chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 986-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Koloma, Conakry, east of Hamdallaye Circle
mailing address: B. P. 603, Transversale No. 2, Centre Administratif
de Koloma, Commune de Ratoma, Conakry
telephone: [224] 65-10-40-00
FAX: [224] 65-10-42-97
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green;
red represents the people's sacrifice for liberation and work;
yellow stands for the sun, for the riches of the earth, and for
justice; green symbolizes the country's vegetation and unity
note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors
from left to right are the reverse of those on the flags of
neighboring Mali and Senegal
National anthem:
name: "Liberte" (Liberty)
lyrics/music: unknown/Fodeba KEITA
note: adopted 1958
Economy ::Guinea
Economy - overview:
Guinea is a poor country that possesses major mineral, hydropower,
and agricultural resources. The country has almost half of the
world's bauxite reserves. The mining sector accounts for more than
70% of exports. Long-run improvements in the management of the
economy, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country
is to move out of poverty. Investor confidence has been sapped by
rampant corruption, a lack of electricity and other infrastructure,
a lack of skilled workers, and the political uncertainty resulting
from the death of President Lansana CONTE in December 2008.
International donors, including the G-8, the IMF, and the World
Bank, cut their development programming significantly in response to
the coup, and international partners have said that a resumption of
aid will be contingent on a successful democratic transition with a
democratically elected president and a functioning National
Assembly. Growth rose slightly in 2006-08, primarily due to
increases in global demand and commodity prices on world markets,
but bauxite and alumina exports were negatively affected by the
global economic downturn and the economy in 2009 contracted.
International investors expressed renewed interest in Guinea's iron
ore mines in 2010.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$10.6 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
$10.3 billion (2009 est.)
$10.67 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$4.344 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
-3.5% (2009 est.)
4.7% (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 213
$1,000 (2009 est.)
$1,100 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 25.8%
industry: 45.7%
services: 28.5% (2010 est.)
Labor force:
4.392 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 76%
industry and services: 24% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA% est.)
Population below poverty line:
47% (2006 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 41% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
38.1 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 73
40.3 (1994)
Investment (gross fixed):
14.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
9% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 7
22.25% (31 December 2005)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
Stock of narrow money:
$496.2 million (31 December 2010 est)
country comparison to the world: 158
$459.7 million (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of broad money:
$830 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
$761.9 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$734.4 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
$674.2 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Agriculture - products:
rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas,
sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber
Industries:
bauxite, gold, diamonds, iron; alumina refining; light
manufacturing, and agricultural processing
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
Electricity - production:
850 million kWh
country comparison to the world: 148
note: excludes electricity generated at interior mining sites (2007
est.)
Electricity - consumption:
790.5 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190
Oil - consumption:
9,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 151
Oil - imports:
8,674 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 174
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
Current account balance:
-$434 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
-$538 million (2009 est.)
Exports:
$1.468 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
$1.18 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products
Exports - partners:
India 19.68%, Spain 13.18%, Russia 7.24%, Germany 6.86%, Ireland
5.87%, US 5.71%, Ukraine 5.6% (2009)
Imports:
$1.551 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
$1.236 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
textiles, grain and other foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
China 8.67%, Netherlands 6.67%, France 4.33%, UK 4.22% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$NA (31 December 2010 est.)
$51 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$3.072 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
$3.222 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
Guinean francs (GNF) per US dollar - 6,100 (2010), 5,500 (2009),
5,500 (2008), 4,122.8 (2007), 5,350 (2006)
Communications ::Guinea
Telephones - main lines in use:
22,000 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 190
Telephones - mobile cellular:
5.607 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 90
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate system of open-wire lines, small
radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay
system
domestic: Conakry reasonably well served; coverage elsewhere remains
inadequate and large companies tend to rely on their own systems for
nationwide links; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100
persons; mobile-cellular subscribership is expanding and exceeded 50
per 100 persons in 2009
international: country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Broadcast media:
government maintains control over broadcast media; single state-run
TV station; state-run radio broadcast station also operates several
stations in rural areas; about 20 privately-owned radio stations,
nearly all in Conakry, and about a dozen community radio stations;
foreign television programming available via satellite and cable
subscription services (2008)
Internet country code:
.gn
Internet hosts:
14 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 220
Internet users:
95,000 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 161
Transportation ::Guinea
Airports:
16 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 142
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2010)
Railways:
total: 1,185 km
country comparison to the world: 87
standard gauge: 238 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 947 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 44,348 km
country comparison to the world: 84
paved: 4,342 km
unpaved: 40,006 km (2003)
Waterways:
1,300 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2008)
country comparison to the world: 57
Ports and terminals:
Conakry, Kamsar
Military ::Guinea
Military branches:
National Armed Forces: Army, Navy (Armee de Mer or Marine Guineenne,
includes Marines), Guinean Air Force (Force Aerienne de Guinee)
(2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18-25 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service;
18-month conscript service obligation (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,292,338
females age 16-49: 2,264,589 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,443,655
females age 16-49: 1,483,676 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 114,353
female: 111,873 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.1% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 127
Transnational Issues ::Guinea
Disputes - international:
conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in
neighboring states have spilled over into Guinea resulting in
domestic instability; Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of
the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the
Makona and Moa rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continued
occupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied
since 1998
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 21,856 (Liberia); 5,259 (Sierra
Leone); 3,900 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 19,000 (cross-border incursions from Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia,
Sierra Leone) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Guinea is a source, transit, and destination
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and sexual exploitation; the majority of victims are
children, and internal trafficking is more prevalent than
transnational trafficking; within the country, girls are trafficked
primarily for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, while boys
are trafficked for forced agricultural labor, and as forced beggars,
street vendors, shoe shiners, and laborers in gold and diamond
mines; some Guinean men are also trafficked for agricultural labor
within Guinea; transnationally, girls are trafficked into Guinea for
domestic servitude and likely also for sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to
eliminate trafficking over 2006; Guinea demonstrated minimal law
enforcement efforts for a second year in a row, while protection
efforts diminished over efforts in 2006; the government did not
report any trafficking convictions in 2007; due to a lack of
resources, the government does not provide shelter services for
trafficking victims; the government took no measures to reduce the
demand for commercial sexual exploitation (2008)
page last updated on January 12, 2011
======================================================================
@Guinea-Bissau (Africa)
Introduction ::Guinea-Bissau
Background:
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; he was
assassinated in March 2009. Malam Bacai SANHA was elected in an
emergency election held in June 2009.
