telephone: [1] (202) 347–3950FAX: [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 economy. Because of high
costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral
resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore
oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. 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, have resulted in continued
low growth in 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.008 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 62% industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.)
Labor force:
480,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 82% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA (1998)
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Agriculture - products:
rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm
kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Industries:
agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Industrial production growth rate:
2.6% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production:
55 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
51.15 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Exports:
$54 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners:
India 52.1%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004)
Imports:
$104 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
