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# Glorioso Islands
The **Glorieuses** or **Glorioso Islands** (*Îles Glorieuses* or officially also *Archipel des Glorieuses*) are a group of islands and rocks totaling 5 km2. They are controlled by France as part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, a French overseas territory, but are also claimed by Comoros, Madagascar and formerly by Seychelles. They are geographically part of the Comoro Islands between the French overseas region of Mayotte and the nation of Madagascar.
## Archipelago
The archipelago consists of two islands, Grande Glorieuse (11 34 46.54 S 47 17 54.14 E type:isle name=Grande Glorieuse) and Île du Lys, and two rock islands, *Roches Vertes* and *Île aux Crabes*, along with two sandbanks that emerge at low tide. They form part of a coral reef and lagoon. Grande Glorieuses is roughly circular in shape and measures about 3 km in diameter. It is verdant, mostly by the coconut plantation remains and casuarina trees.
Île du Lys, located at 11 30 59.35 S 47 22 36.02 E type:isle name=Île du Lys about 8 km northeast of Grande Glorieuses, is about 600 m long and consists of sand dunes and scrub with some mangroves. It was formerly quarried for phosphate (guano).
The Glorieuses have an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 48350 km2. There are anchorages offshore, and Grande Glorieuse has a 1300 m long airstrip.
## Climate
The climate is tropical and the terrain is low and flat, varying in height from sea level to 12 m. Île de Lys in particular is a nesting ground for migratory seabirds, and turtles lay eggs on the beaches. In the ocean, migratory species such as humpback whales and whale sharks may appear.
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# Glorioso Islands
## History
While probably earlier known to Arab (perhaps especially Yemeni) navigators, the Glorieuses were named and settled in 1880 by a Frenchman, Hippolyte Caltaux, who established a coconut plantation on Grande Glorieuse. The archipelago became a French possession in 1892 when Captain Richard of the *Primauget* made a formal claim. In 1895, the Glorioso Island became a part of the colony of Mayotte and dependencies.
Historically flora on the islands mostly consisted of bois de rose, portia, banyan and other large native trees, many of which were felled following the establishment of the French settlement and plantation.
From 1914 to 1958, concessions to exploit the islands were given to Seychelles companies. The islands are today nature reserves with a meteorological station garrisoned by the French Foreign Legion. Despite the Glorioso Islands never having been a part of the Malagasy Protectorate but a part of the colony of Mayotte and dependencies, then a part of French Comoros, Madagascar has claimed sovereignty over the islands since 1972. The Comoros claims Mayotte and Glorioso Islands. The Seychelles claimed the islands too before the France--Seychelles Maritime Boundary Agreement in 2001.
In 2012, France founded Glorioso Islands Marine Natural Park, a marine protected area, to preserve the endangered flora and fauna of the islands.
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean are partially claimed by the Comoros, Madagascar, and Mauritius. The Malagasy and Mauritian claims, however, are significantly later than their access to independence. However, the agreement reached in October 2024 on the restitution to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands by Great Britain, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, notably home to the American base of Diego Garcia, has relaunched the debate in Madagascar.
## Gallery
<File:Iles> glorieuses 76.jpg\|Map <File:Iles> glorieuses
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# Göta Canal
The **Göta Canal** (*Göta kanal*) is a Swedish canal constructed in the early 19th century. The canal is 190 km long, of which 87 km were dug or blasted, with a width varying between 7 -- and a maximum depth of about 3 m. The speed is limited to 5 knots in the canal.
The Göta Canal is a part of a waterway 390 km long, linking a number of lakes and rivers to provide a route from Gothenburg (Göteborg) on the west coast to Söderköping on the Baltic Sea via the Trollhätte kanal and Göta älv river, through the large lakes Vänern and Vättern. This waterway was dubbed as Sweden\'s Blue Ribbon (*Sveriges blå band*). Contrary to the popular belief it is not correct to consider this waterway as a sort of *greater* Göta Canal: the Trollhätte Canal and the Göta Canal are completely separate entities.
## History
The idea of a canal across southern Sweden was first put forward as early as 1516, by Hans Brask, the bishop of Linköping. However, it was not until the start of the 19th century that Brask\'s proposals were put into action by Baltzar von Platen, a German-born former officer in the Swedish Navy. He organised the project and obtained the necessary financial and political backing. His plans attracted the enthusiastic backing of the government and the new king, Charles XIII, who saw the canal as a way of kick-starting the modernisation of Sweden. Von Platen himself extolled the modernising virtues of the canal in 1806, claiming that mining, agriculture and other industries would benefit from \"a navigation way through the country.\"
The project was inaugurated on 11 April 1810 with a budget of 24 million Swedish riksdalers. It was by far the greatest civil engineering project ever undertaken in Sweden up to that time, taking 22 years of effort by more than 58,000 workers. Much of the expertise and equipment had to be acquired from abroad, notably from Britain, whose canal system was the most advanced in the world at that time. The Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford, renowned for his design of the Caledonian Canal in Scotland, developed the initial plans for the canal and travelled to Sweden in 1810 to oversee some of the early work on the route. Many other British engineers and craftsmen were imported to assist with the project, along with significant quantities of equipment - even apparently mundane items such as pickaxes, spades and wheelbarrows.
The Göta Canal was officially opened on 26 September 1832. Von Platen himself did not live to see the completion of the canal, having died shortly before its opening. However, the return on investment for the canal didn\'t live up to the hopes of the government. Bishop Hans Brask\'s original justifications for the canal\'s construction were the onerous Sound Dues imposed by Denmark--Norway on all vessels passing through the narrow Øresund channel between Sweden and Denmark and the trouble with the Hanseatic League. The canal enabled vessels travelling to or from the Baltic Sea to bypass the Øresund and so evade the Danish toll. In 1851, the tycoon André Oscar Wallenberg founded the Company for Swedish Canal Steamboat Transit Traffic to carry goods from England to Russia via the canal. However, it only ran two trips between St Petersburg and Hull via Motala before the Crimean War halted Anglo-Russian trade. After the war ended, the great powers pressured Denmark into ending the four-hundred-year-old tradition of the Sound Dues, thus eliminating at a stroke the canal\'s usefulness as an alternative to the Øresund.
The arrival of the railways in 1855 quickly made the canal redundant, as trains could carry passengers and goods far more rapidly and did not have to shut down with the arrival of winter, which made the canal impassable for five months of the year. By the 1870s, the canal\'s goods traffic had dwindled to just three major types of bulk goods - forest products, coal and ore, none of which required rapid transportation. Traffic volumes stagnated after that and never recovered.
The canal had one major industrial legacy in the shape of Motala Verkstad - a factory established in Motala to produce the machines such as cranes and steam dredgers that were needed to build the canal. This facility has sometimes been referred to as the \"cradle of the Swedish engineering industry\". After the canal was opened, Motala Verkstad focused on producing equipment, locomotives and rolling stock for the newly constructed railways, beginning a tradition of railway engineering that continues to this day in the form of AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstädernas Aeroplanavdelning (ASJA) that was bought by the aeroplane manufacturer SAAB in Linköping.
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# Göta Canal
## Description
These days the canal is primarily used as a tourist and recreational attraction. Around two million people visit the canal each year on pleasure cruises - either on their own boats or on one of the many cruise ships - and related activities. The canal sometimes is ironically called the \"divorce ditch\" (*skilsmässodiket*) because of the troubles that inexperienced couples have to endure while trying to navigate the narrow canal and the many locks by themselves.
### Locks
The canal has 58 locks and can accommodate vessels up to 30 m long, 7 m wide and 2.8 m in draft.
