The Republic of Guinea Bissau is a small country located in West Africa. The capital and the largest city is Bissau which is geographically located at 11052’ to the north and 15036’ to the west. Since historically, Guinea Bissau was a colony of Portugal, therefore the official language has still been Portuguese. However, only a small fraction of population speaks Portuguese, the rest speaks native African languages. The flag represents country’s motto of ‘Unity, Struggle and Progress’ depicted by three colors, green, yellow and maroon, with the green and yellow represent two equal horizontal lines to the left and the maroon part shapes a column towards the right with a black star over it. Yellow is the color of sun, red depicts the huge bloodshed for the independence of the country and green is there for hope and justice (CIA, 2013).
Population, Ethnicity and Religion
The total population of the country is 1,660,870 with a clear majority (99%) of native Africans, comprised of different ethnic groups, including Fula (20%), Balanta (30%), Manjaca (14%), Papel (7%) and Mandinga (13%) people. On the basis of culture, traditions and language, these tribes have been located at different areas of the country. Along with these native tribal people, small population of about 1% of Portuguese and Chinese also reside in the country. A majority of population is comprised of Sunni Muslims (50%), followed by Indigenous community (40%) and a small fraction (10%) of those who hold Catholic Christian faith. According to a recent estimate, the population growth rate in the country is 1.95%, since there are 34.28 births and 14.77 deaths per 1000 individuals. Since the country is not fully equipped with all the necessary heath facilities, the life expectancy rate is about 50 years. However, the total fertility rate in the country is 4.37 children per woman (CIA 2013, WHO, n.d).
Area and Geographical Location
Guinea-Bissau covers a total area of only 36,125 square km, out of which 28,120 square km comprises of land while the remaining 8,005 sq km is water; because of the long coastal line with North Atlantic Ocean of about 350km. The neighboring countries include Guinea to the south east and Senegal to the north, with the border lengths of 386 km and 338 km respectively. The country is located at geographical coordinates of 120 00’ to the north and 150 00’ to the west. Being a costal country, most of the area is swampy and low-lying, with the lowest point being Atlantic Ocean. The highest point exists only at 300 m (BBC, 2012).
History
The area was occupied by Europeans, particularly by Portuguese who arrived here as early as in the 16th century because of the voyage expeditions of some trade merchants. They occupied the coastal lining of the country and did not move to the interior until 19th century. The area served as one of the Portuguese colonies for more than two centuries and became familiar because of extensive slave trade from the area. For this reason, the Portuguese named it as the ‘Slave Coast’. Not only the colonizers but also the native rulers of the area were involved in slave trade. They did not allow them to capture the in-land of the country and thus the Portuguese rule remained limited but firm till the coast of Bissau (Forrest, 1992).
It was in the middle of 20th century when an independence movement was started by the natives, leaded by Amilcar Cabral. He founded a military group named as African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and took over large areas of the country from the Portuguese rulers. Countries including China, USSR and Cuba supported their movement and provided them with required amount of arms and ammunition, physicians and medical aid equipment and other experts and technicians. It was a long movement of about 17 years which eventually ended with the independence of country in September 1973 (Forrest, 1992).
Politics and Government
Unfortunately, Guinea-Bissau has never been in a stable political environment since its independence. Military coups were usual after every four to five years, in which the existing ruler was overthrown because of his ineffective policies and country’s drastic situation and a transitional government has to be formed to look after the country. Since the independence in 1973, the transitional government oversaw the country matters when Joao B. Vieira took the power through a military coup in 1980. He remained in power for the continuous 19 years and even when the country go for its democratic elections to hold in 1994, a civil war started which eventually overthrew Vieira in 1999. Eventually, the elections held in the year 2000, in which the opposition leader of the house Kumba YALA was selected as the president of the country. It was then expected that the political situation of the country would get stable now, but in 2003 Yala was overthrown too by a military coup, with the similar allegations of having ineffective policies for the country. Further elections were proposed to take place in 2004; however, a bloody unrest caused by the assassination of Chief of Army delayed them till 2005. In these elections, former president Joao B. Vieira who was overthrown in 1999 got re-elected. He tried to pursue his economic reforms and other policies for the betterment of country, but got assassinated in March 2009 by the hands of military personnel as a revenge for the assassination of Chief of Army Staff (CIA, 2013).
