Administrative divisions:
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau,
Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have
been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Independence:
24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10
September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Constitution:
16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993,
9 June 1993, and 1996
Legal system:
NA
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28
September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected
government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as
interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May
2004)
cabinet: NA
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be
held May 2005); prime minister appointed by the president after
consultation with party leaders in the legislature
election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote,
second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%
note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected
government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo
Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003
until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of
a caretaker government
Legislative branch:
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional
Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a
maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%,
PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by
party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine
justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final
court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one
in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court
decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over
$1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained
lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal
cases)
Political parties and leaders:
African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde
or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and
Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau
Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean
Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for
Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president];
National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE,
secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor
MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for
Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary
general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS,
FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD
[Francisco Jose FADUL]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique
Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 347–3950
FAX: [1] (202) 347–3954
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of
violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and
military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering
Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823–4296; FAX - [221] 822–5903
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 Guinea-Bissau
Economy - overview:
One of the 10 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