The primary airport for international flights is at Bissau (OXB). There are a number of airports in Guinea Bissau. However, not all Guinea Bissau airports have regularly scheduled flights. We do not list the smallest Guinea Bissau airports, since there is no way to provide you flights from those airports. AirGorilla offers flights, hotels, and rental car reservations for Guinea Bissau.
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese:'Republica da Guine-Bissau), is a country in western Africa, and one of the smallest nations in continental Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Formerly the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's official name in order to prevent confusion between itself and the Republic of Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau was once the kingdom of Gabu, part of the Mali Empire; parts of the kingdom persisted until the 18th century. Although the rivers and coast of this area were among the first places colonized by the Portuguese, who began slave trade in the 17th century.
An armed rebellion beginning in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) gradually consolidated its hold on the country. Independence was unilaterally declared on September 24, 1973 and was recognized by a 93-7 UN General Assembly vote in November 1973. Recognition became universal following the socialist-inspired military coup in 1974. Further coups and contested elections have followed ever since.
At 13,945 sq mi. (36,120 sq km) Guinea-Bissau is nearly identical in size to Taiwan, and somewhat larger than the US state of Maryland. This small, tropical country lies at a low altitude; its highest point is 984 feet (300 m). The interior is savanna, and the coastline is swampy plain. Its monsoon-like rainy season alternates with periods of hot, dry harmattan winds blowing from the Sahara. The Bijagos Archipelago extends out to sea.
Guinea-Bissau is among the 20 poorest countries of the world. Its farming and fishing economy was badly disrupted by the 1998–1999 civil war. It has a foreign debt of $US 921 million and is subject to an IMF structural adjustment program. One of Guinea-Bissau's important income sources is cashew nuts, of which it exports 90,000 tons per year.
More than 90% of the population speak African languages, the most popularly spoken of which is Kriol, a Portuguese-based creole language. Its usage constitutes some 44% of Guinea-Bissau's verbiage. In contrast, the official language, Portuguese, is spoken by only 14%. Most people are farmers with traditional religious beliefs (animism); 45% are Muslim, principally the Fula and Mandinka peoples; and less than 8% are Christian, most of whom are Roman Catholic. ()
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