Guinea-Bissau

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Map of Guinea-Bissau showing national boundaries with Senegal to the north and Guinea to the southeast, major cities including Bissau, Bafata, and Gabu, and numerous coastal islands along the Atlantic Ocean. An inset locator map highlights Guinea-Bissau's position on the west coast of Africa.

Map highlighting Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, showing its location along the Atlantic coast and its borders with Senegal and Guinea. Neighboring countries including The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania are also labeled. The capital city, Bissau, is marked.

Map showing the physical features of Guinea-Bissau, including rivers, the Atlantic coastline, and the offshore Bijagos Islands such as Formosa, Roxa, and Orango. Neighboring countries Senegal and Guinea are labeled, and a small locator map in the bottom right highlights Guinea-Bissau's position in West Africa.

Guinea-Bissau: Ethnic composition

Guinea-Bissau: Religious affiliation

Guinea-Bissau: Urban-rural

Guinea-Bissau: Age breakdown

Guinea-Bissau: Major import sources

At a Glance

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Guinea-Bissau summary

Guinea-Bissau: Media

country, Africa

Images

Guinea-Bissau

Flag of Guinea-Bissau.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Guinea-Bissau showing national boundaries with Senegal to the north and Guinea to the southeast, major cities including Bissau, Bafata, and Gabu, and numerous coastal islands along the Atlantic Ocean. An inset locator map highlights Guinea-Bissau's position on the west coast of Africa.

Guinea-Bissau

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map highlighting Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, showing its location along the Atlantic coast and its borders with Senegal and Guinea. Neighboring countries including The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania are also labeled. The capital city, Bissau, is marked.

Guinea-Bissau

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map showing the physical features of Guinea-Bissau, including rivers, the Atlantic coastline, and the offshore Bijagos Islands such as Formosa, Roxa, and Orango. Neighboring countries Senegal and Guinea are labeled, and a small locator map in the bottom right highlights Guinea-Bissau's position in West Africa.

Physical features of Guinea-Bissau

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of western Africa showing the greatest territorial extent of major historical states from the 11th to 16th centuries. The 14th-century Kingdom of Mali is outlined in green, the 16th-century Songhai Empire in purple, and the 16th-century Hausa Bakwai states in red. Major cities, rivers, and regional names are labeled within and around these territories.

Principal kingdoms and peoples of western Africa, 11th–16th centuries

Map showing the principal kingdoms (at their greatest territorial extent) and peoples...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of western Africa in the late 19th century showing areas under French and British control in 1880, and illustrating the advance of French, British, and German colonial forces with dated arrows. French-controlled territory is shaded green and British-controlled territory is shaded purple, with major advances and key cities labeled. Boundaries between mandates established in 1919 are also marked, and an inset locates the region within Africa.

European penetration into western Africa in the late 19th century

Map showing European-controlled territories and advances in western Africa in the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Antique map showing the northwest region of Africa as published in the 1902 Encyclopaedia Britannica. The map details colonial territories and countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, the Sahara, Senegal, Portuguese Guinea, French Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, and Nigeria, with borders, cities, rivers, and geographic features labeled in fine print.

Northwest Africa, c. 1902

Map of northwest Africa showing Guinea-Bissau (then Portuguese Guinea) and Guinea...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

Colonization of Africa by European countries

Map showing the colonization of Africa by European countries in the 19th and early...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Amílcar Cabral

Amílcar Cabral

Portuguese Guinean nationalist leader Amílcar Cabral, pictured here in an undated...

Keystone Press/Alamy

Africa and the Middle East in the 1960s and '70s

Africa and the Middle East in the 1960s and '70s

More than 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East gained independence in the 1960s...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Malam Bacai Sanhá, 2010

Malam Bacai Sanhá, 2010

The president of Guinea-Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanhá, pictured here in 2010.

Roosewelt Pinheiro/Agencia Brasil

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, president of Guinea-Bissau, wearing a navy suit and red tie, stands in front of a decorative tapestry at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.

Umaro Sissoco Embaló

The president of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, upon his arrival...

© Alberto Ortega—Europa Press/Getty Images

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Guinea-Bissau

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Guinea-Bissau.

Interactives

Guinea-Bissau: Ethnic composition

Guinea-Bissau: Ethnic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea-Bissau: Religious affiliation

Guinea-Bissau: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea-Bissau: Urban-rural

Guinea-Bissau: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea-Bissau: Age breakdown

Guinea-Bissau: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea-Bissau: Major import sources

Guinea-Bissau: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea-Bissau: Major export destinations

Guinea-Bissau: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Learn about the colonization of Africa, the process of decolonization that led to...

© Encyclopaedia Britannica

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