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Bissau(Portuguese pronunciation:[biˈsaw]) is the capitaland largest city of Guinea-Bissau. As of 2015,[update]it had a population of 492,004.[1] Bissau is located on the Geba Riverestuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administrative and military center. Etymology.
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects [ 95 ][ 96 ], Guinea-Bissau's population was 2,060,721 in 2021, compared to 518,000 in 1950. The proportion of the population below the age of 15 in 2010 was 41.3%, 55.4% were aged between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.3% were aged 65 years or older.
- Overview
- Land
- Relief
- Drainage and soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
- Ethnic and linguistic groups
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
Guinea-Bissau, country of western Africa. Situated on the Atlantic coast, the predominantly low-lying country is slightly hilly farther inland. The name Guinea remains a source of debate; it is perhaps a corruption of an Amazigh (Berber) word meaning “land of the blacks.” The country also uses the name of its capital, Bissau, to distinguish it from Guinea, its neighbour to the east and south.
In the 15th and early 16th centuries the Portuguese commanded the entire western coast of Africa. Gradually their monopoly gave way to incursions by French, Dutch, English, and other European powers. The French pressured both the northern and southern borders of what is now Guinea-Bissau and placed the Casamance region of southern Senegal fully under French rule after the late 19th century. The English rivaled Portuguese authority on the coast, particularly at Bolama; a long-running dispute between the two powers resulted with Guinea-Bissau under Portuguese rule. Although Bissau is the country’s present capital and largest city, the towns of Bolama and Cacheu were important during the slave trade and in the colonial era.
Guinea-Bissau is bounded by Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It includes the Bijagós (Bissagos) archipelago and other islands that lie off the coast.
Almost all of Guinea-Bissau is low-lying and bathed daily by tidal waters that reach as far as 62 miles (100 km) inland. In the southeastern part of the country, the Fouta Djallon plateau rises approximately 600 feet (180 metres). The Boé Hills extend from the western slopes of the Fouta Djallon to the Corubal basin and the Gabú Plain.
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The coastal area is demarcated by a dense network of drowned valleys called rias. The Bafatá Plateau is drained by the Geba and Corubal rivers. The Gabú Plain occupies the northeastern portion of the country and is drained by the Cacheu and Geba rivers and their tributaries. The interior plains are part of the southern edge of the Sénégal River basin. The uniform elevation of the mature floodplain allows rivers to meander and renders the area susceptible to flooding during the rainy season. Some eastern portions of Guinea-Bissau form a part of the upper basin of the Gambia River system.
Tidal penetration into the interior, facilitated by Guinea-Bissau’s flat coastal topography, carries some agricultural advantage: the surge of brackish water can be used to irrigate the extensive drowned rice paddies called bolanhas. Anti-colonial warfare had a devastating effect on Guinea-Bissau’s soils. Arable land that fell out of use was subject to soil erosion, and, with the destruction of protective riverine dikes, the arability of some soils was compromised by excessive salination.
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Guinea-Bissau has a generally tropical climate influenced by the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), a belt of converging trade winds that circles the Earth near the Equator. There are two pronounced seasons: the hot, rainy season, which usually lasts from June to November, and the hot, dry season. April and May are the hottest months, and tempe...
Guinea-Bissau’s three ecological zones—the tidal estuaries, the heavily forested interior plain, and the savanna—are home to remarkably diverse flora and fauna. Aquatic and riverine birds such as flamingos and pelicans are especially numerous in the coastal swamps, which are also inhabited by a variety of reptiles such as snakes, crocodiles, and se...
Guinea-Bissau’s population is dominated by more than 20 African ethnicities, including the Balante, one of the largest ethnic groups in the country, the numerous Fulani and their many subgroups, the Diola, the Nalu, the Bijagó, the Landuma, the Papel (Pepel), and the Malinke. There is also a small Cape Verdean minority with mixed African, European, Lebanese, and Jewish origins. During the colonial period the European population consisted mainly of Portuguese but also included some Lebanese, Italian, French, and English groups, as well as members of other nationalities. Notably, there was never a substantial settler population in Guinea-Bissau, as there was in other Portuguese colonies.
Among the African languages spoken in Guinea-Bissau, some 20 languages and dialects classified in the Atlantic and Mande branches of Niger-Congo languages predominate. Although Portuguese is the country’s official and formal language, it is Crioulo—a creole that emerged during the slave trade—that is spoken as the lingua franca and exerts a unifying influence in the rural areas.
About two-fifths of the population is Muslim. Among Christians, who make up about one-fifth of the population, Roman Catholicism predominates. About one-sixth of the population practices traditional beliefs, which include ancestor worship, possession, and animism and are especially prevalent along the coast and in the central regions. Christianity ...
Most of the population of Guinea-Bissau live in small villages and the country’s several main towns. The population is sparse on the low-lying lands of the coast and in the savanna regions. The majority of Guinea-Bissau’s population traditionally lived in rural villages and individual households. From 1963 to 1974, during the armed struggle for ind...
Feb 26, 2024 · Guinea-Bissau country profile. 26 February. West Africa's Guinea-Bissau was part of the Portuguese Empire for centuries. Once hailed as a potential model for African development, the country is ...
In September 1973 the country declared independence as Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau covers an area of 36,125 km², making it somewhat smaller than Switzerland or somewhat larger than the US state of Maryland. Guinea-Bissau has a population of about 1.54 million people , capital and largest city is Bissau (pop. 390,000).
Oct 3, 2024 · Demographic profile. 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.
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Guinea-Bissau is thus one of the smallest countries in Africa by area and ranked 138th worldwide. Only slightly less than half of all residents (45%) live within cities. Guinea-Bissau is very deep with an average elevation of only 70 m above sea level. The highest elevation in the country (Colinas do Boé) is 262 meters.