From the east-coast of Sweden to Lake Vänern the locks are as follows (with meters of height difference per lock):
- Mem, 3
- Tegelbruket, 2.3
- Söderköping, 2.4
- Duvkullen nedre, 2.3
- Duvkullen övre, 2.4
- Mariehov nedre, 2.1
- Mariehov övre, 2.6
- Carlsborg nedre, 5.1
- Carlsborg övre, 4.7
- Klämman, open
- Hulta, 3.2
- Bråttom, 2.3
- Norsholm, 0.8
- Carl Johans slussar (seven locks), 18.8
- Oskars slussar, 4.8
- Karl Ludvig Eugéns slussar, 5.5
- Brunnby, 5.3
- Heda, 5.2
- Borensberg, 0.2
- Borenshult, 15.3
- Motala, 0.1
*Lake Vättern* (88 m above sea level)
- Forsvik, 3.5
*Lake Viken* (92 m above sea level -- canal\'s highest point)
- Tåtorp, 0.2
- Hajstorp övre, 5.0
- Hajstorp nedre, 5.1
- Riksberg, 7.5
- Godhögen, 5.1
- Norrkvarn övre, 2.9
- Norrkvarn nedre, 2.9
- Sjötorp 7-8, 4.6
- Sjötorp 6, 2.4
- Sjötorp 4-5, 4.8
- Sjötorp 2-3, 4.8
- Sjötorp 1, 2.9
After Lake Vänern (44 m above sea level) Trollhätte kanal to Gothenburg and the west-coast of Sweden
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# Göta älv
The ***italic=no*** (`{{IPA|sv|ˈjø̌ːta ˈɛlv}}`{=mediawiki}; \"River of (the) Geats\") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ice Lake to the Atlantic Ocean and nowadays it has the largest drainage basin in Scandinavia.
The *italic=no* is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. Its length is 93 km. The Bohus Fortress is located by the river at Kungälv. There the river splits into two, with the northern part being the **Nordre älv** and the southern part keeping the name *italic=no*; the two arms of the river enclose the island of Hisingen.
At Trollhättan there is a dam, canal locks and a hydropower station in the river. The locks make the river navigable, even for large cargo vessels (88 m long). The artificial parts are called Trollhätte Canal. The river and the canal is part of a mostly inland waterway, Göta Canal, which spans the width of Sweden to the Baltic Sea south of Stockholm.
The power station supplied electric power to the heavy steel industry concentrated around Trollhättan Falls, contributing to its Industrial Revolution. In the summer months the spillway of the dam is opened for a few minutes daily and tourists gather to see the water rushing down the river (picture).
There are concerns about whether the maximum permitted discharge of 1000 m3/s is enough in a scenario where heavy rain floods the lake Vänern, causing considerable damage. Previously this was thought not to be possible in reality, but in 2001 the lake was flooded almost 1 m above maximum level (and some upstream lakes like Glafsfjorden flooded 3 m). In this situation, *italic=no* was allowed a discharge of 1100 m3/s for months causing a big risk of landslides. Now a water tunnel between Vänersborg and Uddevalla is considered as a rescue solution.
There is a large risk of landslides along the river and historical records of 15 landslides exist. The largest occurred in the years 1150, 1648, 1950, 1957 and 1977 (Tuve landslide).
## Name in other languages {#name_in_other_languages}
In Old Norse the river was called the *Gautelfr*; in Icelandic it is *Gautelfur*; and in Norwegian it is sometimes rendered as *Gøtelv*
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# Telecommunications in Greece
The telecommunications and postal services market in Greece is regulated by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT).
## Landline telephone {#landline_telephone}
COSMOTE, the former state monopoly, is the main player in fixed-line telephony. Since the liberalization of the telecommunications market, COSMOTE (OTE) has been slowly losing market share to \"alternative\", competing telecom operators, such as Vodafone, Nova. As of 2005, COSMOTE\'s share on the market hovered around 76%.
Telephones -- main lines in use: 6,348,800 (2004).
Telephone system:
- modern networks reach all areas; microwave radio relay carries most traffic; 35,000 kilometers of optical fibers and extensive open-wire network; submarine cables to off-shore islands.
- domestic: 100% digital; microwave radio relay, open wire, and submarine cable.
- international: 100% digital; tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations -- 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region).
## Cellular network {#cellular_network}
Greece has three mobile telecom companies; Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova.
Number of active lines: 20,285,000 (September 2009), which means 180% penetration.
## Satellite
Greece owns one telecommunications satellite, named Hellas Sat, which provides telecommunication services in a major part of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
## Internet
4,893,840 IP addresses, 1.6638e+30 IPv6 addresses, 5,920,000 Internet Users, 2,396,700 broadband connections, 23 Internet Service Providers.
## Mail
Hellenic Post is the state-owned postal service provider of Greece. A number of private courier services, such as DHL, ACS, United Parcel Service and FedEx (Speedex), also operate in Greece
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# Transport in Greece
**Transport in Greece** has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country\'s infrastructure and transportation. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nation\'s islands, improvements to the road infrastructure, rail, urban transport, and airports have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Greece\'s economy, which in the past decade has come to rely heavily on the construction industry.
## Cable transport {#cable_transport}
- Lycabettus Funicular
- Parnitha Funitel
- Santorini cable car
## Rail transport {#rail_transport}
### Railways
- total: 2,571 km, (764 km are, or will be, electrified)
- standard gauge: 1,565 km `{{Track gauge|1435mm|lk=on}}`{=mediawiki} gauge
- narrow gauge: 961 km `{{Track gauge|1000mm|lk=on}}`{=mediawiki} gauge; 22 km `{{Track gauge|750mm|lk=on}}`{=mediawiki} gauge
- dual gauge: 23 km combined `{{Track gauge|1435mm}}`{=mediawiki} and `{{Track gauge|1000mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauges (three rail system) (2004)
The state-owned company that owns and maintains Greece\'s railway network is OSE, Gaiose also a state-owned company owns and maintains railway stations, while Hellenic Train is the company responsible for operating all passenger trains and the most freight trains.
### Metro
Cities with a rapid transit railway network:
- Athens Metro (3 lines) (another one under construction)
- Thessaloniki Metro (2 lines) (Extension)
### Commuter rail {#commuter_rail}
Cities with a commuter rail network (Proastiakos):
- Athens (4 lines)
- Thessaloniki (3 lines)
- Patras (2 lines)
### Tram
- Athens Tram
- List of town tramway systems in Greece
## Road transport {#road_transport}
### Highways
- As of 2017, Greece has 2500 km of motorways.
Roads:
- total: 117,000 km
- paved: 107,406 km
- unpaved: 9,594 km (1996 est.)
- over 2500 tunnels (est.)
### Bus transport {#bus_transport}
#### Urban bus transport {#urban_bus_transport}
- OSY subsidiary of Transport for Athens (OASA) organizes mass bus (Busses and trolleybuses) transit in Athens.
- OASTH organizes mass bus transit in Thessaloniki.
- Companies named *Astiko KTEL* provide mass bus transit in many of the other cities of Greece.
#### Intercity and regional bus transport {#intercity_and_regional_bus_transport}
KTEL is the common name for every company which is responsible for intercity and regional bus transit. Most of the regional units, though, have their own regional network of buses, and have their regional unit names labeled on KTEL vehicles that operate there. (e.g. KTEL Argolidas).
There are 4 major bus terminals in Greece, the biggest is in Thessaloniki (Macedonia Inter city bus terminal) which serves all of Greece while Athens has 2 separate bus terminals serving different parts of Greece (Kifissos bus terminal and Liossion bus terminal). A new Athens bus terminal in Elaionas will replace the two separate terminals and serve all of Greece with completion by 2026. A new bus terminal in Patras which will replace the old one is currently under construction in Agios Dionyssios just 200m from the current one and it will open in late 2024 after many delays due to COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
## Water transport {#water_transport}
### Waterways
The 80 km system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) and three unconnected rivers.
The Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth, connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf; and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Athens port of Piraeus by 325 km.
### Ports and harbours {#ports_and_harbours}
- Alexandroupoli
- Argostoli
- Elefsina
- Ermoupolis
- Heraklion, Crete
- Kalamata
- Kavala
- Kerkyra
- Kos
- Chalkis
- Igoumenitsa
- Lavrio
- Patras
- Piraeus
- Port of Thessaloniki
- Volos
- Katakolo
- Mykonos
- Mytilene
- Rhodes (city)
- Souda
- Syros
### Merchant marine {#merchant_marine}
- total: 3,338 ships (with a volume of `{{GT|1,000|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki} or over) totaling `{{GT|109,377,819}}`{=mediawiki}/`{{DWT|182,540,868|metric|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki}[1](http://www.nee.gr/htm/greekowned.htm)
- ships by type (1999 est.)
:\*bulk carrier: 273
:\*cargo ship: 60
:\*chemical tanker: 22
:\*combination bulk: 5
:\*combination ore/oil: 8
:\*container ship: 43
:\*Liquified Gas Carrier: 5
:\*multi-functional large load carrier: 1
:\*passenger ship: 12
:\*passenger/cargo: 2
:\*petroleum tanker: 245
:\*refrigerated cargo: 3
:\*roll-on/roll-off ship: 19
:\*short-sea passenger: 75
:\*specialized tanker: 4
:\*vehicle carrier: 2
## Airports
- total: 82 (2005)
- With paved runways: 67
:\*over 3,047 m: 5
:\*2,438--3,047 m: 16
:\*1,524--2,437 m: 19
:\*914--1,523 m: 17
:\*under 914 m: 10 (2005)
- With unpaved runways: 15
:\*914 to 1,523 m: 3
:\*under 914 m: 12 (2005)
- heliports: 8 (2005)
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# Transport in Greece
## Pipelines
- crude oil: 26 km
- petroleum products: 547 km
## Major construction projects {#major_construction_projects}
### Completed projects {#completed_projects}
#### Motorways
- A1 motorway (PAThE): *550 km (340 mi)*
- A11 motorway
- A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos): *670 km (420 mi)*
- A24 motorway
- A25 motorway
- A27 motorway (partially complete)
- A29 motorway: *77 km (48 mi)*
- A3 motorway (Central Greece Motorway, part of the E65, partially complete)
- A5 motorway (Ionia Odos, partially complete): *196 km (122 mi)*
- Rio--Antirrio bridge *2,880 metre long (9,449 ft) (2nd longest cable bridge in Europe*
- A52 motorway
- A6 motorway (Attiki Odos): *69.7 km (43
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# Hellenic Armed Forces
The **Hellenic Armed Forces** (*Ellinikés Énoples Dynámis*) lead the military forces of Greece. The Hellenic Armed Forces consists of the Hellenic Army, the Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force and Hellenic Coast Guard.
The civilian authority overseeing the Hellenic Armed Forces is the Ministry of National Defense.
## History
The Greek military, encompassing the army and navy, was established during the fight for independence from Ottoman rule in 1821. The Hellenic air force was later introduced in September 1912 as the third arm of the military. Throughout the Balkan Wars of 1912/1913, the Greek armed forces achieved significant victories against the Ottoman and Bulgarian armies, effectively expanding Greece\'s territorial boundaries. The Kingdom of Greece aligned with the Entente powers during World War I and participated in the intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1919.
However, the conflict between Greece and Turkey, reignited in the early 1920s, concluded in the autumn of 1922 with a severe setback for Greece, known as the \"Asia Minor Catastrophe.\" In World War II, under the leadership of dictator Ioannis Metaxas, Greece rebuffed an ultimatum for surrender from Italy on October 28, 1940. Greek forces managed to repel the Italian invasion, driving them back across the Albanian border. Nonetheless, the combined forces of the German Wehrmacht and Bulgarian military in April and May 1941 (during the Balkan campaign) overpowered Greek resistance. Subsequent to this defeat, segments of the Greek army evacuated to Egypt, where they joined the British Expeditionary Force in continuing the struggle against Axis forces. Following the German withdrawal in 1944, Greece was embroiled in a civil war from March 1946 until October 1949.
Greek soldiers also participated in the Korean War from 1951 to 1955. Since February 18, 1952, Greece has been a fully-fledged member of NATO.
### Conscription
Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for males from and over 18 years of age. Under Greek law, all men over 18 years of age must serve in the Armed Forces for a period of 9-12 months. Women can serve in the Greek military on a voluntary basis, but cannot be conscripted.
### Budget
According to NATO sources in 2008, Greece spent 2.8% of GDP on its military, which translated to about €6.9 billion (US\$9.3 billion). In 2008, Greece was the largest importer of conventional weapons in Europe and its military spending was the highest in the European Union relative to the country\'s GDP, reaching twice the European average.
Data for the 2017 fiscal year showed an estimated expense of €4.3 billion in constant 2010 prices, or €4.2 billion in current prices, equivalent to 2.38% of GDP (+0.01 change since 2016). For the 2018 fiscal year, the expenditure was estimated at €4.3 billion in constant 2010 prices or €4.1 billion in current prices, equivalent to 2.27% of GDP (-0.11% change since 2017).
### Military personnel {#military_personnel}
Military personnel was estimated at 106,000 for year 2017 and 105,000 for year 2018.
### International operations {#international_operations}
Greece is an EU and NATO member and currently participates primarily in peacekeeping operations. Such operations are ISAF in Afghanistan, EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Chad, and KFOR in Kosovo. Greece also maintains a small force in Cyprus.
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# Hellenic Armed Forces
## Component forces and their organization {#component_forces_and_their_organization}
### Hellenic National Defense General Staff {#hellenic_national_defense_general_staff}
The Hellenic National Defense General Staff has the operational command of the Joint Armed Forces Headquarters and the units that operate under them. It is also responsible for organising and implementing routine operations and exercises of the Joint Armed Forces, coordinating and implementing operations during the management of wartime and peacetime crises and overseeing operations of the Hellenic Armed Forces outside Greek national territory.
### Hellenic Army {#hellenic_army}
The basic components of the Hellenic Army are Arms and Corps. The former is responsible for combat missions and the latter for logistical support. It is organized in Commands, Formations, and Units with the main being brigade, division and corps. Its main mission is to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of the country.
### Hellenic Navy {#hellenic_navy}
The Hellenic Navy incorporates a modern fleet consisting of strike units, such as frigates, gunboats, submarines and fast attack guided missile vessels and multiple types of support vessels, in order to be able to conduct naval operations that protect Greek national interests and guarantee the integrity of Greek territorial waters, the mainland and the islands.
### Hellenic Air Force {#hellenic_air_force}
The Hellenic Air Force incorporates a modern aircraft fleet and congruent structure, combined with a comprehensive air defense system that consists of a widespread network of anti-aircraft weapons. The structure, which is overseen by the Air Force General Staff, includes the Tactical Air Force Command, the Air Force Support Command, the Air Force Training Command and a number of other independent defense units and services. Its main mission is to defend Greek airspace and to provide combat support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy
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# Geography of Greenland
Greenland is located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada and northwest of Iceland. The territory comprises the island of Greenland---the largest island in the world---and more than a hundred other smaller islands (see alphabetic list). Greenland has a 1.2 km border with Canada on Hans Island. A sparse population is confined to small settlements along certain sectors of the coast. Greenland possesses the world\'s second-largest ice sheet.