Geography ::Guinea-Bissau
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea
and Senegal
Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 36,125 sq km
country comparison to the world: 137
land: 28,120 sq km
water: 8,005 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Coastline:
350 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
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:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country
300 m
Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone,
unexploited deposits of petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92%
other: 84.77% (2005)
Irrigated land:
250 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
31 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.18 cu km/yr (13%/5%/82%)
per capita: 113 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry
season; brush fires
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying
inland
People ::Guinea-Bissau
Population:
1,565,126 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.8% (male 312,253/female 313,609)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 414,924/female 445,639)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 19,191/female 28,348) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 19.4 years
male: 18.8 years
female: 19.9 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.004% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56
Birth rate:
35.56 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
Death rate:
15.52 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
Urbanization:
urban population: 30% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 98.05 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 8
male: 108.03 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 48.3 years
country comparison to the world: 216
male: 46.44 years
female: 50.22 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.58 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.8% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
16,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,100 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean
Ethnic groups:
African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga
13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Religions:
Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 10%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4%
male: 58.1%
female: 27.4% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
male: 8 years
female: 5 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
5.2% of GDP (1999)
country comparison to the world: 59
Government ::Guinea-Bissau
Country name:
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
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau,
Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have
been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Independence:
24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Constitution:
16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993,
9 June 1993, and in 1996
Legal system:
based on French civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Malam Bacai SANHA (since 8 September 2009)
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 25
December 2008)
cabinet: NA
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(no term limits); election last held on 28 June 2009 with a runoff
between the two leading candidates held on 26 July 2009 (next to be
held by 2014); prime minister appointed by the president after
consultation with party leaders in the legislature
election results: Malam Bacai SANHA elected president; percent of
vote, second ballot - Malam Bacai SANHA 63.5%, Kumba YALA 36.5%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular
(100 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 16 November 2008 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 49.8%, PRS 25.3%,
PRID 7.5%, PND 2.4%, AD 1.4%, other parties 13.6%; seats by party -
PAIGC 67, PRS 28, PRID 3, PND 1, AD 1
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 more than
$1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained
lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less than $1,000 and
misdemeanor criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders:
African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde
or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Democratic Alliance or AD [Victor
MANDINGA]; Democratic Social Front or FDS [Rafael BARBOSA];
Electoral Union or UE [Joaquim BALDE]; 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 [Lancuba INDJAI]; New Democracy Party or PND; Party for
Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Party for Renewal
and Progress or PRP; Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Kumba YALA];
Progress Party or PP; Republican Party for Independence and
Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES]; Union of Guinean Patriots or
UPG [Francisca VAZ]; Union for Change or UM [Amine SAAD]; United
Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB);
United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or
PUSD [Frnacisco FADUL]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official
representation in Washington, DC
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
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; yellow symbolizes the sun; green denotes
hope; red represents blood shed during the struggle for
independence; the black star stands for African unity
note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the flag
design was heavily influenced by the Ghanian flag
National anthem:
name: "Esta e a Nossa Patria Bem Amada" (This Is Our Beloved Country)
lyrics/music: Amilcar Lopes CABRAL/XIAO He
note: adopted 1974; a delegation from Portuguese Guinea visited
China in 1963 and heard music by XIAO He; Amilcar Lopes CABRA, the
leader of Guinea-Bissa"s independence movement, asked the composer
to create a piece that would inspire his people to struggle for
independence
Economy ::Guinea-Bissau
Economy - overview:
One of the poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau's legal
economy depends mainly on farming and fishing, but trafficking
narcotics is probably the most lucrative trade. Cashew crops have
increased remarkably in recent years. 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. 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. The combination of limited economic prospects, a
weak and faction-ridden government, and favorable geography have
made this West African country a way station for drugs bound for
Europe.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.769 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
$1.738 billion (2009 est.)
$1.687 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):