Region: Western Africa

Capital: Bissau

Population: 1,503,182 (July 2008 est.)

Surface area: 36,120 sq km

Currency: CFA franc (XOF)

GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US $500 (2007 est.)

Background:
Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' Vieira as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, Vieira 's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 Vieira was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to Vieira 's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba Yala, after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, Yala was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and businessman Henrique Rosa was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President Vieira was re-elected president pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation.

Economy – Overview
One of the five 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. Offshore oil prospecting is underway in several sectors but has not yet led to commercially viable crude deposits. 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. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, resulted in continued low growth in 2002-06. Higher raw material prices boosted growth to 3.7% in 2007.

Major Export Commodities: cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber

Remittances: US $23 million (2006)

Human Development Index 2007/2008 ranking:  175 out of 177

Official Development Assistance and Major Development Partners: Net ODA in 2006 was US $ 39.35 million. Major development partners include the European Community, Portugal, the IDA, and France.

Total External Debt: US $941.5 million (2000 est.)

United Nations Membership date: 17 September 1974

New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau to the United Nations
800 Second Avenue, Suite 400F
New York, N.Y. 10017 USA
Telephone: (917) 770-5598
Fax: (212) 856-9820