Greenland sits atop the Greenland plate, a subplate of the North American Plate. The Greenland craton is made up of some of the oldest rocks on the face of the earth. The Isua greenstone belt in southwestern Greenland contains the oldest known rocks on Earth, dated at 3.7--3.8 billion years old.
The vegetation is generally sparse, with the only patch of forested land being found in Nanortalik Municipality in the extreme south near Cape Farewell.
The climate is arctic to subarctic, with cool summers and cold winters. The terrain is mostly a flat but gradually sloping icecap that covers all land except for a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast. The lowest elevation is sea level and the highest elevation is the summit of Gunnbjørn Fjeld, the highest point in the Arctic at 3694 m. The northernmost point of the island of Greenland is Cape Morris Jesup, discovered by Admiral Robert Peary in 1900. Natural resources include zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, hydropower and fish.
## Area
*Total area:* 2,166,086 km^2^
*Land area:* 2,166,086 km^2^ (410,449 km^2^ ice-free, 1,755,637 km^2^ ice-covered)
**Maritime claims:**
*Territorial sea:* 3 nmi
*Exclusive fishing zone:* 200 nmi
## Land use {#land_use}
*Arable land:* approximately 6%; some land is used to grow silage.\
*Permanent crops:* Approximately 0%\
*Other:* 100% (2012 est.)
The total population comprises around 56,000 inhabitants, of whom approximately 18,000 live in the capital, Nuuk.
## Natural hazards {#natural_hazards}
Continuous ice sheet covers 84% of the country; the rest is permafrost.
## Environment -- current issues {#environment_current_issues}
Protection of the Arctic environment, climate change, pollution of the food chain, excessive hunting of endangered species (walrus, polar bears, narwhal, beluga whale and several sea birds).
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# Geography of Greenland
## Climate
`{{See also|Climate of Greenland|}}`{=mediawiki} Greenland\'s climate is a tundra climate on and near the coasts and an ice cap climate in inland areas. It typically has short, cool summers and long, moderately cold winters.
Due to Gulf Stream influences, Greenland\'s winter temperatures are very mild for its latitude. In Nuuk, the capital, average winter temperatures are only -9 C. In comparison, the average winter temperatures for Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, are around -27 C. Conversely, summer temperatures are very low, with an average high around 10 C. This is too low to sustain trees, and the land is treeless tundra.
On the Greenland ice sheet, the temperature is far below freezing throughout the year, and record high temperatures have peaked only slightly above freezing. The record high temperature at Summit Camp is 2.2 C.
In the far south of Greenland, there is a very small forest in the Qinngua Valley, due to summer temperatures being barely high enough to sustain trees. There are mountains over 1,500 m high surrounding the valley, which protect it from cold, fast winds travelling across the ice sheet. It is the only natural forest in Greenland, but is only 15 km long. `{{Weather box
|location=[[Nuuk]]
|metric first=Y
|single line=Y
|width=auto
|Jan record high C=13.5
|Feb record high C=13.0
|Mar record high C=13.2
|Apr record high C=14.6
|May record high C=18.3
|Jun record high C=23.8
|Jul record high C=26.3
|Aug record high C=25.1
|Sep record high C=23.8
|Oct record high C=19.9
|Nov record high C=15.8
|Dec record high C=13.2
|year record high C=26.3
|Jan high C=−5.6
|Feb high C=−6.3
|Mar high C=−6.8
|Apr high C=−1.4
|May high C=3.4
|Jun high C=7.7
|Jul high C=10.2
|Aug high C=10.4
|Sep high C=6.3
|Oct high C=1.8
|Nov high C=−1.1
|Dec high C=−3.4
|year high C=1.3
|Jan mean C=-8.2
|Feb mean C=-9.1
|Mar mean C=-9.2
|Apr mean C=-3.6
|May mean C=0.8
|Jun mean C=4.4
|Jul mean C=6.8
|Aug mean C=7.3
|Sep mean C=3.7
|Oct mean C=-0.3
|Nov mean C=-3.4
|Dec mean C=-5.8
|year mean C=-1.4
|Jan low C=−10.4
|Feb low C=−11.5
|Mar low C=−11.4
|Apr low C=−5.7
|May low C=−2.5
|Jun low C=1.7
|Jul low C=3.8
|Aug low C=4.0
|Sep low C=2.8
|Oct low C=−2.1
|Nov low C=−5.4
|Dec low C=−8.0
|year low C=−3.7
|Jan record low C=-32.5
|Feb record low C=-29.6
|Mar record low C=-27.5
|Apr record low C=-30.0
|May record low C=-19.0
|Jun record low C=-10.3
|Jul record low C=-6.6
|Aug record low C=-4.7
|Sep record low C=-8.2
|Oct record low C=-16.6
|Nov record low C=-24.4
|Dec record low C=-25.2
|year record low C=-32.5
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm=54.7
|Feb precipitation mm=51.1
|Mar precipitation mm=49.1
|Apr precipitation mm=45.6
|May precipitation mm=56.5
|Jun precipitation mm=60.6
|Jul precipitation mm=81.3
|Aug precipitation mm=89.1
|Sep precipitation mm=90.2
|Oct precipitation mm=66.5
|Nov precipitation mm=75.2
|Dec precipitation mm=62.0
|year precipitation mm=781.6
|unit precipitation days=0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days=13.8
|Feb precipitation days=12.7
|Mar precipitation days=15.1
|Apr precipitation days=13.2
|May precipitation days=13.0
|Jun precipitation days=10.5
|Jul precipitation days=12.5
|Aug precipitation days=12.5
|Sep precipitation days=14.1
|Oct precipitation days=13.5
|Nov precipitation days=14.3
|Dec precipitation days=14.4
|year precipitation days=159.6
|Jan snow days=13.6
|Feb snow days=12.1
|Mar snow days=14.5
|Apr snow days=11.4
|May snow days=9.4
|Jun snow days=2.8
|Jul snow days=0.1
|Aug snow days=0.2
|Sep snow days=4.3
|Oct snow days=9.8
|Nov snow days=12.7
|Dec snow days=13.8
|year snow days=104.7
|Jan humidity=78
|Feb humidity=79
|Mar humidity=81
|Apr humidity=81
|May humidity=84
|Jun humidity=84
|Jul humidity=87
|Aug humidity=87
|Sep humidity=83
|Oct humidity=78
|Nov humidity=76
|Dec humidity=77
|year humidity=81
|Jan sun=15.5
|Feb sun=65.0
|Mar sun=148.8
|Apr sun=180.0
|May sun=189.1
|Jun sun=204.0
|Jul sun=195.3
|Aug sun=164.3
|Sep sun=141.0
|Oct sun=80.6
|Nov sun=30.0
|Dec sun=6.2
|year sun=
|Jand sun=0.5
|Febd sun=2.3
|Mard sun=4.8
|Aprd sun=6.0
|Mayd sun=6.1
|Jund sun=6.8
|Juld sun=6.3
|Augd sun=5.3
|Sepd sun=4.7
|Octd sun=2.6
|Novd sun=1.0
|Decd sun=0.2
|yeard sun=3.9
|source 1=[[Danish Meteorological Institute]]<ref name="nuuk-climate" /><ref name=DMI2>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dmi.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Rapporter/TR/2000/tr00-18.pdf
|title=The Observed Climate of Greenland, 1958–99 with Climatological Standard Normals, 1961–90
|publisher=[[Danish Meteorological Institute]]
|access-date=31 October 2019}}</ref>
|source 2=Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),<ref name=meteoclimat>
{{cite web
|url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=149
|title=Station Nuuk
|publisher=Météo Climat
|language=fr
|access-date=10 February 2019}}</ref> [[Deutscher Wetterdienst]] (humidity 1961–1990, sun 1980–1990)<ref name=DWD>
{{cite web
|url=https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_042500_kt.pdf
|title=Klimatafel von Godthaab (Nuuk) / Grönland (zu Dänemark)
|work=Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world
|publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst
|language=de
|access-date=16 December 2019}}</ref>
}}`{=mediawiki}
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# Geography of Greenland
## Climate
### Climate change {#climate_change}
The Greenland ice sheet is 3 km thick and broad enough to blanket an area the size of Mexico. The ice is so massive that its weight presses the bedrock of Greenland below sea level and is so all-concealing that not until recently did scientists discover Greenland\'s Grand Canyon or the possibility that Greenland might actually be three islands.
If the ice melted, the interior bedrock below sea level would be covered by water. It is not clear whether this water would be at sea level or a lake above sea level. If it would be at sea level it could connect to the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, in Baffin Bay and near Nordostrundingen, creating three large islands. But it is most likely that it would be a lake with one drain.
It is thought that before the last Ice Age, Greenland had mountainous edges and a lowland (and probably very dry) center which drained to the sea via one big river flowing out westwards, past where Disko Island is now.
There is concern about sea level rise caused by ice loss (melt and glaciers falling into the sea) on Greenland. Between 1997 and 2003 ice loss was 68 -, compared to about 60 km3/a for 1993/4--1998/9. Half of the increase was from higher summer melting, with the rest caused by the movements of some glaciers exceeding the speeds needed to balance upstream snow accumulation. A complete loss of ice on Greenland would cause a sea level rise of as much as 6.40 m.
Researchers at NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Kansas reported in February 2006 that the glaciers are melting twice as fast as they were five years prior. By 2005, Greenland was beginning to lose more ice volume than anyone expected -- an annual loss of up to 52 cumi per year, according to more recent satellite gravity measurements released by JPL. The increased ice loss may be partially offset by increased snow accumulation due to increased precipitation.
Between 1991 and 2006, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) found that the average winter temperature had risen almost 10 F-change.
Recently, Greenland\'s three largest outlet glaciers have started moving faster, satellite data show. These are the Jacobshavn Isbræ at Ilulissat (Jacobshavn) on the western edge of Greenland, and the Kangerdlugssuaq and Helheim glaciers on the eastern edge of Greenland. The two latter accelerated greatly during the years 2004--2005, but returned to pre-2004 velocities in 2006. The accelerating ice flow has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in seismic activity. In March 2006, researchers at Harvard University and the Lamont--Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University reported that the glaciers now generate swarms of earthquakes up to magnitude 5.0.
The retreat of Greenland\'s ice is revealing islands that were thought to be part of the mainland. In September 2005 Dennis Schmitt discovered an island 400 mi north of the Arctic Circle in eastern Greenland which he named Uunartoq Qeqertaq, Inuit for \"warming island\".
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# Geography of Greenland
## Climate
### Future projections {#future_projections}
In the Arctic, temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. Greenland is losing 200 billion tonnes of ice per year. Research suggests that this could increase the sea levels\' rise by 30 centimeters by the end of the century. These projections have the possibility of changing as satellite data only dates back to 40 years ago. This means that researchers must view old photographs of glaciers and compare them to ones taken today to determine the future of Greenland\'s ice.
### Temperature extremes {#temperature_extremes}
#### Highest temperatures {#highest_temperatures}
width=80 style=background: #FF0000\|Month width=250 style=background: #FF0000\|Temperature width=245 style=background: #FF0000\|Date width=440 style=background: #FF0000\|Location
------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
January 29 January 2003 Nuuk, Sermersooq
February 20 February 2005 Nanortailak, Kujalleq
March 31 March 1975 Narsarsuaq, Kujalleq
April 26 April 2016 Narsarsuaq, Kujalleq
May 29 May 2012 Narsarsuaq, Kujalleq
June **30.1 C** **23 June 1915** **Ivittuut, Sermersooq**
July 6 July 2008 Nuuk, Sermersooq
August 3 August 1899 Tasillaq, Sermersooq
September 2 September 2010 Nuuk, Sermersooq
October 5 October 2016 Tasillaq, Sermersooq
November 21 November 2015 Tasillaq, Sermersooq
December 21 December 2001 Narsarsuaq, Kujalleq
#### Lowest temperatures {#lowest_temperatures}
width=80 style=background: #FF0000\|Month width=250 style=background: #FF0000\|Temperature width=245 style=background: #FF0000\|Date width=440 style=background: #FF0000\|Location
------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
January 9 January 1954 North Ice, Northeast Greenland
February 21 February 2002 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
March 20 March 1931 Eismitte, Northeast Greenland
April 21 April 2011 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
May 9 May 2018 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
June 1 June 2011 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
July 4 July 2017 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
August 29 August 2004 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
September 24 September 2009 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
October 26 October 2018 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
November 26 November 2001 Summit Camp Station, Northeast Greenland
December **-69.6 C** **22 December 1991** **Klinck Station, Northeast Greenland**
## Topography
The ice sheet covering Greenland varies significantly in elevation across the landmass, rising dramatically between the coastline at sea level and the East-Central interior, where elevations reach 3200 m. The coastlines are rocky and predominantly barren with fjords. Numerous small islands spread from the Central to Southern coastlines.
Greenland\'s mountain ranges are partially or completely buried by ice. The highest mountains are in the Watkins Range, which runs along the eastern coast. Greenland\'s highest mountain is Gunnbjorn Fjeld with a height of 3700 m.
Scientists discovered an asteroid impact crater in the northwestern region of Greenland, buried underneath the ice sheet. At a size larger than Washington, D.C., it is the first impact crater found beneath one of Earth\'s ice sheets.
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# Geography of Greenland
## Extreme points {#extreme_points}
This is a list of the extreme points of Greenland, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
### Territory of Greenland {#territory_of_greenland}
- Northernmost point --- Kaffeklubben Island (83°40\'N) -- the northernmost permanent land in the world. There are also some shifting gravel bars that lie north of Kaffeklubben, the most northerly ever found being 83-42.
- Southernmost point --- unnamed islet 2.3 km south of Cape Farewell, Egger Island (59°44\'N)
- Westernmost point --- Nordvestø, Carey Islands (73°10\'W)
- Easternmost point --- Nordostrundingen, Greenland (11°19\'W)
- Highest point --- Gunnbjørn Fjeld, 3694 m
### Mainland Greenland {#mainland_greenland}
- Northernmost point --- Cape Morris Jesup (83°39\'N)
- Southernmost point --- Peninsula near Tasiusaq, Kujalleq (59°58\'26.4\"N)
- Westernmost point --- Cape Alexander (73°08\'W)
- Easternmost point --- Nordostrundingen, Greenland (11°19\'W)
- Highest point --- Gunnbjørn Fjeld, 3694 m.
## Towns
Greenland has 17 towns -- settlements with more than 500 inhabitants. Nuuk is the largest town -- and the capital -- with roughly one third of the country\'s urban population. Sisimiut with approximately 5,500 inhabitants is the second largest town, while Ilulissat is number three with around 5,000 inhabitants
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# Demographics of Greenland
This is a demography of the population of Greenland including population density, ethnicity, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The population pyramid of Greenland was highly impacted by a birth control program conducted by Danish authorities in the 1960s and 70s.
