t in the country's first free
elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually
led to VIEIRA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim
government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took
office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique
ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to
democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in
the civil war.

Geography Guinea-Bissau

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea
and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline:
350 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
(June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to
May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the
country 300 m

Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone,
unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 10.67%
permanent crops: 8.82%
other: 80.51% (2001)

Irrigated land:
170 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry
season; brush fires

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying
further inland

People Guinea-Bissau

Population:
1,416,027 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.5% (male 293,280/female 294,483)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 376,719/female 409,402)
65 years and over: 3% (male 17,865/femal