GuineaBissau Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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: 36,125 sq km

land: 28,120 sq km

water: 8,005 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries

total: 762 km

border countries (2): Guinea 421 km; Senegal 341 km

Coastline

350 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain

mostly low-lying coastal plain with a deeply indented estuarine coastline rising to savanna in east; numerous off-shore islands including the Arquipelago Dos Bijagos consisting of 18 main islands and many small islets

Elevation

highest point: Dongol Ronde 277 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 70 m

Natural resources

fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use

agricultural land: 44.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 8.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 6.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 29.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 55.2% (2018 est.)

other: 0% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

250 sq km (2012)

Major aquifers

Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin

Population distribution

approximately one-fifth of the population lives in the capital city of Bissau along the Atlantic coast; the remainder is distributed among the eight other, mainly rural, regions as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

Geography - note

this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying inland

NOTE: The information regarding GuineaBissau on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of GuineaBissau 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about GuineaBissau 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.