Economic Conditions and Trade

Guinea-Bissau

Farmer harvesting peanuts in Bissau.                                                     Source: www.everyculture.com

- Gross Domestic Product: (2009): $826 million.

- Annual growth rate: (2009): 3%.

- Gross Dosmestic Product per capita: (2009): $512.

- Natural resources: Fish and timber. Bauxite and phosphate deposits are 

  not exploited; offshore petroleum.

- Foreign aid: Guinea-Bissau is desperately poor, (ranked 173rd out of 182 )

with huge foreign debt and an economy that limps along thanks to foreign aid.

- Agriculture: (62% of GDP): Products--cashews, tropical fruits, rice, peanuts, 

  cotton, palm oil. Arable land--11%. Forested--38%.

- Industry: (12% of GDP): Cashew processing. Very little industrial capacity 

  remains following the 1998 internal conflict.

- Major suppliers: (2009)--Portugal 24.5%, Senegal 17.2%, Pakistan 4.8%, 

France 4.6%.

Source:  http://www.afribiz.info/

1. Drug Trafficking:  

An estimated 50 tons of illicit drugs, worth almost US$2 billion, pass through the region each year, according to UN reports, which approximate that some 27% of the cocaine consumed annually in Europe transits through West Africa.

2.  Child Trafficking:

Child trafficking from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal is on the decline, partly due to better collaboration among local residents, civil society groups and government, 

3.  Bush Meat sales:

Unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting could threaten both wildlife populations and the people who depend on bushmeat for food or income.