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@Guinea-Bissau
Introduction Guinea-Bissau
Background:
In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's
first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held.
An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998 created
hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A military junta ousted
the president in May 1999. An interim government turned over power
in February 2000 when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office
following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by
its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war.
Geography Guinea-Bissau
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea
and Senegal
Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut