"text":"<p>For much of its history, Guinea-Bissau was under the control of the Mali Empire and the Kaabu Kingdom. In the 16th century, Portugal began establishing trading posts along Guinea-Bissau’s shoreline. Initially, the Portuguese were restricted to the coastline and islands. However, the slave and gold trades were lucrative to local African leaders, and the Portuguese were slowly able to expand their power and influence inland. Starting in the 18th century, the Mali Empire and Kingdom of Kaabu slowly disintegrated into smaller local entities. By the 19th century, Portugal had fully incorporated Guinea-Bissau into its empire.<br><br>Since gaining independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established General Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. VIEIRA's regime suppressed political opposition and purged political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him, but a military mutiny and civil war in 1999 led to VIEIRA's ouster. In 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA. In 2003, a bloodless military coup overthrew YALA and installed businessman Henrique ROSA as interim president. In 2005, VIEIRA was reelected, pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation; he was assassinated in 2009. Malam Bacai SANHA was then elected president, but he passed away in 2012 from a long-term illness. A military coup blocked the second round of the election to replace him, but after mediation from the Economic Community of Western African States, a civilian transitional government assumed power. In 2014, Jose Mario VAZ was elected president in a free and fair election, and in 2019, he became the first president in Guinea-Bissau’s history to complete a full term. Umaro Sissoco EMBALO was elected president in 2019, but he did not take office until 2020 because of a prolonged challenge to the election results.</p>"
"text":"tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east; numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets"
"text":"approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map"
"text":"<p>Guinea-Bissau’s young and growing population is sustained by high fertility; approximately 60% of the population is under the age of 25 as of 2020. Its large reproductive-age population and total fertility rate of more than 4 children per woman offsets the country’s high infant and maternal mortality rates. The latter is among the world’s highest because of the prevalence of early childbearing, a lack of birth spacing, the high percentage of births outside of health care facilities, and a shortage of medicines and supplies.</p> <p>Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. With the country lacking educational infrastructure, school funding and materials, and qualified teachers, and with the cultural emphasis placed on religious education, parents frequently send boys to study in residential Koranic schools (daaras) in Senegal and The Gambia. They often are extremely deprived and are forced into street begging or agricultural work by marabouts (Muslim religious teachers), who enrich themselves at the expense of the children. Boys who leave their marabouts often end up on the streets of Dakar or other large Senegalese towns and are vulnerable to even worse abuse.</p> <p>Some young men lacking in education and job prospects become involved in the flourishing international drug trade. Local drug use and associated violent crime are growing.</p>"
"text":"approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map"
"text":"deforestation (rampant felling of trees for timber and agricultural purposes); soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds"
"text":"the country is named after the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel; \"Bissau,\" the name of the capital city, distinguishes the country from neighboring Guinea"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"semi-presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Bissau"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"11 51 N, 15 35 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"mixed legal system of civil law, which incorporated Portuguese law at independence and influenced by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), African Francophone Public Law, and customary law"
"text":"promulgated 16 May 1984; note - constitution suspended following military coup April 2012, restored 2014; note - in May 2020, President EMBALO established a commission to draft a revised constitution"
"text":"proposed by the National People’s Assembly if supported by at least one third of its members, by the Council of State (a presidential consultant body), or by the government; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; constitutional articles on the republican and secular form of government and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended 1991, 1993, 1996"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for up to 2 consecutive 5-year terms; election last held on 24 November 2019 with a runoff on 29 December 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the National People's Assembly; note - the president cannot apply for a third consecutive term; note - President EMBALO was declared winner of the 29 December 2019 runoff presidential election by the electoral commission; in late February 2020, EMBALO inaugurated himself with only military leadership present, even though the Supreme Court of Justice had yet to rule on an electoral litigation appeal lodged by his political rival Domingos Simoes PEREIRA"
