Guinea-Bissau currently ranks 164 out of 169 countries on the UNDP 2010 Human Development Index (HDI), indicating that there has been little to no improvement in the country’s socio-economic indicators compared to its performance in 1997, before the country entered into an armed conflict in 1998/1999. Since this civil war, recurrent bouts of political instability have hampered recovery and rehabilitation, leaving the country in a ‘structural emergency’ marked by persistently critical socio-economic indicators.
The country had been recovering from the assassination of the President and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CSAF) in March 2009, and later from the assassination of two presidential candidates, when the Deputy CSAF led a military coup in April 2010, after which he was appointed Prime Minister in June 2010. This sequence of events exacerbated the security atmosphere, and the international community, including ECOWAS, strongly opposed the political appointments following the coup.
Instability in neighbouring Guinea Conakry and the Casamance region of Senegal may also have potential negative implications for Guinea-Bissau, and these situations are being monitored. Despite these setbacks, the situation is gradually becoming more stable. There is a hope that donor confidence will return, which will provide support to the country’s economic recovery.
The Gross Domestic Product is US$ 945 Million, with a growth rate of 3.5%. According to a Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment undertaken by WFP in November and December 2010, approximately 65% of the population lives on less than US$2 per day, and 20% lives in extreme poverty on less than US$1 per day. Only 20% of the population has access to electricity. Almost 80% of the rural population relies on cashew trade as their primary source of income. Cashew exportation reached 122,000 metric tons in 2010 and the annual production for 2011 is estimated to reach more than 150,000 metric tons. Cashew prices were reported to be 65% higher than last year.
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