## Populations
the resident population of Greenland was estimated to be 56,699, an increase of 90 (0.2%) from the previous year.
Municipality Population \% of total Annual change
-------------------------- ------------ ------------- ---------------
Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq 24,382 43.00% +234 (+1.0%)
Avannaata Kommunia 10,846 19.13% −74 (−0.7%)
Qeqqata Kommunia 9,204 16.23% +13 (+0.1%)
Kommune Kujalleq 6,145 10.84% −60 (−1.0%)
Kommune Qeqertalik 6,058 10.68% −24 (−0.4%)
: Population by municipality\
on 1 January 2024
Values do not sum to 100% because there were 64 inhabitants living outside the five municipalities; this includes residents in the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Nuuk is the most populous locality in Greenland with 19,872 inhabitants, which is about 35% of Greenland\'s total population.
### Structure of the population {#structure_of_the_population}
Age Group Male Female Total \%
----------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
Total 29 867 26 616 56 483 100
0--4 2 142 1 930 4 072 7.21
5--9 2 004 1 942 3 946 6.99
10--14 2 088 2 022 4 110 7.28
15--19 2 130 2 111 4 241 7.51
20--24 2 350 2 283 4 633 8.20
25--29 2 159 2 081 4 240 7.51
30--34 1 954 1 864 3 818 6.76
35--39 1 730 1 440 3 170 5.61
40--44 2 008 1 690 3 698 6.55
45--49 2 980 2 537 5 517 9.77
50--54 2 599 2 123 4 722 8.36
55--59 2 092 1 546 3 638 6.44
60--64 1 425 1 036 2 461 4.36
65--69 1 071 731 1 802 3.19
70--74 629 594 1 223 2.17
75--79 319 365 684 1.21
80--84 143 229 372 0.66
85--89 39 80 119 0.21
90--94 4 10 14 0.02
95--99 1 2 3 \<0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0--14 6 234 5 894 12 128 21.47
15--64 21 427 18 711 40 138 71.06
65+ 2 206 2 011 4 217 7.47
Age Group Male Female Total \%
----------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
Total 29 855 26 798 56 653 100
0--4 2 058 1 987 4 045 7.14
5--9 1 994 1 855 3 849 6.79
10--14 1 991 1 840 3 831 6.76
15--19 1 851 1 760 3 611 6.37
20--24 1 972 1 943 3 915 6.91
25--29 2 363 2 268 4 631 8.17
30--34 2 398 2 338 4 736 8.36
35--39 2 096 1 902 3 998 7.06
40--44 1 793 1 517 3 310 5.84
45--49 1 630 1 289 2 919 5.15
50--54 2 215 1 922 4 137 7.30
55--59 2 577 2 174 4 751 8.39
60--64 2 108 1 615 3 723 6.57
65--69 1 285 992 2 277 4.02
70--74 776 618 1 394 2.46
75--79 485 433 918 1.62
80--84 194 219 413 0.73
85--89 52 92 144 0.25
90--94 13 29 42 0.07
95+ 4 5 9 0.02
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0--14 6 043 5 682 11 725 20.70
15--64 20 886 18 728 39 614 69.92
65+ 2 926 2 388 5 314 9.38
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# Demographics of Greenland
## Vital statistics {#vital_statistics}
Year Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Infant mortality rate
------ -------------------- ------------- -------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------- -----------------------
1900 12,000 416 306 110 35.6 26.2 9.4
1901 12,000 461 301 160 38.7 25.3 13.4
1902 12,000 426 259 167 35.5 21.6 13.9
1903 12,000 428 327 101 35.1 26.8 8.3
1904 12,000 535 283 252 43.5 23.0 20.5
1905 13,000 487 292 195 39.0 23.4 15.6
1906 13,000 493 366 127 39.1 29.0 10.1
1907 13,000 476 362 114 37.2 28.3 8.9
1908 13,000 543 378 165 42.1 29.3 12.8
1909 13,000 564 448 116 43.1 34.2 8.9
1910 13,000 443 354 89 33.6 26.8 6.7
1911 13,000 577 562 15 43.1 41.9 1.1
1912 14,000 482 389 93 35.7 28.8 6.9
1913 14,000 592 390 202 43.5 28.7 14.9
1914 14,000 531 458 73 38.8 33.4 5.3
1915 14,000 545 428 117 39.8 31.2 8.5
1916 14,000 545 447 98 39.5 32.4 7.1
1917 14,000 547 312 235 39.4 22.4 16.9
1918 14,000 550 328 222 39.3 23.4 15.9
1919 14,000 510 614 −104 36.2 43.5 −7.4
1920 14,000 569 429 140 40.1 30.2 9.9
1921 14,000 610 565 45 42.7 39.5 3.1
1922 15,000 545 396 149 37.3 27.1 10.2
1923 15,000 563 326 237 38.0 22.0 16.0
1924 15,000 580 426 154 38.4 28.2 10.2
1925 15,000 660 582 78 42.9 37.8 5.1
1926 16,000 619 340 279 39.7 21.8 17.9
1927 16,000 615 322 293 38.7 20.3 18.4
1928 16,000 680 366 314 42.0 22.6 19.4
1929 17,000 743 353 390 45.0 21.4 23.6
1930 17,000 768 383 385 45.7 22.8 22.9
1931 17,000 779 431 348 46.1 25.5 20.6
1932 17,000 728 625 103 43.3 37.1 6.2
1933 17,000 776 370 406 45.6 21.8 23.8
1934 17,000 807 503 304 46.4 28.9 17.5
1935 18,000 813 835 −22 46.5 47.7 −1.3
1936 18,000 740 811 −71 42.0 46.1 −4.0
1937 18,000 767 474 293 43.1 26.6 16.5
1938 18,000 731 375 356 40.4 20.7 19.7
1939 18,000 762 680 82 41.6 37.2 4.5
1940 19,000 873 356 517 46.9 19.1 27.8
1941 19,000 815 364 451 42.7 19.1 23.6
1942 20,000 904 448 456 46.1 22.9 23.3
1943 20,000 796 429 367 39.8 21.5 18.4
1944 20,000 911 491 420 44.7 24.1 20.6
1945 21,000 818 408 410 39.5 19.7 19.8
1946 21,000 920 416 504 43.6 19.7 23.9
1947 22,000 953 490 463 44.1 22.7 21.4
1948 22,000 883 499 384 40.5 22.9 17.6 5.695
1949 22,000 989 898 91 44.7 40.6 4.1 6.045
1950 23,000 1,129 539 590 50.0 23.8 26.1 6.930
1951 23,000 999 550 449 42.9 23.6 19.3 5.770
1952 24,000 1,034 475 559 43.1 19.8 23.3 5.960
1953 25,000 1,109 398 711 44.9 16.1 28.8 6.150
1954 26,000 1,136 388 748 44.4 15.2 29.2 6.310
1955 27,000 1,234 375 859 46.4 14.1 32.3 6.605
1956 27,000 1,293 351 942 47.2 12.8 34.4 6.670
1957 29,000 1,361 337 1,024 47.6 11.8 35.8 6.925
1958 30,000 1,410 290 1,120 47.2 9.7 37.5 6.815
1959 31,000 1,491 285 1,206 47.6 9.1 38.5 7.145
1960 33,000 1,586 256 1,330 48.6 7.8 40.7 7.245
1961 34,000 1,644 292 1,352 48.8 8.7 40.1 7.310
1962 35,000 1,610 361 1,249 46.1 10.3 35.8 7.085
1963 36,000 1,671 279 1,392 46.2 7.7 38.5 7.035
1964 38,000 1,797 329 style=\"color: blue\|1,468 47.4 8.7 38.7 7.270
1965 39,000 1,738 337 1,401 44.3 8.6 35.7 6.960
1966 41,000 1,781 329 1,452 43.5 8.0 35.5 6.995
1967 43,000 1,685 314 1,371 39.3 7.3 32.0 6.395
1968 45,000 1,576 333 1,243 35.3 7.4 27.8 5.845
1969 46,000 1,310 311 999 28.5 6.8 21.7 4.580
1970 46,000 1,144 283 861 24.7 6.1 18.6 3.900
1971 47,000 1,028 289 739 21.8 6.1 15.7 3.245
1972 48,000 948 295 653 19.6 6.1 13.5 2.770
1973 49,000 940 339 601 19.2 6.9 12.3 2.690 36.2
1974 50,000 866 332 534 17.5 6.7 10.8 2.300 28.9
1975 50,000 815 313 502 17.5 6.3 11.2 2.345 36.8
1976 50,000 859 348 511 17.3 7.0 10.3 2.255 32.6
1977 49,000 918 373 545 18.6 7.2 11.4 2.349 42.5
1978 49,000 870 309 561 17.7 6.4 11.3 2.197 26.4
1979 50,000 900 393 507 18.2 8.1 10.0 2.187 37.8
1980 50,000 1,034 380 654 20.5 7.6 12.8 2.435 31.9
1981 51,000 1,056 381 675 20.6 7.5 13.1 2.332 31.3
1982 52,000 1,052 408 644 20.6 8.2 12.4 2.236 37.1
1983 52,000 994 433 561 18.9 8.3 10.6 2.054 37.2
1984 53,000 1,054 439 615 20.0 8.3 11.7 2.107 28.5
1985 53,000 1,152 435 717 21.4 8.2 13.2 2.241 24.3
1986 54,000 1,055 445 610 19.7 8.3 11.4 2.044 22.7
1987 54,000 1,104 445 659 20.4 8.2 12.2 2.083 26.3
1988 55,000 1,213 432 781 22.1 7.9 14.3 2.317 16.5
1989 55,000 1,210 455 755 21.9 8.2 13.7 2.299 21.5
1990 56,000 1,258 467 791 22.6 8.4 14.2 2.444 32.6
1991 56,000 1,192 458 734 21.5 8.3 13.2 2.421 34.4
1992 55,000 1,237 441 796 22.4 8.0 14.4 2.607 12.9
1993 55,000 1,180 432 748 21.3 7.8 13.5 2.578 26.3
1994 56,000 1,139 445 694 20.5 8.0 12.5 2.516 22.8
1995 56,000 1,101 480 621 19.7 8.6 11.1 2.542 20.9
1996 56,000 1,051 444 607 18.8 8.0 10.9 2.513 22.8
1997 56,000 1,095 492 603 19.6 8.8 10.8 2.774 18.3
1998 56,000 980 457 523 17.5 8.1 9.3 2.491 20.4
1999 56,000 945 479 466 16.8 8.5 8.3 2.482 16.9
2000 56,000 879 450 429 15.7 8.0 7.7 2.410 18.2
2001 56,000 942 466 476 16.8 8.3 8.5 2.506 10.6
2002 57,000 954 446 508 16.9 7.8 9.1 2.608 13.6
2003 57,000 879 411 468 15.4 7.2 8.2 2.328 8.0
2004 57,000 892 479 413 15.6 8.4 7.2 2.434 13.5
2005 57,000 886 465 421 15.5 8.1 7.4 2.326 7.9
2006 57,000 842 440 402 14.8 7.7 7.1 2.276 16.6
2007 57,000 853 452 401 15.1 7.9 7.2 2.220 10.6
2008 56,000 834 428 406 14.9 7.6 7.3 2.249 9.6
2009 56,000 895 437 458 16.0 7.8 8.2 2.340 4.5
2010 56,000 869 504 365 15.5 9.0 6.5 2.185 8.1
2011 57,000 821 476 345 14.4 8.3 6.1 2.097 11.0
2012 57,000 786 459 327 13.8 8.0 5.8 2.007 8.9
2013 56,000 820 444 376 14.6 7.9 6.7 2.066 8.5
2014 56,000 805 461 344 14.4 8.2 6.2 1.985 7.5
2015 56,000 854 472 382 15.2 8.4 6.8 2.116 10.5
2016 56,000 830 487 343 14.8 8.7 6.1 2.061 7.2
2017 56,000 853 499 354 15.2 8.9 6.3 2.123 7.0
2018 56,000 819 487 332 14.6 8.7 5.9 2.022 7.3
2019 56,000 849 548 301 15.2 9.8 5.4 2.115 11.8
2020 56,000 835 520 315 14.9 9.3 5.6 2.109 8.4
2021 56,000 761 531 230 13.4 9.3 4.1 1.820 14.5
2022 57,000 748 525 223 13.2 9.3 3.9 1.815 12.0
2023 57,000 716 534 182 12.7 9.4 3.3 1.769 12.6
2024 57,000 684 521 163 12.0 9.2 2.9 11.7
### Life expectancy at birth {#life_expectancy_at_birth}
*total population:* 71.25 years\
*male:* 68.6 years\
*female:* 74.04 years (2012 est.)
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# Demographics of Greenland
## Ethnic groups {#ethnic_groups}
---------------------------------
**Significant minority groups**
Nationality
Other America
---------------------------------
The population of Greenland consists of Greenlandic Inuit (including mixed-race people), Danish Greenlanders and other Europeans and North Americans. The Inuit population makes up approximately 85--90% of the total (2009 est.). 6,792 people from Denmark live in Greenland, which is 12% of its total population.
In recent years, Greenland experienced a significant increase in immigration from Asia, especially from the Philippines, Thailand, and China.
## Languages
The only official language of Greenland is Greenlandic. The number of speakers of Greenlandic is estimated at 50,000 (85--90% of the total population), divided in three main dialects, Kalaallisut (West-Greenlandic, 44,000 speakers and the dialect that is used as official language), Tunumiit (East-Greenlandic, 3,000 speakers) and Inuktun (North-Greenlandic, 800 speakers). The remainder of the population mainly speaks Danish; Inuit Sign Language is the language of the deaf community.
## Religion
The nomadic Inuit were traditionally shamanistic, with a well-developed mythology primarily concerned with propitiating a vengeful and fingerless sea Goddess who controlled the success of the seal and whale hunts.
The first Norse colonists were pagan, but Erik the Red\'s son Leif was converted to Catholic Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson on a trip to Norway in 990 and sent missionaries back to Greenland. These swiftly established sixteen parishes, some monasteries, and a bishopric at Garðar.
Rediscovering these colonists and spreading the Protestant Reformation among them was one of the primary reasons for the Danish recolonization in the 18th century. Under the patronage of the Royal Mission College in Copenhagen, Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and German Moravian missionaries searched for the missing Norse settlements and began converting the Inuit. The principal figures in the Christianization of Greenland were Hans and Poul Egede and Matthias Stach. The New Testament was translated piecemeal from the time of the very first settlement on Kangeq Island, but the first translation of the whole Bible was not completed until 1900. An improved translation using the modern orthography was completed in 2000.
Today, the major religion is Protestant Christianity, mostly members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. While there is no official census data on religion in Greenland, the Lutheran Bishop of Greenland Sofie Petersen estimated that 85% of the Greenlandic population were members of its congregation in 2009. Estimates in 2022 put the figure at 93%.
