Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 53.9%
male: 67.1%
female: 40.7% (1997 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau
local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau
local short form: Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese Guinea
Data code: PU
Government type: republic, multiparty since mid-1991
Capital: Bissau
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular—regiao);
Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali
note: Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
Independence: 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by
Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996