Elections took place in the country in June 2009 in which Malam Bacai Sanhá from PAIGC was elected as the new president. He defeated the former president Kumba Yala in these elections who was the candidate from ‘Party for Social Renwel’ PSR. Sanha died from a long term illness in January 2012 and the interim president took his place. However, a military coup in April 2012 abandoned the new elections to be held and Former vice Chief of Army Staff has set up a transitional government. The country has not yet elected any of its political leaders since then. Being a republic, the president is the head of state in Guinea-Bissau where as the prime minister is the head of government. Although a judiciary system has been set up in the country, headed by the Supreme Court, yet they all serve the president and are not maintain equality and justice within the country. For these reasons, the country has remained impoverished for years and is still included in one of the world’s poorest countries (BBC, 2012)
Economy
Poverty has persisted for a long time in the country, and still there have not been enough measures to eradicate or lessen it. The economy of the country is one of the lowest economies of the world, with the per capita GDP of only $1,100. Being a costal country, the main exports of the country consist of sea food along with cashew nuts, peanuts and timber through which it earned revenue of $125 million in 2012. The biggest export partner is India (76%) followed by Nigeria (14%). Military coups, civil wars and bloodshed in the country have destroyed infrastructure and area of arable land on a large scale. Currently, the country holds an external debt of $1.095 billion with an account balance of $-151.4 million. Because of such drastic circumstances of the country, international organizations have assisted the country by providing $107 million in 2004 and $1.2 billion in 2010 (IMF, 2013).
Because of such minimal statistics regarding the economy, impacts over the living conditions of the residents have not been qualified. Health facilities are the most inadequate in the country since there is a high prevalence and low resistance amongst the population from certain viral and bacterial diseases, including HIV, Hepatitis, Malaria, Diarrhea, Cholera and Typhoid etc. According to a 2008 estimate, the number of physicians available per thousand individuals is only 0.05. HIV prevails at the rate of 2.5%, somewhat similar is the case of Malaria which is more dangerous than HIV being prevalent at the rate of 9%. The maternal mortality rate was 790 deaths/100,000 live births in the year 2010. Education in Guinea Bissau is as impoverished as health sector. A 2010 estimate indicates that the literacy rate is only 54.2% in the country. Although there have been a significant number of high schools and universities in the country and the education is compulsory till the age of 13, yet the country has to go a long way for its betterment and prosperity (WHO, n.d).
Culture
Guinea Bissau is a traditionally African country, with the culture enriched with African heritage sustained by the tribal population of the country. Because of the severe unrest for several years, the country has not produced any cultural genre, including music, films or any other mode for entertainment. Each tribe has its own specifications and thus it could be said that the country is a blend of rich cultural perspectives and can present itself, if provided with opportunities and appropriate circumstances.References
BBC News Africa. (2012). Guinea-Bissau Profile. Retrieved May 30, 2013 from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13443186 >
CIA: Central Intellegence Agency. (May 7, 2013). Guinea-Bissau. The World Fact Book. Retrieved May 30, 2013 from < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pu.html >
Forrest, J. (1992). Guinea-Bissau: Power, conflict, and renewal in a West African nation. Boulder: Westview Press.
IMF: International Monetary Fund. (April 2013). Guinea-Bissau. Retrieved May 30, 2013 from <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=654&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=36&pr.y=17>
WHO: World Health Organization. (n.d). Guinea-Bissau. Retrieved May 30, 2013 from <http://www.who.int/countries/gnb/en/>
