2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-9420;
US--Ambassador Samuel E. LUPO; Embassy at 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue,
Conakry (mailing address is B. P. 603, Conakry); telephone 44-15-20 through 24
Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda
which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band
- Economy
Overview: Although possessing many natural resources and considerable
potential for agricultural development, Guinea is one of the poorest
countries in the world. The agricultural sector contributes about 40%
to GDP and employs more than 80% of the work force, while industry
accounts for about 25% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of the
world's bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for more
than 80% of total exports in 1986.
GDP: $2.5 billion, per capita $350; real growth rate 5.0%
(1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27.0% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $357 million; expenditures $480 million, including
capital expenditures of $229 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $553 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.);
commodities--alumina, bauxite, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas,
palm kernels;
partners--US 33%, EC 33%, USSR and Eastern Europe 20%, Canada
Imports: $509 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
foodstuffs, textiles and other grain;
partners--US 16%, France, Brazil
External debt: $1.6 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 113,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced,
40 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: bauxite mining, alumina, diamond mining, light
manufacturing and agricultural processing industries
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (includes fishing and forestry);
mostly subsistence farming; principal products--rice, coffee, pineapples, palm
kernels, cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, timber; livestock--cattle,
sheep and goats; not self-sufficient in food grains
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $203 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $882 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$446 million
Currency: Guinean franc (plural--francs);
1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1--505.00 (October 1988),
440.00 (January 1988), 440.00 (1987), 235.63 (1986), 22.47 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge
Highways: 30,100 km total; 1,145 km paved, 12,955 km gravel or laterite
(of which barely 4,500 km are currently all-weather roads), 16,000 km unimproved
earth (1987)
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports: Conakry, Kamsar
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 16 total, 16 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, small
radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 10,000 telephones;
stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 12,000 TV sets; 125,000 radio receivers;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army (ground forces), Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard),
Air Force, paramilitary National Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,657,787; 834,777 fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (1984)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Guinea-Bissau
- Geography
Total area: 36,120 km2; land area: 28,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of
Connecticut
Land boundaries: 724 km total; Guinea 386, Senegal 338 km
Coastline: 350 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered its
decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary (in favor
of Senegal)--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau
Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoon-type rainy
season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December
to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Natural resources: unexploited deposits of petroleum, bauxite,
phosphates; fish, timber
Land use: 11% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 43% meadows and
pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 7% other
Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during
dry season
- People
Population: 998,963 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 127 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 48 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Guinea-Bissauan(s); adjective--Guinea-Bissauan
Ethnic divisions: about 99% African (30% Balanta, 20% Fula, 14% Manjaca,
13% Mandinga, 7% Papel); less than 1% European and mulatto
Religion: 65% indigenous beliefs, 30% Muslim, 5% Christian
Language: Portuguese (official); Criolo and numerous African languages
Literacy: 34% (1986)
Labor force: 403,000 (est.); 90% agriculture, 5% industry,
services, and commerce, 5% government; 53% of population of working
age (1983)
Organized labor: only one trade union--the National Union of Workers of
Guinea-Bissau (UNTG)
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Type: republic; highly centralized one-party regime since September 1974
Capital: Bissau
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular--regiao);
Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara,
Tombali
Independence: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese
Guinea)
Constitution: 16 May 1984
Legal system: NA
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Executive branch: president of the Council of State, vice presidents
of the Council of State, Council of State, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia
Nacional Popular)
Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the Council
of Ministers
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President of the
Council of State Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14
November 1980 and elected President of Council of State on 16 May 1984);
First Vice President Col. Iafai CAMARA (since 7 November 1985); Second
Vice President Vasco CABRAL (since 21 June 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party--African Party for the
Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President
Joao Bernardo Vieira, leader; the party decided to retain the
binational title despite its formal break with Cape Verde
Suffrage: universal at age 15
Elections:
President of Council of State--last held 19 June 1989 (next
to be held 19 June 1994);
results--Brig. Gen. Joao Bernardo Vieira was reelected without
opposition by the National People's Assembly;
National People's Assembly--last held 15 June 1989 (next
to be held 15 June 1994);
results--PAIGC is the only party;
seats--(150 total) PAIGC 150, appointed by Regional Councils;
Regional Councils--last held 1 June 1989 (next to be held 1 June
1994); results--PAIGC is the only party;
seats--(473 total) PAIGC 473, by public plebiscite
Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto),
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, IRC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL; Chancery
(temporary) at the Guinea-Bissauan Permanent Mission to the UN, Suite 604,
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 661-3977;
US--Ambassador William L. JACOBSEN; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos,
Bissau (mailing address is C. P. 297, Bissau); telephone [245] 212816, 21817,
213674
Flag: 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; similar to the flag
of Cape Verde which has the black star raised above the center of the red band
and is framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell
- Economy
Overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world,
with a per capita GDP below $200. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic
activities, with cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels the primary exports.
Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak
infrastructure and the high cost of development. The government's four-year plan
(1988-91) has targeted agricultural development as the top priority.
GDP: $152 million, per capita $160 (1988); real growth rate
5.6% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $20 million; expenditures $25 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1987)
Exports: $15 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels;
partners--Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Cape Verde, China
Imports: $49 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods,
foods, petroleum;
partners--Portugal, USSR, EC countries, other Europe, Senegal, US
External debt: $465 million (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.7% (1986 est.)
Electricity: 22,000 kW capacity; 28 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: agricultural processing, beer, soft drinks
Agriculture: accounts for over 50% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports,
and 80% of employment; rice is the staple food; other crops include
corn, beans, cassava, cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, and cotton; not
self-sufficient in food; fishing and forestry potential not fully
exploited
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $46 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $519 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$68 million
Currency: Guinea-Bissauan peso (plural--pesos);
1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1--650 pesos
(December 1989), NA (1988), 851.65 (1987), 238.98 (1986), 173.61 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Highways: 3,218 km; 2,698 km bituminous, remainder earth
Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce
Ports: Bissau
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 37 total, 18 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor system of radio relay, open-wire lines,
and radiocommunications; 3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air
Force are separate components
Military manpower: males 15-49, 215,552; 122,824 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 3.2% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Guyana
- Geography
Total area: 214,970 km2; land area: 196,850 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries: 2,462 km total; Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km,
Venezuela 743 km
Coastline: 459 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Essequibo area claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area
between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters
of the Courantyne)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds;
two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)
Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber,
shrimp, fish
Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 83% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: flash floods a constant threat during rainy seasons;
water pollution
- People
Population: 764,649 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 19 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Guyanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Guyanese
Ethnic divisions: 51% East Indian, 43% black and mixed, 4% Amerindian, 2%
European and Chinese
Religion: 57% Christian, 33% Hindu, 9% Muslim, 1% other
Language: English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy: 85%
Labor force: 268,000; 44.5% industry and commerce, 33.8% agriculture,
21.7% services; public-sector employment amounts to 60-80% of the total labor
force (1985)
Organized labor: 34% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Type: republic
Capital: Georgetown
Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni,
Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara,
Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice,
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK; formerly British Guiana)
Constitution: 6 October 1980
Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of
Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Executive branch: executive president, first vice president,
prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Hugh Desmond HOYTE (since 6 August 1985);
First Vice President Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Hamilton GREEN (since 6 August 1985)
Political parties and leaders: People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh
Desmond Hoyte; People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi Jagan; Working People's
Alliance (WPA), Eusi Kwayana, Rupert Roopnarine, Moses Bhagwan; Democratic Labor
Movement (DLM), Paul Tennassee; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
Llewellyn John; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph Bacchus; United Force
(UF), Marcellus Feilden Singh; Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy (VLD,
also known as Liberator Party), Gunraj Kumar, J. K. Makepeace Richmond
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Executive President--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be
held late 1990); Hugh Desmond Hoyte was elected president (the leader
of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly
elections--PNC 78%);
National Assembly--last held on 9 December 1985 (next to be held
by 9 December 1990);
results--PNC 78%, PPP 16%, UF 4%, WPA 2%;
seats--(65 total, 53 elected) PNC 42, PPP 8, UF 2, WPA 1
Communists: 100 (est.) hardcore within PPP; top echelons of PPP and PYO
(Progressive Youth Organization, militant wing of the PPP) include many
Communists; small but unknown number of orthodox Marxist-Leninists within PNC,
some of whom formerly belonged to the PPP
Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC);
Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee
(CLAC); the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICJ, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Cedric Hilburn GRANT;
Chancery at 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-6900;
there is a Guyanese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Theresa A. TULL; Embassy at 31 Main Street, Georgetown;
telephone [592] (02) 54900 through 54909
Flag: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow black border between
the red and yellow, and a narrow white border between the yellow and the green
- Economy
Overview: After growing on average at less than 1% a year in 1984-87,
GDP dropped by 3% in 1988, the result of bad weather, labor trouble in the
canefields, and flooding and equipment problems in the bauxite industry.
