A very small nation Guinea Bissau is situated western Africa. To avoid the confusion between the Republic of Guinea and this country, the name of its capital is also added to it. It covers the area of 36,120 sq km with 28,000 lands and 8,120 water area.
Previous records medal
The country has still not got any medal in Olympics.
History:
The country was explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century and claimed it in 1446 and they began the slave trade mainly in Bissau. However it which declined in the 19 th century and Bissau grew as a major center for all the commercial activities In the later half of the 19th century the Portuguese lost it to the French West Africa.
Independence:
The country declared its freedom from Portuguese on 24 September 1973 and was recognized on 10 September 1974.
Geographical Settings:
It is a tropical country which is located at a low altitude. The highest point in the country happens to be 984 feet. While in the interior part exists the savanna, its coastline is quite muddy and marshy. The climate here is tropical hot and humid throughout the year. From June to November it has monsoon rainy season and dry season from December to May.
Neighboring countries:
This country shares its boundaries with
- Senegal to its north,
- the Atlantic Ocean to its west and
- Guinea in its east and south.
Capital City:
Bissau is known to be the capital and the largest of this country. It is also supposed to be the most populous city here.
Culture:
Culture of this country is mainly based on the export of musical instruments. The calabash, an instrument is used in soft dance numbers. They sing lyrics in their own Portuguese-based Creole language, which often deal with humorous and current topics like AIDS. In the popular genres Tina and tinga are worth mentioning. Folk traditional lyrics are used at funerals and other rituals too.
Economy:
The country has a very poor economy due to its relatively long freedom struggle. The Civil War in 1998 and 1999 and then a military coup during 2003 brought more damage to the country. It is estimated that more than two-third of people in Guinea Bissau lives below the poverty line. The economy basically depends on agriculture and fishing. The main resources of the country are phosphates, bauxite, timber, fish, and petroleum.
Infrastructure:
The country does not have a very good infrastructure. Road and water transport both need improvement. The country had no railways till 2000. The Country suffered great loss due to the Civil War and it is heading towards developments all around. The government has announced to liberalize the telecom services.
Demographics:
The country has a blend of population, culturally diverse with many different languages, customs and traditions. The ethnic groups of Guinea-Bissau are as under
- Balanta 30%
- Fula 20%
- Mandinka 13%
- Manjaca 14%
- Papel 7%
- European and mulatoo less than 1%
Apart from this the Chinese people also make a small part of population. The 14% of people speak Portuguese which is the official language. 44% speak Portuguese based Creole language and the rest of the people use the other native African languages.
Most religions seen in this country are
- Muslims,
- Christian, and
- Roman Catholics
Government and policies:
The government is a republic with the president as head of the state and The Prime minister as the head of the government. The member at the legislative are elected to serve a four year term. At the judicial level, there is a Supreme Court which consists of justices appointed by the President and they have to serve to please him.
Education:
The country makes the education compulsory between the ages 7 to 13. The ratio between a teacher and students at the primary level is 44:1. The civil war from 1998-99 affected the education to a great deal and students were kept away from the school for almost six months. The literacy level during 2000 was projected to be 63.2% and females had better percentage (78.6%). Now with the help of UNICEF the country expects to do better in this field.
Currency:
The currency of this country is West African CFA franc. Guinea-Bissau adopted it as currency once it got the membership into the BCEA.
Total population:
As per the estimate of July 2008 the total population was 1,503,182. |
