Guinea Bissau Vs Sierra Leone (2023)

FAQs

What country was Guinea-Bissau colonized by? ›

The entire country became a Portuguese colony in the 19th century, known as Portuguese Guinea. In September 1973 the country declared independence as Guinea-Bissau.

Despite its size, Guinea-Bissau is host to a large variety of ethnic groups, languages, and religions. Guinea-Bissau has a history of political and institutional fragility dating back to its independence from Portugal in 1974. It is one of the most coup-prone and politically unstable countries in the world.

The official language of Guinea-Bissau is Portuguese, which is spoken by 11% of the population. The local dialect is called Crioulo or Kiriol. French is also learned in schools, as Guinea-Bissau is surrounded by French-speaking countries and is a full member of the Francophonie as well as the Lusophone CPLP.

Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in western Africa.

Sierra Leone was colonized in 1787 by formerly enslaved people arriving from England; other groups followed from Nova Scotia (1792) and Jamaica (1800). They were sponsored and governed by the private Sierra Leone Company until 1808, when Britain made Sierra Leone a crown colony.

West Africa's Guinea-Bissau was part of the Portuguese Empire for centuries. Once hailed as a potential model for African development, the country is now one of the poorest in the world. The vital cashew nut crop provides a modest living for most of Guinea-Bissau's farmers, and is the main source of foreign exchange.

Tens of thousands of slaves were exported from the coast to the islands and on to the New World, destined for major markets such as the plantations in Cuba and northeastern Brazil.

People from Guinea-Bissau are referred to as Bissau-Guineans.

Guinea-Bissau exports to Asia non-fillet frozen fish and seafood, peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. License fees for fishing in their sea-zone (Gulf of Guinea) provide the government with some small revenue. Rice is the major crop and staple food.

The Fula (Peuhl or Fulani) and Mandinka (Malinke) ethnic groups are the most numerous followers of Islam. Muslims generally live in the north and northeast, and most Muslims are Sunni; Shia communities exist as well. Adherents of indigenous religious beliefs generally live in all but the northern parts of the country.

Is Guinea-Bissau an Islamic country? ›

Islam in Guinea-Bissau is the predominant religion of the country. An estimated 46% of its roughly 1.8 million citizens are followers in 2023. Some estimates put this at a higher figure. The vast majority approximately 99.2% are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence, with Sufi influences.

The official language of Guinea-Bissau is Portuguese, which is spoken by 11% of the population. Guinea-Bissau Creole is spoken by 44% of the population. It is also known as Kiriol or Crioulo whose lexicon derives mostly from Portuguese.

After its independence (1974), Guinea-Bissau adopted Portuguese as its official language due to the need to maintain contact with the other former Portuguese colonies and the Portuguese-speaking countries in general (Kihm, 1994. (1994). Kriyol syntax: The Portuguese-based creole language of Guinea-Bissau.

Okinka Pampa died in 1930 of natural causes; her legacy is today still celebrated in the islands and on the mainland. She was the last queen of the Bijago people. Okinka Pampa is still worshiped throughout the archipelago, and her tomb may still be visited.

Ethnic and linguistic groups

Guinea-Bissau's population is dominated by more than 20 African ethnicities, including the Balante, one of the largest ethnic groups in the country, the numerous Fulani and their many subgroups, the Diola, the Nalu, the Bijagó, the Landuma, the Papel (Pepel), and the Malinke.

The modern-day country of Guinea lies on the West coast of Africa. The country was initially colonized by France and was referred to as French Guinea prior to gaining its independence in 1958. Once the country gained its independence, it simply became known as Guinea.

The final Portuguese victory over the last remaining bastion of mainland resistance came in 1915 with the conquest of the Papel-ruled Kingdom of Bissau by the Portuguese military officer Teixeira Pinto and the Wolof mercenary Abdul Injai.

British Guinea or Colony of Bolama and Bolama River, was a colony of the United Kingdom in West Africa. Its capital was in the city of Bolama. The colony was founded in 1792, but was incorporated, after arbitration, into Portuguese Guinea in 1870.

Portuguese Guinea (Portuguese: Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Guinea-Bissau.