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Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau
General information
Common nameGuinea-Bissau sp|demonym=Bissau-Guinean(s)
Local nameRepública da Guiné-Bissau
NameRepública da Guiné-Bissau
Motto  
"Unity, Struggle, Progress"
Anthem  
"This is Our Well-Beloved Motherland"
CapitalBissau
Largest citycapital
Official languagesPortuguese
Regional languagesCrioulo
DemonymBissau-Guinean(s)
Government
GovernmentSemi-presidential republic
PresidentMalam Bacai Sanhá
Prime MinisterCarlos Gomes
IndependenceIndependence (from Portugal)
DeclaredSeptember 24, 1973
RecognizedSeptember 10, 1974
Geography
Total Area13948 sq mi (36125.3 km2) (136th)
Water %22.4
Demography
Population Est.1647000 (148th)
Population census1345479 (2002)
Density (pop.)44.6/km2 (154th) (115.5/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$1.784 billion (2010)
GDP (PPP) per capita$1,084
GDP (nominal)$837 million (2010)
GDP (nominal) per capita$508
Other information
Gini47 (1993) (high)
HDI0.289 (2010) (low) (164th)
CurrencyWest African CFA franc (XOF)
Time zoneGMT (UTC+0)
Drives on theleft
Internet TLD.gw
Calling code245

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The Republic of Guinea-Bissau c-enaudio=En-us-Guinea-Bissau.oggˈɡɪni_bɪˈsaʊ ( , -ptʁeˈpublikɐ dɐ ɡiˈnɛ biˈsawpron) is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.

It covers 36,125 km2 (nearly 14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000.

Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were part of the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. It then became the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea.

Only 14% of the population speaks the official language, Portuguese. A plurality of the population (44%) speaks Kriol, a Portuguese-based creole language, and the remainder speak native African languages. The main religions are African traditional religions and Islam, and there is a Christian (mostly Catholic) minority.

Guinea-Bissau is a member of the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Latin Union, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, La Francophonie and the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.

The country's per-capita gross domestic product is one of the lowest in the world.


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