Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Guinea-Bissau. This small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 725 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
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Geographic coordinates | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Map references | Africa |
Tarrain | mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east; numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets |
Natural Resources | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Natural Hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Irrigated Land | 250 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin |
Land Boundaries | 762 km |
Border Countries | Guinea 421 km; Senegal 341 km |
Coastline | 350 km |
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 |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 28,120 sq km |
Water Area | 8,005 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Dongol Ronde 277 m |
Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
Mean elevation | 70 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 44.8% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 8.2% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 6.9% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 29.7% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 55.2% (2018 est.) |
Other | 0% (2018 est.) |
Approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map
In Guinea-Bissau, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Balanta 30%, Fulani 30%, Manjaco 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%, unspecified smaller ethnic groups 6% (2015 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 2.54% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 36 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 8.4% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 4.62 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 2.28 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 20.6% (2018/19) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 56.7% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 2.7% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | -3.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Bissau-Guinean | Bissau-Guinean(s) |
Languages | Portuguese-based Creole, Portuguese (official; largely used as a second or third language), Pular (a Fula language), Mandingo |
Religions | Muslim 46.1%, folk religions 30.6%, Christian 18.9%, other or unaffiliated 4.4% (2020 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 42.3% (male 453,513/female 448,514) |
15-64 years | 54.6% (male 561,868/female 602,280) |
65 years and over | 3.1% (2024 est.) (male 27,529/female 38,621) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 76.6 |
Youth dependency ratio | 71.6 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 5 |
Potential support ratio | 20.1 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 18.4 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 17.8 years |
Female | 18.9 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 45.5% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 3.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 664,000 BISSAU (capital) (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.01 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 0.93 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.71 male(s)/female |
Total population | 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 46.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 52 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 40.6 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 64.5 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 62.2 years |
Female | 66.8 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 90.6% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 59.1% of population |
Improved: total | total: 73.1% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 9.4% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 40.9% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 26.9% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 62.4% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 7.6% of population |
Improved: total | total: 31.8% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 37.6% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 92.4% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 68.2% of population (2020 est.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | very high (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
Vectorborne diseases | malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024) |
Water contact diseases | schistosomiasis |
Animal contact diseases | rabies |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 3.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 0.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 1.28 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 9% (2020 est.) |
Male | 17% (2020 est.) |
Female | 0.9% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 8.1% |
Women married by age 18 | 25.7% |
Men married by age 18 | 2.2% (2019 est.) |
Guinea-Bissau’s young and growing population is sustained by high fertility; approximately 60% of the population is under the age of 25 as of 2020. Its large reproductive-age population and total fertility rate of more than 4 children per woman offsets the country’s high infant and maternal mortality rates. The latter is among the world’s highest because of the prevalence of early childbearing, a lack of birth spacing, the high percentage of births outside of health care facilities, and a shortage of medicines and supplies.
Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. With the country lacking educational infrastructure, school funding and materials, and qualified teachers, and with the cultural emphasis placed on religious education, parents frequently send boys to study in residential Koranic schools (daaras) in Senegal and The Gambia. They often are extremely deprived and are forced into street begging or agricultural work by marabouts (Muslim religious teachers), who enrich themselves at the expense of the children. Boys who leave their marabouts often end up on the streets of Dakar or other large Senegalese towns and are vulnerable to even worse abuse.
Some young men lacking in education and job prospects become involved in the flourishing international drug trade. Local drug use and associated violent crime are growing.
Want to know more about Guinea-Bissau? Check all different factbooks for Guinea-Bissau below.