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FACTBOX: Guinea-Bissau

02 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Source: AlertNet

BISSAU (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Guinea-Bissau:

* One of the world's poorest countries, Guinea-Bissau is bordered to the north by Senegal and to the east and southeast by Guinea. About the size of Taiwan, it is flat, densely forested and dissected by many rivers.

* The former Portuguese colony's 1.4 million people can expect to live an average 45.2 years and per capita income was $140 in 2003. More than 1 in 5 children die before they reach 5 years of age, and there are only 17 doctors per 100,000 people.

* Guinea-Bissau is ranked 172nd out of 177 nations in the U.N. Development Programme's Human Development Index.

* Muslims make up 45 percent of the population, animists account for 50 percent and around 5 percent are Christian. The official language is Portuguese but Portuguese-based creole is the lingua franca and people also speak tribal languages.

* Most people are subsistence farmers. Cashew nuts, palm kernels and cotton are the main cash crops. Livestock, timber production and fishing are also important. There are deposits of bauxite and phosphates and unexploited offshore oil reserves.

* Since independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has been torn by a series of coups and uprisings. A 1998 civil war destroyed much of the infrastructure.

* In 1961, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) began a guerrilla war against Portuguese rule. It unilaterally declared independence in 1973 and ruled the single-party state until 1991.

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