World Factbook
Guinea-Bissau
Republica da Guine-Bissau
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
77.3% (2022 est.)
female
52.2% (2022 est.)
total population
63.9% (2022 est.)
Languages
Portuguese-based Creole, Portuguese (official; largely used as a second or third language), Pular (a Fula language), Mandingo
Religions
Muslim 46.1%, folk religions 30.6%, Christian 18.9%, other or unaffiliated 4.4% (2020 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.93 male(s)/female
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.71 male(s)/female
Birth rate
35.82 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
17.8 years
total
18.5 years (2025 est.)
female
18.9 years
Population
male
1,042,910
total
2,132,325 (2024 est.)
female
1,089,415
Nationality
noun
Bissau-Guinean(s)
adjective
Bissau-Guinean
Tobacco use
male
13.2% (2025 est.)
total
6.7% (2025 est.)
female
0.5% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
45.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.22% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
42.3% (male 453,513/female 448,514)
15-64 years
54.6% (male 561,868/female 602,280)
65 years and over
3.1% (2024 est.) (male 27,529/female 38,621)
Ethnic groups
Balanta 30%, Fulani 30%, Manjaco 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%, unspecified smaller ethnic groups 6% (2015 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.2% (2019)
women married by age 15
8.1% (2019)
women married by age 18
25.7% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
83.2 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
77.5 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
17.6 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.7 (2024 est.)
Physician density
0.25 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
8.2% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
5.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-3.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.59 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 52.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 61.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 73.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 47.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 38.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 26.9% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
2.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
52 deaths/1,000 live births
total
45.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
40.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.55% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
2.26 (2025 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 mainly rural regions, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
62.2 years
female
66.8 years
total population
64.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
505 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 23.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 45.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 72.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 76.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 54.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 27.8% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.98 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
3.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.28 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
664,000 BISSAU (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
9.5% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
59% (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
18.8% (2019 est.)