Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in western Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.
Historical and Political Information
•	1956: The PAIGC was launched, supporting independence for Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands;
•	1961: PAIGC resorted to violence in response to mounting repression by the Portuguese colonial authorities;
•	1973: Independence was unilaterally declared and was recognized by a 93-7 UN General Assembly vote in November 1973;
•	1980: President Luís Cabral was overthrown in a coup by Prime Minister João Bernardo Vieira;
•	1994: The first multi-party elections were held;
•	1997: The Peso was replaced as currency with CFA franc, integrating Guinea Bissau into the West African francophone monetary region;
•	1998: In June, a mutiny erupted when Vieira attempted to arrest General Mane for smuggling arms to MFDC in Senegal; encouraged by France, both Guinea and Senegal sent troops in support of Vieira; in November, a settlement allowing foreign troops to be replaced by ECOWAS peacekeepers fell through;
•	1999: In March, less than 600 unarmed ECOWAS peacekeepers were finally deployed to uphold the agreement.
•	2000: Elections were held and Kumba Ial´ was elected president;
•	2003: In September a coup took place in which the military arrested Ial´ on the charge of being "unable to solve the problems";
•	2004: After being delayed several times, legislative elections were held in March. A mutiny of military factions in October resulted in the death of the head of the armed forces;
•	2005: In June, presidential elections were held. Kumba Ial´ returned as the candidate for the PRS but the election was won by former president João Bernardo Vieira, deposed in the 1998 coup. Vieira beat Malam Bacai Sanha in a runoff-election.

Administrative Division

Guinea-Bissau is divided into 8 regions and 1 autonomous sector, and are subdivided into 37 sectors. The regions include: Bafata, Biombo, Bissau (autonomous sector), Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara and Tombali. Capital: Bissau Official languages: Portuguese Area Total: 36,125 km² (136th) 13,948 sq miles Population: 1,586,000 (estimate) Time zone: GMT (UTC+0) Internet TLD: .gw Calling code: +245
Economy
•	Guinea-Bissau is among the 20 poorest countries of the world;
•	One of Guinea-Bissau's important income sources is cashew nuts, of which it exports 90,000 tons per year.
Demographics
The population of Guinea-Bissau is ethnically diverse and has many distinct languages, customs, and social structures. Nearly 99% of Guineans can be divided into the following three catergories:
•	The Fula and the Mandinka - speaking people, who comprise the largest portion of the population and are concentrated in the north and northeast;
•	The Balanta and Papel people, who live in the southern coastal regions;
•	The Manjaco and Mancanha, who occupy the central and northern coastal areas. Most of the remaing 1% are mestiços of mixed Portuguese and black descent, including a Cape Verdean minority.