The area that forms modern Guinea-Bissau was home to farming communities in antiquity, and came under the control of the Mali empire in the 13th century. After a period of relative independence as part of the Kingdom of Kaabu the area was colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century, but the local population consistently resisted Portugal’s attempts to effectively occupy the territory. In 1956, activists from Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which led a guerilla war against colonial rule starting in 1963.

In the decades following the country’s 1974 independence, Guinea-Bissau was ruled by the PAIGC under a single-party socialist government until political reforms led to a multi-party model. Still, even under the single party rule there was political instability and fractures within PAIGC, culminating in a military coup  by General João Bernardo Vieira in 1980. Vieira ruled the country between 1980 and 1999 and again from 2005 until his death in 2009. The country experienced a series of coups and counter-coups, four of which were successful, with power regularly shifting between military leaders and civilian politicians. In 1998, a short civil war broke out following an attempted coup, further destabilizing the country and hindering the development of democratic institutions.

More recently, coup attempts in 2022 and 2023 failed to unseat President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who won a contested election in 2020 after a period of political crisis. President Embaló dissolved the legislature after each of the coup attempts. Decades of political instability in the country have resulted in low levels of trust in government, reflected in part by high abstention rates in recent presidential elections. Significantly, the country suffers from high levels of poverty, and unequal access to education and healthcare. Infrastructure is very limited, even in the capital city (Bissau).

The population includes at least ten minority groups, the largest of which (the Balanta and the Fula) comprise 30 percent and 20 percent of the population, respectively. While ethnic and cultural differences were minimized during the independence process in favor of an image of unity, political campaigns since 2019 have exploited these differences, leading to polarization. Gender inequality is acute. Women face high levels of poverty and gender-based violence. Despite being outlawed, female genital mutilation is still prevalent – owing to impunity and corruption – with devastating consequences for women.

Guinea-Bissau’s chronic problems with corruption reached all echelons of society, but in 2022 the Public Prosecutor’s Office put forth a national strategy to address the issue. It will thus be important to watch how implementation impacts Absence of Corruption and whether the current positive trajectory can be maintained. Effective Parliament has been negatively impacted by the dissolutions of the parliament in 2022 and 2023 following coup attempts, and should be monitored going forward. The relationship between the executive and the legislature (recently held by different parties) will be a key indicator of democratic health in the next years.

(Last updated August 2024)