Guinea-Bissau's mineral resources
Guinea-Bissau, a small West African nation bordered by Senegal and Guinea, possesses significant mineral resources, including bauxite, phosphate, and offshore oil. Despite these resources, they remain largely unexploited due to a challenging historical context marked by political instability and civil conflict, particularly since the country’s independence in 1974. The resulting economic difficulties have contributed to Guinea-Bissau being one of the poorest countries globally, with a per capita GDP of $2,400 in 2023.
The nation's labor force is predominantly engaged in agriculture, which limits economic diversification and increases vulnerability to global market fluctuations. Quality of life indicators reflect these challenges, with low adult literacy rates and a life expectancy of 64.5 years. Additionally, the country's lack of industrial capacity further exacerbates its economic situation, as most imports consist of food and petroleum products, creating a heavy reliance on external sources.
Efforts to develop the energy and water sectors have been initiated, yet the electricity generation capacity has not kept pace with demand, underscoring the need for significant infrastructure improvements. Overall, while Guinea-Bissau has valuable mineral resources, the potential benefits are hindered by systemic challenges and a lack of investment in development.
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Guinea-Bissau's mineral resources
Official Name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
Summary: The impoverished nation of Guinea-Bissau has mineral resources, including bauxite, phosphate, and offshore oil, but these are not being exploited.
Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa that shares borders with Senegal and Guinea with an area of 22,447 square miles (36,125 square kilometers) and a 217-mile (350-kilometer) coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. Economic and industrial development have been hampered by a history of political upheavals since the country became independent in 1974, including a civil war in 1998–99 that destroyed much of the country’s industrial capacity and infrastructure. The population, as of 2024 estimates, was 2,132,325, with 45.5 percent living in urban areas
Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $2,400 in 2023 (ranking 209th in the world). Most of the labor force is engaged in agriculture. As of the 2020s, Guinea-Bissau’s mineral resources, including bauxite, phosphate, and offshore oil, were not being exploited. Quality-of-life measures are very poor. For instance, adult literacy was only 52.9 percent in 2021 (completion of primary school was among the lowest rates in Africa), life expectancy at birth was 64.5 years in 2024 (207th in the world), and the infant mortality rate was 46.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016 (22nd in the world). The country has little industrial capacity, and in 2010 the World Bank’s Doing Business Report ranked Guinea-Bissau among the worst countries in the world (181st of 183 countries) in terms of conditions that favor entrepreneurial activity.
The country’s major exports are agricultural products (leaving the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in world market prices), including cashews, fish, shrimp, and sawn lumber. The major imports are food products and petroleum products. Guinea-Bissau has a heavy burden of debt, with $1.095 billion in external debt in 2010, and debt servicing consumed 20 percent of exports and 40 percent of public revenue in 2009.
Consumption of petroleum, entirely imported as refined products because Guinea-Bissau neither produces nor refines petroleum, has risen fairly steadily since the 1980s. In 1980, the country consumed 600 barrels of petroleum per day; in 1990, 1,841 barrels per day; in 2000, 2,297 barrels per day; and 2,000 barrels per day in 2022. Guinea-Bissau does not produce or consume coal or natural gas. Electricity generation has also risen fairly steadily since 1980. In 1980, 13 gigawatt hours of electricity were generated in Guinea-Bissau; by 2022, the nation had a generating capacity of 28,000 kilowatt (kWh) hours. Total electricity consumption was 78.87 million kWh.
In 2010, the World Bank awarded a $12.7 million grant to support development of the energy and water sectors in Guinea-Bissau, and in 2011 it approved an additional $2.2 million to enable purchase of a 5-megawatt thermal power generator. This was intended to address Guinea-Bissau’s structural deficit in electricity generation and distribution: The unrestricted demand for power has been estimated at more than eight times what is currently generated. The African Development Bank Group noted that Guinea-Bissau’s electrical generation capacity has actually declined since 2000, with the expected negative effects on private development and living conditions, and that the actual generation of electricity lags far behind the installed capacity.
There is an estimated 20 megawatts of private generating capacity installed by individual households using small generators, as well as by major consumers including hotels, international organizations, and embassies. Diesel generators are less efficient and costlier than large plants, and this provides another motivation for shifting the country’s energy production toward large plants operated by utility services.
Bibliography
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