Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau is a small West African country on the Atlantic coast, bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east. Bissau is the capital, and its name was added to the country's to tell it apart from neighboring Guinea. Portuguese is the official language, but Guinea-Bissau Creole, a Portuguese-based creole, is the national language and the one most people use.

The Jola, Papel, Manjak, Balanta and Biafada were among the first peoples here, followed by the Mandinka and Fula. From the 13th century the region belonged to Kaabu, first a province of the Mali Empire and later an independent federation of kingdoms. The Venetian Alvise Cadamosto arrived in 1455 and the Portuguese Diogo Gomes in 1456, and trading ports such as Cacheu and Bissau grew from the 16th century. Portuguese control beyond its forts stayed weak until the late 19th century, and a dispute over Bolama was settled in Portugal's favor in 1870 through the mediation of US President Ulysses S. Grant.

Amílcar Cabral founded the PAIGC in 1956 to win independence. It declared independence on 24 September 1973, recognized by Portugal on 10 September 1974, with Luís Cabral as first president. The first multiparty elections came in 1994. Formally it is a republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government.

Low coastal plains and mangrove swamps make up most of its 36,125 km² (13,948 sq mi), and the highest point, Monte Torin, reaches only 262 m (860 ft). Fish, cashew nuts and groundnuts are the main exports, and the economy rests mainly on farming. Off the coast lies the Bijagós Archipelago of 88 islands and islets.