Guinea-Bissau

Full name of country: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Region: Africa

Official language: Portuguese

Population: 2,132,325 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Bissau-Guinean(s) (noun), Bissau-Guinean (adjective)

Land area: 28,120 sq km (10,857 sq miles)

Water area: 8,005 sq km (3,091 sq miles)

Capital: Bissau

National anthem: "Esta e a Nossa Patria Bem Amada" (This Is Our Beloved Country), by Amilcar Lopes Cabral/Xiao He

National holiday: Independence Day, September 24 (1973)

Population growth: 2.54% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC+0

Flag: The flag of Guinea-Bissau features a red vertical stripe on the hoist side with two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green (bottom) to the left of the red stripe. There is a black, five-pointed star in the center of the red stripe which symbolizes the unity of Africa. The red represents blood and the fight for independence. The green symbolizes hope and yellow, the sun.

Independence: September 24, 1973 (declared); September 10, 1974 (from Portugal)

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law (influenced by the early French Civil Code) and customary law

Guinea-Bissau is a small country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, by Guinea to the east and south, and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Formerly known as Portuguese Guinea, Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography. 

The country has undergone significant political upheavals since independence. The country's first president, Luis Cabral, was overthrown in a military coup d'état in 1980. In 1994, the leader of the coup, João Vieira, who had led the country more or less since that time, was elected president in Guinea-Bissau's first free elections. In 1998, an attempted coup led to the outbreak of civil war that saw hundreds of thousands of Bissau-Guineans displaced. Vieira was ousted in 1999, and free elections were held in 2000.

Another coup in 2003 and a mutiny of military factions in 2004 led to widespread unrest across Guinea-Bissau. Elections were held in 2005, and Vieira was again chosen as the country's president; however, he was assassinated by renegade soldiers in March 2009. Presidential elections were held in July 2009, with Malam Bacai Sanhá winning in a runoff election. After Sanhá died in office due to health complications in January 2012, soldiers overthrew the government of interim president Raimundo Pereira in May. A transitional government was established, but scheduled elections were repeatedly postponed until 2014, and political disputes continued to undermine effective governance. This included failing to appoint a consensus prime minister until 2018 and issues with keeping the legislature open. The 2019 presidential election, which ended with a runoff round of voting, was also highly contested.

Once a model for economic development in West Africa, political instability and government mismanagement have made Guinea-Bissau one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of gross domestic product per capita. The country's economy depends on exports of cashew nuts, fish, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, and lumber. Drug trafficking through Guinea-Bissau between South America and Europe is a notable transnational issue.

Topography

Roughly the same size as the US state of Maryland, Guinea-Bissau's climate is hot, humid, and predominantly tropical. A season of heavy rain occurs each year from June to November, followed by a dry season from December to May that is characterized by a hot, dry wind that blows from the Sahara in the northeast. The country is predominantly flat, with the highest elevation at 300 meters above sea level. The low coastal plain in the west rises slowly to savanna in the east. A coastline of 350 kilometers is predominated by the Bissagos Islands, which represent the country's richest area for biodiversity, and by the estuaries of several major rivers, such as the Geba, Mansôa, and Cacine.

Cultural Sites & Landmarks

Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, is home to several important landmarks, including the Fortaleza de São José da Amura, a fortress built by the Portuguese in the eighteenth century that contains the mausoleum of independence leader Amílcar Cabral. Bissau is also home to the Guinea-Bissau National Arts Institute, which features local artwork. The National Ethnographic Museum houses an extensive collection of Bissau-Guinean wooden masks, statues, baskets, textiles, and other crafts.

The city of Gabú, located in the eastern part of the country, is the site of a bustling street market, where locally made crafts and fresh fruits are sold. The city of Bafatá, in the center of the country, is characterized by its beautiful but worn colonial-era Portuguese architecture.

Wildlife reserves and national parks include the Orango Islands National Park, the João Vieira e Poilao Marine National Park, the Cantanhez Forest National Park, and the Cufada Lagoons Natural Park. The Orango Islands National Park, located on the Bissagos Islands, is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including a rare saltwater species of hippopotamus, as well as turtles, sharks, and manatees. The Cufada Lagoons Natural Park is located further inland and is home to a large chimpanzee population. The Cantanhez Forest National Park is located in the southwestern part of the country, along the border with Guinea. This park covers river floodplains, mangrove forests, and the banks of the Cacine River and is home to a variety of bird species. Guinea-Bissau is also known for its undeveloped coastlines and beaches, such as Varela, which is located in the northwestern Cacheu region.

Government Structure

Guinea-Bissau is a republic. Suffrage is universal at the age of eighteen. Guinea-Bissau is divided into eight regions, in addition to the autonomous sector of Bissau.

The country's chief of state is a president, who is elected by popular vote to serve a five-year term, with no term limits. Due to military coups and political instability, no Bissau-Guinean president had served the full five-year term since independence until the administration of José Mário Vaz, which lasted from 2014 to 2020. The head of government is a prime minister, who is appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature. The legislative branch consists of the unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular); one hundred legislators are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.

Fascinating Facts

• According to 2020 estimates, approximately 46.1 percent of Bissau-Guineans are Muslim, 18.9 percent are Christian, 30.6 percent hold indigenous animist beliefs, and 4.4 percent do not specify their religious beliefs.
• The country's official language, Portuguese, is typically a second or third language for most Bissau-Guineans. The most commonly spoken language is Crioulo, a Portuguese-based creole language. Many citizens speak African languages such as Balanta-Kentohe, Pulaar, Mandjak, Mandinka, Bijago, and Pepel.

Bibliography

Boubacar-Sid, Barry. Conflict, Livelihoods, and Poverty in Guinea-Bissau. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007. Print.

Embaló, Birgit. "Civil-Military Relations and Political Order in Guinea-Bissau." Journal of Modern African Studies 50.2 (2012): 253–81. Print.

Fistein, David. "Guinea-Bissau: How a Successful Social Revolution Can Become an Obstacle to Subsequent State-Building." International Journal of African Historical Studies 44.3 (2011): 443–55. Print.

"Guinea-Bissau." The World Factbook, US Central Intelligence Agency, 15 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guinea-bissau/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

Kohl, Christoph. "Diverse Unity: Creole Contributions to Interethnic Integration in Guinea-Bissau." Nations and Nationalism 18.4 (2012): 643–62. Print.

Lundy, Brandon D. "Playing the Market: How the Cashew 'Commodityscape' Is Redefining Guinea-Bissau's Countryside." Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment 34.1 (2012): 33–52. Print.

Mendy, Peter Karibe, and Richard A. Lobban Jr. Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. 4th ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2013. Print.

Temudo, Marina Padrão, and Manuel Bivar Abrantes. "Changing Policies, Shifting Livelihoods: The Fate of Agriculture in Guinea-Bissau." Journal of Agrarian Change 13.4 (2013): 571–89. Print.