Consumer prices rose about 35%, and the current account deficit widened
substantially as sugar and bauxite exports fell. Moreover, electric power
is in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in
national output. The government, in association with international financial
agencies, seeks to reduce its payment arrears and to raise new funds. The
government's stabilization program--aimed at establishing realistic
exchange rates, reasonable price stability, and a resumption of
growth--requires considerable public administrative abilities and
continued patience by consumers during a long incubation period.
GDP: $323 million, per capita $420; real growth rate - 3.0% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $173 million; expenditures $414 million, including
capital expenditures of $75 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $215 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.)
commodities--bauxite, sugar, rice, shrimp, gold, molasses, timber, rum;
partners--UK 37%, US 12%, Canada 10.6%, CARICOM 4.8% (1986)
Imports: $216 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.);
commodities--manufactures machinery, food, petroleum;
partners--CARICOM 41%, US 18%, UK 9%, Canada 3% (1984)
External debt: $1.8 billion, including arrears (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate - 5.0% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 221,000 kW capacity; 583 million kWh produced,
760 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: bauxite mining, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing (shrimp),
textiles, gold mining
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and over 50%
of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for
fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable
oils, and animal products
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $109 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $234 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $242 million
Currency: Guyanese dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1--33.0000 (January 1990),
27.159 (1989), 10.000 (1988), 9.756 (1987), 4.272 (1986), 4.252 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 187 km total, all single track 0.914-meter gauge
Highways: 7,665 km total; 550 km paved, 5,000 km gravel, 1,525 km earth,
590 km unimproved
Inland waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice,
Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km,
100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Ports: Georgetown
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
Airports: 66 total, 63 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system with radio relay network; over 27,000
telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, no TV,
1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Guyana Defense Force (including Maritime Corps and Air Corps),
Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia, Guyana National Service
Military manpower: males 15-49, 201,104; 152,958 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 4.3% of GDP, or $13.8 million (1988 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Haiti
- Geography
Total area: 27,750 km2; land area: 27,560 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundary: 275 km with the Dominican Republic
Coastline: 1,771 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources: bauxite
Land use: 20% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures;
4% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 3% irrigated
Environment: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to
severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes;
deforestation
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic
- People
Population: 6,142,141 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Haitian(s); adjective--Haitian
Ethnic divisions: 95% black, 5% mulatto and European
Religion: 75-80% Roman Catholic (of which an overwhelming majority also
practice Voodoo), 10% Protestant
Language: French (official) spoken by only 10% of population; all speak
Creole
Literacy: 23%
Labor force: 2,300,000; 66% agriculture, 25% services, 9% industry;
shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
Organized labor: NA
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Haiti
Type: republic
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements,
singular--departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est,
Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)
Constitution: 27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft
constitution approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles
reinstated March 1989
Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale) consisted of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or
House of Representatives, but was dissolved on 20 June 1988 after the
coup of 19 June 1988 (there was a subsequent coup on 18 September 1988);
after naming a civilian as provisional president on 13 March 1990, it
was announced that a Council of State was being formed
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Provisional President
Ertha PASCAL-TROUILLOT (since 13 March 1990)