Republic of Guinea-Bissau

National name: Républica da Guiné-Bissau

President: João Bernardo Vieira (2005)

Prime Minister: Aristides Gomes (2005)

Land area: 10,811 sq mi (28,000 sq km); total area: 13,946 sq mi (36,120 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 1,442,029 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 37.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 105.2/1000; life expectancy: 46.9; density per sq mi: 133

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Bissau, 296,900

Monetary unit: CFA Franc

Languages: Portuguese (official), Criolo, African languages

Ethnicity/race: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Islam 45%, Christian 5%

Literacy rate: 42% (2002 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $1.103 billion; per capita $800. Real growth rate: 2.8%. Inflation: 4% (2002 est.). Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 11%. Agriculture: rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish. Labor force: 480,000 (1999); agriculture 82%, industry and services 18% (2000 est.). Industries: agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks. Natural resources: fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum. Exports: $116 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber. Imports: $176 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products. Major trading partners: India, U.S., Nigeria, Senegal, Portugal, China (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 10,600 (2003); mobile cellular: 1,300 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002). Television broadcast stations: n.a. (1997). Internet hosts: 2 (2004). Internet users: 19,000 (2003).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 4,400 km; paved: 453 km; unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004). Ports and harbors: Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim. Airports: 28 (2004 est.).

International disputes:attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region.


 

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