Travel Warning
The Department of State warns American citizens against travel to Guinea-Bissau, and warns Americans in Guinea-Bissau to depart immediately if they can safely do so. Tensions in Guinea-Bissau continue due to outbreaks of armed conflict. The U.S. Embassy has temporarily suspended operations and all official Americans departed Guinea-Bissau as of June 14, 1998.

History
The rivers of Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde were among the first areas in Africa explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Portugal claimed Portuguese Guinea in 1446, but few trading posts were established before 1600. In 1630, a "captaincy-general" of Portuguese Guinea was established to administer the territory. With the collaboration of some local peoples, the Portuguese entered into the slave trade and exported large numbers of Africans to the Western Hemisphere through Cape Verde Islands. Cacheu became one of the major slave trade centers, and a small fort still stands in the town. The slave trade declined in the 19th century, and Bissau, originally founded as a military and slave-trading center in 1765, grew to become the major commercial center. Portuguese conquest and consolidation of the interior did not begin until the latter half of the 19th century. Portugal lost part of Guinea to French West Africa. Amilcar Cabral and Raphael Barbosa organized the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) clandestinely in 1956.

Wedged between Guinea and Senegal, Guinea-Bissau was the first Portuguese African colony to gain independence in 1974 after many years of war. It is estimated that over 22% of the population live in towns, the vast majority in Bissau, the capital city.

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. Trade reform and price liberalization are the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship.

Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. In the political scene, multi-party system was introduced in 1991, and the first multi-party election was carried out in 1994. In 1998, the country was faced with public unrest following escalation of conflicts between the government and a self-proclaimed military junta. The parties to the conflict in Guinea Bissau met in Abuja, Nigeria on October 21 and November 1st 1998 through the good offices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which led to the restoration of peace and stability.

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal

Area-comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

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

Natural resources: fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, and unexploited deposits of petroleum

Population: 1,234,555 (July 1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%

Languages: Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages

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

Capital: 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; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy—overview: One of the 20 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. 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. Inflation dropped sharply in the first quarter of 1997. Membership in the WAMU (West African Monetary Union), begun in May 1997, was expected to support 5% annual growth and contribute to fiscal discipline. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources was not a near-term prospect.

Industries: agricultural products processing, beer, and soft drinks

Agriculture—products: rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish

Exports—commodities: cashews 95%, fish, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1994)

Imports—commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products, machinery and equipment (1994)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes; note—on 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted as its currency the CFA franc following its membership into the BCEAO

Telephone system: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications
international: N/A

Railways:
total: 0 km

Highways:
total: 4,400 km
paved: 453 km
unpaved: 3,947 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping

Ports and harbors: Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim

Airports: 30 (1998 est.)

Military branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force