"text":"<em><br>2019:</em> Umaro Sissoco EMBALO elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Domingos Simoes PEREIRA (PAIGC) 40.1%, Umaro Sissoco EMBALO (Madem G15) 27.7%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM (APU-PDGB) 13.2%, Jose Mario VAZ (independent) 12.4%, other 6.6%; percent of vote in second round - Umaro Sissoco EMBALO 53.6%, Domingos Simoes PEREIRA 46.5%<br><br><em>2014:</em> Jose Mario VAZ elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Jose Mario VAZ (PAIGC) 41%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM (independent) 25.1%, other 33.9%; percent of vote in second round - Jose Mario VAZ 61.9%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM 38.1% (2019)"
"text":"Inclusive Alliance Platform/Terra Coalition (54); Movement for Democratic Alternation (MADEM G.15) (29); Party for Social Renewal (PRS) (12); Bissau-Guinean Workers’ Party (6); Other (1)"
"text":"Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 9 judges and organized into Civil, Criminal, and Social and Administrative Disputes Chambers); note - the Supreme Court has both appellate and constitutional jurisdiction"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"judges nominated by the Higher Council of the Magistrate, a major government organ responsible for judge appointments, dismissals, and judiciary discipline; judges appointed by the president for life"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Appeals Court; regional (first instance) courts; military court"
"text":"African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde or PAIGC<br>Democratic Convergence Party or PCD<br>Movement for Democratic Alternation Group of 15 or MADEM-G15<br>National People’s Assembly – Democratic Party of Guinea Bissau or APU-PDGB<br>New Democracy Party or PND<br>Party for Social Renewal or PRS<br>Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID<br>Union for Change or UM"
"text":"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; yellow symbolizes the sun; green denotes hope; red represents blood shed during the struggle for independence; the black star stands for African unity",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1974; a delegation from then Portuguese Guinea visited China in 1963 and heard music by XIAO He; Amilcar Lopes CABRAL, the leader of Guinea-Bissau's independence movement, asked the composer to create a piece that would inspire his people to struggle for independence"
"text":"extremely poor West African economy; ethnically diverse labor force; increasing government expenditures; slight inflation due to food supply disruptions; major cashew exporter; systemic banking instabilities and corruption; vulnerable to oil price shocks"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"small system including a combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and mobile cellular communications; 2 mobile network operators; one of the poorest countries in the world and this is reflected in the country's telecommunications development; radio is the most important source of information for the public (2020)"
"text":"1 state-owned TV station, Televisao da Guine-Bissau (TGB) and a second station, Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP) Africa, is operated by Portuguese public broadcaster (RTP); 1 state-owned radio station, several private radio stations, and some community radio stations; multiple international broadcasters are available (2019)"
"text":"1,367 km (2022) major rivers Geba- 550km, Corubal 560 km, Cacheu 257 km (rivers are partially navigable; many inlets and creeks provide shallow-water access to much of interior)"
"text":"People's Revolutionary Armed Force (Forcas Armadas Revolucionarias do Povo or FARP): Army, Navy, Air Force<br><br>Ministry of Internal Administration: National Guard (a gendarmerie force), Public Order Police, Border Police, Rapid Intervention Police, Maritime Police (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the Public Order Police is responsible for maintaining law and order, while the Judicial Police, under the Ministry of Justice, has primary responsibility for investigating drug trafficking, terrorism, and other transnational crimes"
"text":"18-25 years of age for selective compulsory military service for men and women (Air Force service is voluntary); 16 years of age or younger, with parental consent, for voluntary service (2023)"
"text":"the FARP is focused on external security, but also has some internal security duties, and it has been influential in the country’s politics since independence was gained in 1974, having staged at least nine coup attempts as well as several mutinies; FARP members were suspected of coup plotting as recently as 2021, and it put down an attempted coup in 2022, while the National Guard attempted a coup in December 2023; since the 2000s, the FARP has undergone various attempts at defense and security sector reforms under the auspices of the African Union, the EU, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), and the UN<br><br>from 2012-2020, ECOWAS deployed a security force to Guinea-Bissau to manage the post-coup transition, including protecting key political figures and public buildings, restoring civil institutions, and re-establishing the rule of law; at the height of the deployment, the force, known as the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB), deployed nearly 700 military and police personnel from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Senegal; as of 2024, ECOMIB remained in Guinea-Bissau (2024)"
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List — The Government of Guinea-Bissau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, therefore Guinea-Bissau was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/guinea-bissau/"
"text":"important transit country for South American cocaine en route to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations due to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography near the capital facilitates drug smuggling"
