About Guinea Bissau

Explore this Guinea Bissau map to learn everything you want to know about this country. Learn about Guinea Bissau location on the world map, official symbol, flag, geography, climate, postal/area/zip codes, time zones, etc. Check out Guinea Bissau history, significant states, provinces/districts, & cities, most popular travel destinations and attractions, the capital city’s location, facts and trivia, and many more.

Guinea-Bissau gives a striking note about the unscathed scenic beauty while charming the travelers with the unmatched charisma of the Portuguese colonialism.

From scenic highlands to the enchanting coastal plains, from the wooded forests to the notable ruins of the Bolama islands, from the royal architectural piece to the Museum of African Artifacts, find yourself engrossed within the West African traditions that is surely going to make you visit a worthwhile experience.

Location Of Guinea Bissau

Guinea-Bissau, is nestled in the region of western Africa, and is known to be one of the smallest nations within the African continent.

The place is engulfed by Senegal towards the northern front, Guinea to the southern and eastern front and with the Atlantic Ocean towards the western front.

Physical Map Of Guinea-bissau

Guinea-Bissau covers nearly 13,945 sq mi of land area that can be compared to Taiwan as far as size is concerned. Guinea-Bissau is placed on a lower altitude where the highest elevated area being 984 feet high. Covered with savannah grassland and marshy plains along the coastal area, the temperature is affected with rainy season after a prolonged period of hot weather. The major portion of Guinea-Bissau is affected with swampy marshlands, rainforests and mangrove-bordered wetland. The Bijagos archipelago is seen to broaden along a stretch of 48 km away from the sea.

Guinea-Bissau is separated into 8 distinct regions along with a single autonomous sector that are further separately divided into 37 sectors.

With no specific mountains, the place is streamlined with important rivers like Cachew, Mansoa, Geba, Corubal, Rio Grande de Buba and Cacine. Natives use these freshwater rivers inland, for navigational purposes.

Flag Of Guinea-bissau

The Guinea-Bissau flag was officially accepted in the month of September 24, 1973. The flag is designed with Pan-African colors banded in gold, green, and red. The Black Star of Africa is even placed within the red band. The design is highly subjective and influenced from the Ghana flag design. The color red denotes the blood shed by martyrs who lost their lives struggling for the country against Portugal. The color yellow describes the country’s mineral wealth along with the bright sunrays. The color green signifies the feeling of hope and greenery. And finally the black star speaks about the unity and integrity within Africa.

Climate Of Guinea-bissau

Guinea-Bissau’s climatic condition can be characterized as typically tropical in nature, where the weather remains relatively hotter and humid with slight amount of down pouring affecting the area during mid months of May to November. During the rainy seasons the average temperature ascends from 26°C to 28°C though it may reach to a level of 90°F. •  Months of July, August and September witness heavy down pouring with a rise in the humidity level.

•  The months of December and January are comparatively colder.
•  The months of December to April are recognized as the region’s dry months.
•  The months of April and May are relatively hotter thereby rising to a high of 90s F.

The harmattan wind seems to move from the Sahara region during the dry season, thereby resisting the temperature to ascend above 24°C. The weather conditions vary from place to place especially from the distance it maintains from the coastal area. Don’t forget to carry along raincoats or water-resistant shoes during the rainy season.

Flora And Fauna Of Guinea-bissau

Guinea-Bissau is known to possess substantial forest area in its interior regions covered with rice and mangrove plantation along the coastal swampy plains. The savanna grasslands cover the area in the northern part where animals like antelope, buffalo, monkeys, and snakes reside.

The Bijagós Archipelago is constituted with 88 islands and atolls and is covered with mudflats and mangroves all over. Lying off the coast, the place faces just over to Rio Gêba that features wooded forestlands, savannah grasslands and floodplains.

Nearly 900,000 birds resort to this area. The place boasts of five different species of marine turtles especially the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas, Loggerhead Turtle Caretta, Olive Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata and Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea.

C. Mydas breeds along the Ilhéu do Poilão that is placed in the eastern Atlantic region. Watch out species specific to the region like the West African Manatee in Western Africa, Hippopotamus, Sharks, West African Dwarf Crocodile and Atlantic Hump-backed Dolphin.

People Of Guinea-bissau

The languages spoken in the region of Guinea-Bissau are Portuguese, Creole, French and other minor ones, which includes vernacular like Balanta-Kentohe, Pulaar, Mandjak, Mandinka, Pepel, Biafada, Mancanha, Bidyogo, Ejamat, Mansoanka, Mansoanka, Bainoukgunyuno, Nalu, Soninke, Badjara, Bayote, Kobiana, Cassanga and Basary. Majority of the population belong to the indigenous religion and the rest belong to the Muslims and Christians. Women of this place work along with the men thereby helping them hand in hand. Men usually work for the government sector, or local factories, thereby working as laborers, sailors, and dockworkers. Women usually handle the home front along with the trade of the region. It is the young ones who look after the fields and the livestock of the region.

The surviving ethnic groups in Guinea-Bissau are:

Arts, Culture And Music Of Guinea-bissau

Art: Visit the Museum of African Artefacts where one gets to see innumerable displays of customary sculptures, pottery, weaving and basket ware.

Culture: The architectural planning within the province is based on modernist and trendy style. The colonial architecture represents the true spirits of the West African culture. Get to see rectangular shaped houses topped with zinc roofs and layered with concrete floors. The thatched circular huts made of dry mud can be sighted in the local villages. The people believe in participating in any kind of ceremonial function where they sacrifice domestic animals and consume palm wine or rum in large measures.

Music: The music genre of Guinea-Bissau owes to the polyrhythmic gumbe melody that was principally exported to the province. The chief musical instrument of the area is calabash that is accompanied with intricate dance music rhythms.

Gumbe is referred to any kind of music that is played within the country, but particularly concentrates on the folk music ethnicity.

Tina and tinga are the folk music played during funerals, or other relevant rituals. The other relevant music prevalent in the Bijagos islands is Balanta brosca, kussundé, Mandinga djambadon and the kundere musical tunes. Several bands came into existence specifically the bands of Africa Livre, Chifre Preto and Kapa Negra that had a turbulent connection with the so-called dictatorial government of the province.

The fado song gained much popularity in the regions like Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde but had no effect on the area of Guinea-Bissau where Gumbe has already made its place. Some of the famous bands that originated here were Cambança, Super Mama Djombo, Cobiana Djazz, M’Ba Bolama and many others.

Economy Of Guinea-bissau

The conflict within the armed forces severely affected the country’s infrastructure and the economy experienced a major downfall in the past years. Today, Guinea-Bissau stands as a least developed nation that mainly earns its revenue income from the sectors of agriculture and fishing. The country has seen a rise in the demand of the Cashew production within the region whereby the country ranks in the sixth position as far as manufacturing is concerned. Fish, seafood, peanuts, palm kernels, and timber witnesses, major exposure in the international market that is supplied from this region that form the major exports of the region. The government has applied License fees for fishing from which it earns small share of returns. Rice is the staple crop of the region. Government has its plans in near future to develop the mineral resources within the country especially of petroleum and phosphate. Presently, Guinea-Bissau gains a few share of its debt relief from the World Bank and African Development Bank.