GuineaBissau People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

1,976,187 (July 2021 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bissau-Guinean(s)

adjective: Bissau-Guinean

Ethnic groups

Fulani 28.5%, Balanta 22.5%, Mandinga 14.7%, Papel 9.1%, Manjaco 8.3%, Beafada 3.5%, Mancanha 3.1%, Bijago 2.1%, Felupe 1.7%, Mansoanca 1.4%, Balanta Mane 1%, other 1.8%, none 2.2% (2008 est.)

Languages

Portuguese-based Creole, Portuguese (official; largely used as a second or third language), Pular (a Fula language), Mandingo

Religions

Muslim 45.1%, Christian 22.1%, animist 14.9%, none 2%, unspecified 15.9% (2008 est.)

Demographic profile

Guinea-Bissau’s young and growing population is sustained by high fertility; approximately 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Its large reproductive-age population and total fertility rate of more than 4 children per woman offsets the country’s high infant and maternal mortality rates. The latter is among the world’s highest because of the prevalence of early childbearing, a lack of birth spacing, the high percentage of births outside of health care facilities, and a shortage of medicines and supplies.

Guinea-Bissau’s history of political instability, a civil war, and several coups (the latest in 2012) have resulted in a fragile state with a weak economy, high unemployment, rampant corruption, widespread poverty, and thriving drug and child trafficking. With the country lacking educational infrastructure, school funding and materials, and qualified teachers, and with the cultural emphasis placed on religious education, parents frequently send boys to study in residential Koranic schools (daaras) in Senegal and The Gambia. They often are extremely deprived and are forced into street begging or agricultural work by marabouts (Muslim religious teachers), who enrich themselves at the expense of the children. Boys who leave their marabouts often end up on the streets of Dakar or other large Senegalese towns and are vulnerable to even worse abuse.

Some young men lacking in education and job prospects become involved in the flourishing international drug trade. Local drug use and associated violent crime are growing.

Age structure

0-14 years: 43.17% (male 417,810/female 414,105)

15-24 years: 20.38% (male 192,451/female 200,370)

25-54 years: 30.24% (male 275,416/female 307,387)

55-64 years: 3.12% (male 29,549/female 30,661)

65 years and over: 3.08% (male 25,291/female 34,064) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 81.2

youth dependency ratio: 76

elderly dependency ratio: 5.2

potential support ratio: 19.1 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 18 years

male: 17.4 years

female: 18.6 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.52% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

36.64 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

7.69 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

-3.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

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

Urbanization

urban population: 44.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

621,000 BISSAU (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

667 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 50.44 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 56.33 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 44.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.26 years

male: 61.04 years

female: 65.55 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

20.6% (2018)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 91.2% of population

rural: 60.3% of population

total: 73.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 8.5% of population

rural: 39.7% of population

total: 26.5% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

7% (2018)

Physicians density

0.13 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density

1 beds/1,000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 66.5% of population

rural: 13.4% of population

total: 36.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 33.5% of population

rural: 86.6% of population

total: 63.8% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

3% (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

37,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,500 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

9.5% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

18.8% (2019)

Education expenditures

2.1% of GDP (2013)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 59.9%

male: 71.8%

female: 48.3% (2015)

NOTE: The information regarding GuineaBissau on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of GuineaBissau 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about GuineaBissau 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.