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.
One
of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly
on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in
recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production.
Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of
peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple
food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed
government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's
infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the
civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in
1999-2001. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were
the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program
under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the
development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the
economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum,
phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect.
However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed
revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one
of the most extreme in the world. The government and international
donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development.
Holidays Jan 1 - New Year's Day
Jan 20 - Death of Amilcar Cabral(Heroes Day)
Feb 2*- Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice)
Mar 8 - International Women's Day
May 1 - Labour Day
Aug 3 - Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguoiti
Sep 24 - National(Independence) Day
Nov 14-16* - Korita (end of Ramadan)
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
Ps:
Muslim festivals (*) are timed according to local sightings of various
phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations.
Phone Codes
Country Code: 245
Resources
Market Research
CIA - The World Factbook - Republic of Guinea-Bissau
This
website indicates a wide range of detail information about
Guinea-Bissau by introducing under 8 different fields as its geography,
people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military,
transnational issues.
About Guinea-Bissau
There
is available to find out Guinea-Bissau's general outlook on the issues
of its social and business profile, passport/visa, money, accommodation,
government, duty free, health and so forth.
Guinea-Bissau Business
Mbendi
serves as a directory providing an ultimate African Business Source for
the potential investors seeking new business opportunities in
Guinea-Bissau including the list of industries for Guinea-Bissau.
U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs - For Republic of Guinea-Bissau
U.S.
Bureau of Consular Affairs creates a wide range of research named as
Consular Information Sheet about Guinea-Bissau in terms of analyzing
its social, political, cultural & economic environments.
Guinea-Bissau News
There is available to find out Guinea-Bissau business, economic and political news sponsored by Topix.net.
Trade Information
Embassy Index For Guinea-Bissau
There is listed the embassies of the republic of the Guinea-Bissau including the embassies' contact information.
Guinea-Bissau Government Online
It
displays the structure of Guinea-Bissau's government by looking at its
political units, branches, ministries, embassies and so forth in
details.
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