Bissau

CAPITAL CITY OF Guinea-Bissau: Bissau
LANGUAGE OF Guinea-Bissau: Portuguese
CURRENCY OF Guinea-Bissau: Africaine franc
COMMENTS ABOUT Guinea-Bissau:
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in western Africa
Cities : Bissau (capital), Bolama, Bubaque, Gabu, Bafata, Farim, Casheu
Best Places :Bijagos Islands
Time Zone : UTC
Calling Code : +245
Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIERA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war.
CLIMATE OF Guinea-Bissau: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
RELIGION OF Guinea-Bissau: Indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
POPULATION OF Guinea-Bissau: 1,388,363 (July 2004 est.)>>>
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Guinea-Bissau: One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. 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. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004.