TOTAL AREA: 36,120 sq km (13,929 sq mi); LAND AREA: 28,000 sq km (10,797 sq mi)
COMPARATIVE AREA: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
LAND BOUNDARIES: 724 km (450 mi) total; Guinea 386 km (240 mi), Senegal 338 km (210 mi)
COASTLINE: 350 km (217 mi)
MARITIME CLAIMS:
EXTENDED ECONOMIC ZONE: 200 nm
TERRITORIAL SEA: 12 nm
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: 9% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 46% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 6% other
ENVIRONMENT: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season
INDEPENDENCE: 24 September 1973 (from Portugal; formerly Portuguese Guinea)
CONSTITUTION: 16 May 1984
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
BRANCHES: president and Cabinet; 150-member National Popular Assembly, overseen by 15-member Council of State
CHIEFS 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)
SUFFRAGE: universal over age 15
ELECTIONS: legislative elections held March 1984; legislature elected Vieira to serve a five-year term as President on 16 May 1984, and it relected him again for a further five-year term on 19 June 1989
POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), led by President Vieira, only legal party; Guinea-Bissau decided to retain the binational party title despite its formal break with Cape Verde
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
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador John Dale BLACKEN; Embassy at 17 Avenida Domingos Ramos, Bissau (mailing address is C. P. 297, Bissau); telephone
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 OF GUINEA-BISSAU
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 peanuts the primary export. 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: $168 million (1986), per capita $170; real growth rate - 0.6% (1986 est.)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 17% (1988)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: NA%
BUDGET: revenues $60 million; expenditures $93 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1986)
EXPORTS: $16.5 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities-- cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels; partners-- Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Cape Verde, China
IMPORTS: $48.8 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities-- capital equipment, consumer goods, semiprocessed goods, foods, petroleum; partners-- Portugal, USSR, EC countries, other Europe, Senegal, US
HIGHWAYS: 3,218 km (1,998 mi) (418 km bituminous, remainder earth)
INLAND WATERWAYS: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce
PORTS: Bissau
CIVIL AIR: 2 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 48 total, 32 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: adequate system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and radiocommunication stations; provincial capitals connected by radio relay; 3,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; scheduled to receive satellite system
.DEFENSE FORCES OF GUINEA-BISSAU
BRANCHES: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP); Army, Navy, and Air Force are separate components
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 208,435; 118,673 fit for military service
MILITARY BUDGET: $9.3 million, 17% of central government budget (1982)
.TRAVEL IN GUINEA-BISSAU
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport and visa required. Visa valid 1-90 days, $15, 3 photos and 3 applications required. Processing takes at least 3 working days. Onward/return ticket and financial guarantee for the stay are required. Visas must be obtained in advance. Include postage or prepaid envelope for return of passport. Vaccination certificate required for yellow fever.
HEALTH: Sanitation is poor in Bissau. Tapwater is not potable. Unwashed raw foods or undercooked meats are not safe to eat. Malaria suppressants, and inoculations against typhus, typhoid, cholera, rabies and tetanus are recommended. Malaria, gastrointestinal infections, bilharzia, and tuberculosis are endemic.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Lightweight, loose-fitting, washable clothing is recommended.
TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to Guinea-Bissau from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 245 [country code] + local number, or use the international operator. Calls from Guinea- Bissau are routed through Lisbon and must be prearranged.
TIME: 5 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and the same as Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 220V
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
