Demographics of Guinea-Bissau

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Guinea-Bissau, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Guinea-Bissau's population between 1961 and 2003.

Ethnic groups

The population of Guinea-Bissau is ethnically diverse with distinct languages, customs, and social structures. Most Guineans, 99%, are Blacks — mostly Fula and Mandinka-speakers concentrated in the north and northeast, the Balanta and Papel, living in the southern coastal regions, and the Manjaco and Mancanha, occupying the central and northern coastal areas.

Most of the rest, 1% of its total population, are mestiços of mixed Portuguese and black descent, including Cape Verdean minority. Due to the exodus of most Portuguese settlers after independence, less than 1% of Guinea-Bissauans are pure Portuguese. The country also has a Chinese minority, including Macanese people of mixed Portuguese and Chinese blood from Macau.

Most people are farmers. 38%-45% are Muslims - this makes Guinea-Bissau the only Portuguese-speaking nation with a sizable Muslim population. Most Muslims are Sunnis. The rest of the population are pagans, principally the Balanta, and Christians, mostly Roman Catholics.

Population

According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2], Guinea-Bissau's population was 1,874,303 in 2018, compared to 518,000 in 1950.[3] The proportion of the population below the age of 15 in 2010 was 41.3%, 55.4% were aged between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.3% were aged 65 years or older.[3]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	518 000	38.8	57.6	3.6
1955	566 000	41.9	54.9	3.2
1960	593 000	41.3	55.7	3.0
1965	598 000	41.3	55.6	3.1
1970	603 000	37.0	59.7	3.3
1975	694 000	41.0	55.7	3.3
1980	835 000	42.1	54.4	3.5
1985	922 000	45.4	51.1	3.5
1990	1 017 000	43.8	52.8	3.5
1995	1 125 000	44.1	52.6	3.4
2000	1 241 000	43.1	53.6	3.3
2005	1 368 000	42.4	54.4	3.2
2010	1 515 000	41.3	55.4	3.3

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Guinea-Bissau not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [3]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	30 000	18 000	12 000	54.9	33.5	21.4	7.41	211
1955-1960	25 000	17 000	7 000	42.3	29.5	12.8	5.88	201
1960-1965	25 000	16 000	9 000	42.3	27.4	14.9	5.88	191
1965-1970	21 000	15 000	6 000	35.6	24.8	10.8	4.78	182
1970-1975	36 000	18 000	18 000	55.7	27.3	28.4	7.34	174
1975-1980	35 000	19 000	15 000	45.5	25.3	20.3	6.11	165
1980-1985	42 000	21 000	21 000	47.9	23.5	24.4	6.70	153
1985-1990	44 000	21 000	23 000	45.8	22.1	23.7	6.68	145
1990-1995	48 000	23 000	26 000	45.2	21.2	24.0	6.54	141
1995-2000	51 000	24 000	27 000	42.8	19.9	22.9	6.05	134
2000-2005	54 000	24 000	29 000	41.1	18.5	22.5	5.66	126
2005-2010	57 000	25 000	32 000	39.3	17.5	21.9	5.27	119
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years[4]
1950–1955	35.88
1955–1960	37.19
1960–1965	38.63
1965–1970	40.60
1970–1975	42.48
1975–1980	44.49
1980–1985	46.60
1985–1990	48.18
1990–1995	49.99
1995–2000	51.81
2000–2005	52.68
2005–2010	54.18
2010–2015	56.00

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[5]

• One birth every 8 minutes
• One death every 27 minutes
• One net migrant every 288 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 11 minutes

The following demographic are from the independent Ghana Statistical Service and from the CIA World Factbook[6] unless otherwise indicated.

Population

1,833,247 (July 2018 est.)

1,596,677 (July 2011 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Guinea-Bissau in 2017

0-14 years: 43.55% (male 400,666 /female 397,704)

15-24 years: 20.23% (male 181,286 /female 189,515)

25-54 years: 29.9% (male 259,762 /female 288,300)

55-64 years: 3.29% (male 27,621 /female 32,611)

65 years and over: 3.04% (male 24,331 /female 31,451) (2018 est.)

Median age

total: 17.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 216th

male: 17.2 years

female: 18.5 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate

37.3 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 13th

Death rate

8.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th

Total fertility rate

4.81 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 18th

Population growth rate

2.48% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 23rd

1.988% (2011 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

16% (2014)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 85th

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 61.4 years (2018 est.)

male: 59.2 years (2018 est.)

female: 63.6 years (2018 est.)

total population: 50.23 years

male: 48.21 years

female: 52.31 years (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 80.4 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 75.2 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 5.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 19.3 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 43.4% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 3.41% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
• 0–14 years: 1 male(s)/female
• 15–24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
• 25–54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
• 55–64 years: 0.6 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Nationality

noun:Guinean (s)

adjective:Guinean

Ethnic groups[7]

• 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%

Religions[7]

Main article: Religion in Guinea-Bissau

• Islam 45%
• Christian 22.1%
• Animist 14.9
• None 2%
• Unspecified 15.9% (2008 est.)

Languages[7]

• Crioulo 90.4%
• Portuguese 27.1% (official)
• French 5.1%
• English 2.9%
• Other 2.4%

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 59.9%

male: 71.8%

female: 48.3% (2015 est.)

References

1. ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
2. ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
3. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
4. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
5. "Guinea-Bissau Population 2019", World Population Review
6. "The World FactBook - Ghana", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. "Africa :: GUINEA-BISSAU". CIA The World Factbook.