itary
is granted access to the islands for 50 years

Transnational Issues Palau

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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Guinea-Bissau

Introduction

Guinea-Bissau

Background: In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal,
the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections
were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998,
created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was
ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned
over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took
office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
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 water: 8,120 sq km land: 28,000 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: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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, unexploited
deposits of petroleum

Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 2% other: 87% (1998 est.)

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