sq km


water: 8,120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Delaware slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Background The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008. 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 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 36.81 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.149 billion


expenditures: $2.31 billion


note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)
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 temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters 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 0 km (landlocked) 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: West Bank
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 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 16.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $NA $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 West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region 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 $1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) $79.12 million (2005)
Economy - overview The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance. 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 NA kWh 55.8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports NA kWh 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants 60 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m
Environment - current issues adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment 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 Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Exchange rates new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003) 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 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 $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) India 76.1%, Nigeria 18.1%, Italy 1.4% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar 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: 8%


industry: 13%


services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) 3.7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 32 00 N, 35 15 E 12 00 N, 15 00 W
Geography - note landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
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 $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 2,463 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities food, consumer goods, construction materials foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) Portugal 18.7%, Senegal 16.3%, Italy 13%, Pakistan 4.5% (2006)
Independence - 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 4.7% (2003 est.)
Industries generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Infant mortality rate total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) 3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006) 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, 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 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) 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 605,000 (2006) 480,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 18%


industry: 15%


services: 67% (2006)
agriculture: 82%


industry and services: 18% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Land use arable land: 16.9%


permanent crops: 18.97%


other: 64.13% (2001)
arable land: 8.31%


permanent crops: 6.92%


other: 84.77% (2005)
Languages Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) 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: 73.46 years


male: 71.68 years


female: 75.35 years (2007 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: 92.4%


male: 96.7%


female: 88% (2004 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 est.)
Location Middle East, west of Jordan Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Map references Middle East Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Military branches - People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary force
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA 3.1% (2005 est.)
National holiday - Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Nationality noun: NA


adjective: NA
noun: Guinean(s)


adjective: Guinean
Natural hazards droughts hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Natural resources arable land fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Net migration rate 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 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 2,535,927


note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
1,472,780 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 46% (2007 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.985% (2007 est.) 2.052% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008) AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2001)
Religions Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female


total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 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
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services


international: country code - 970 (2004)
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 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 10,200 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) 95,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 30 (2008) NA (2005)
Terrain mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Total fertility rate 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) 4.79 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 18.6% (2006) NA%
Waterways - rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2007)
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