ssues
Guinea-Bissau

Disputes - international:

in 2006, political instability within Senegal's Casamance region
resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees, cross-border raids,
and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 7,454 (Senegal) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children
trafficked primarily for forced begging and forced agricultural
labor to other West African countries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for the second year in a row,
Guinea-Bissau is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to combat
severe forms of trafficking in persons, as evidenced by the
continued failure to pass an anti-trafficking law and inadequate
efforts to investigate or prosecute trafficking crimes or convict
and punish trafficking offenders (2008)

Illicit drugs:

increasingly important transit country for South American cocaine
enroute to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations
thanks to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography around
the capital facilitates drug smuggling

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Guyana

Introduction
Guyana

Background:

Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had
become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black
settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants
from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide
has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved
independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled
mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was
elected president in what is considered the country's first free and
fair election since independence. After his death five years later,
his wife, Janet JAGAN, became president but resigned in 1999 due to
poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001
and again in 2006.

Geography
Guyana

Location:

Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Suriname and Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:

5 00 N, 59 00 W

Map references:

South America

Area:

total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km
water: 18,120 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Idaho

Land