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Guinea-Bissau, on the west coast of Africa, is bordered by Senegal to it's north and and Guinea to its south-east. Orignally part of the ancient Mandinka kingdom and part of the Kaabu and Mali Empires, the country now known as Guinea-Bissau became a Portuguese colony in the 19th century and known as Portuguese Guinea. It became is one of the African
countries that was not granted independence from its colonial power but unilaterally declared that independence on 24th September 1973. Although
initially gaining limited recognition, the collapse of the Estado Novo regime in
Portugal in 1974 led to universal recognition of Guinea-Bissau as an
independent republic. The first post independence leader, Luis Cabral, inherited a wealthy economy
however he set out to seek revenge on the black soldiers who had fought
alongside the Portuguese army in an effort to quell rebellion before
independence. It is estimated that thousands of these local soldiers were
slaughtered with many more fleeing to Portugal or neighbouring African
countries.
Six years later
Cabral was ousted by his army chief Joao Vieira in 1980. Vieira introduced
economic and political reforms, however was effectively a dictator taking little
truck from political rivalries and not tolerating dissent. His rule saw numerous unsuccessful
coup attempts, however in 1994 he stood as a candidate in Guinea-Bissau's first
free elections and was successful. An army mutiny in 1998 was followed by the
toppling of Vieira the following year and in 2000 Kumba Yala was elected
president, however his behaviour was considered erratic and, after a number of
senior government sackings, Kumba Yala was ousted in a further military coup in
2003 which installed an interim civilian administration headed by President
Henrique Rosa with the promise of democratic elections.
These elections were held in 2005
and saw the return of former president President Vieira to power with a promise
of 'national reconciliation'. The success of that promise can be measure by his
assassination in March 2009. Malam Bacai Sanha then ruled Guinea-Bissau as a semi-presidential republic until
his death in January 2012. After further turmoil, Jose Mario Vaz served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 23th June 2014 to 27th February 2020. Vaz ran as an independent in the 2019 elections but received only 12% of the vote in the first round and failed to advance to the second round with Umaro Sissoco Embalo assuming the presidency on 27th February 2020.
Today Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, is massively in debt
and is reliant on foreign aid to prevent its total collapse as a nation state with most of its population engaged in subsistence
farming of rice and corn while those employed by the state frequently find their
wages unpaid. Guinea Bissau also has an income from illicit drugs flowing from South America
into Europe. Guinea-Bissau also has one of the
highest child mortality rates for the under fives in the
world with, in 2019, there being 78.5 deaths per 1,000 live births and life expectancy of the rest of
the population (1.968 million, 2020) is around 58.00 years (2018). The majority of the population is
illiterate, with just over 27% of females being able to read and write. Guinea-Bissau is in 175th place
out of 189 countries and territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life
expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country.
Guinea-Bissau Profile: Bissau Profile
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Guinea-Bissau Profile: Sponsor a Child in Guinea-Bissau
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Guinea-Bissau Profile: Guinea-Bissau Map
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Guinea-Bissau Profile: Guinea-Bissau News
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