## Spiral case {#spiral_case}
In the 1960s and 70s, Greenland was subject to one of the most impactful eugenics programs ever implemented. At least 4,500 Inuit women were involuntarily implanted with IUD\'s without their knowledge or consent - about half the fertile population at the time. Within a generation, the birthrate declined by 50%, which led to multigenerational demographic effects. Public officials at the time blamed the decline in birthrate on poverty and cultural trends, but the extent of the involuntary program became public only in 2022 in an investigation known as the spiral case
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# Politics of Greenland
The **politics of Greenland**, an autonomous country (*nuna*, *land*) within the Kingdom of Denmark, function in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament *Inatsisartut*. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Greenland has full autonomy on most matters, except on policies and decisions affecting the region including negotiations with the devolved legislatures and the Folketing (*Parliament of Denmark*).
## Executive powers {#executive_powers}
\|King \|Frederik X \| \|14 January 2024 \|- \|High Commissioner \|Julie Præst Wilche \| \|1 May 2022 \|- \|Prime Minister \|Múte Bourup Egede \|Inuit Ataqatigiit \|23 April 2021 \|} Executive power rests with a high commissioner, and a prime minister heads the Cabinet. The high commissioner of Greenland is appointed by the monarch, and the prime minister is elected indirectly by parliament elections results for four-year terms.
The High Commissioner has a seat in the Inatsisartut. The high commissioner is allowed to speak in the Inatsisartut regarding common Danish/Greenlandic affairs, but is not allowed to vote. Following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually given the initiative to establish a new coalition by the Greenlandic Parliament, unless the current Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat (*Prime Minister* in English) is still in power. However, if he/she fails, the chairman of the parliament asks all chairmen of the parties elected to the parliament, and asks them to point to another chairman who they feel can rightly form a new coalition. The chairman with the most votes is then handed the initiative. After forming the coalition, the Naalakkersuisut Siulittaasuat leads the Naalakkersuisut. The Naalakkersuisut will often consist of around 9 members. The coalition parties divide the various ministries among themselves and after this, the parties elect their representative to these ministries. Any other member of the cabinet is called a *Naalakkersuisoq*.
## Legislative branch {#legislative_branch}
Legislative power is shared by the government and the legislature. The legislature Greenlandic Parliament (*Inatsisartut*) is made up of 31 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms by proportional representation. Election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament (*Folketing*) was last held on 5 June 2019. The composition after the 2025 Greenlandic general election is shown below.
{{#section-h:2025 Greenlandic general election\|Results\|By municipality}}
## Judicial branch {#judicial_branch}
Greenland\'s judicial system is based on the Danish civil law system, operates independently of the legislature and the executive. It has two court of first instance: the District Courts and the Court of Greenland depending on the type of case, whereas the High Court of Greenland hears cases as the second instance. Decisions made by the High Court of Greenland may be brought before the Supreme Court subject to the permission of the Appeals Permission Board. Appeals may be submitted to the Østre Landsret and the Supreme Court of Denmark (Højesteret).
## Political parties and elections {#political_parties_and_elections}
Greenland has a multi-party system (disputing independence versus unionism as well as left versus right). Governments are usually coalition governments. The Greenlandic Parliament (Inatsisartut) has 31 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.
## Administrative divisions {#administrative_divisions}
The island is administratively divided into 5 municipalities with about 72 cities and villages.
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## International affairs {#international_affairs}
Along with diplomatic missions to the European Union and the United States, Greenland participates in, among others, the Nordic Council, Arctic Council, and International Whaling Commission. ([Complete list of participation of Greenland in international organisations](http://naalakkersuisut.gl/en/Naalakkersuisut/Departments/Udenrigsdirektoratet/Om-Udenrigsdirektoratet/Ansvarsomraader).)
With Denmark having responsibility for Greenland\'s international affairs, other countries do not have direct diplomatic representation in Greenland --- their embassies or consulates in Copenhagen are responsible for their relations with Greenland and their citizens staying or living there.
Greenland is represented internationally by the embassies and consulates of Denmark, although Greenland has an independent Representation to the European Union in Brussels since 1992 and in the United States in Washington D.C since 2014.
Greenland maintains economic and cultural relations with Taiwan via Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada
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# Telecommunications in Greenland
**Telecommunications in Greenland** include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Greenland has, by law, only one service provider for telecommunications and the Internet, TELE Greenland, which is fully owned by the Greenlandic Home Rule government. TELE Greenland provides switched telephone and data, land mobile communications, and VHF and MF shore-to-ship communication. This type of monopoly is not uncommon in Greenland.
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
Television in Greenland began in the 1960s.
Privately owned transmitters were created to receive TV from Canada, Iceland, and mainland Denmark. This can date as far back when television was introduced to Greenland in the 1960s. It was possible to receive TV from Canada with a normal household TV antenna, but color transmissions were NTSC and signals were in very bad quality and however in some circumstances, television transmissions were not available at all due to factors such as weather conditions or time of day, even for the people who owned private transmitters. Greenland did not have any local TV service until 1982.
The state broadcaster is Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR, Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation), which provides one television and one radio service nationwide. Both broadcast in Greenlandic and Danish. Administered as an independent public corporation by the Greenlandic government, KNR has a seven-person board and management committee. They employ 100 people and are funded publicly and by advertising.
A few private local TV and radio stations are also available as Danish public radio rebroadcasts. An umbrella organization in Greenland, known as the STTK, operates local radio and TV stations throughout the country. There are also American Forces Network stations, operated by the United States Air Force.
Greenlanders owned an estimated 30,000 radios and 30,000 television sets, as of 2002.`{{update after|2014|1|9}}`{=mediawiki}
## Telephones
- Calling code: +299
- International call prefix: 00
- Fixed telephone lines: 7,259 lines in use, 197th in the world (2019).
- Mobile telephone connections: 66,009, 202nd in the world (2019).
All telephone numbers have 6 digits.
There are adequate domestic and international telephone services, provided by cables and microwave radio relay. The system was totally digitized in 1995. The Greenland Connect submarine cable provides connectivity to Europe via Iceland and to North America via Newfoundland. TELE Greenland first used satellite communication in 1978 and currently uses 15 satellite earth stations (12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, and 2 Americom GE-2), all over the Atlantic Ocean.
### Mobile
As of 2019 there were 66,009 active mobile telephony subscriptions in use in Greenland. In 2007, all NMT (1G) networks were shut down. 4G launched in 2014.
Mobile coverage extends to nearly all inhabited areas in Greenland except some remote areas.
In Greenland, VHF radio-telephone is also used. Users make calls over a radio instead of a phone. Outside of Greenland, VHF phones are mainly used on ships, but in Greenland they can also be used as regular phones. In 2001, 42% of Greenlanders owned a portable VHF phone.
On September 30, 2022, Tele Greenland has collaborated with Swedish Telecommunications provider Ericsson in building a 5G network in Greenland.
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# Telecommunications in Greenland
## Internet
- Greenland has only one major Internet Service Provider (ISP): Tele Greenland (Tele Post Greenland A/S).
- Greenland has only one major data center: Owned by Tele Greenland in Nuuk.
- The country code for top-level domains is .gl
- 40,084 people or 64.48% of Greenland\'s population were able to use the Internet in 2019, placing Greenland 201st in the world.
- There were 13,192 fixed broadband subscriptions placing Greenland 164th in the world with a 23% penetration rate (2019).
- Greenland has been allocated 16,384 IPv4 addresses, less than 0.05% of the world\'s total or 284 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
- Internet and telephone services rely on the Greenland Connect submarine communications cables for external traffic.
### Internet censorship and surveillance {#internet_censorship_and_surveillance}
As a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland has a democratically elected home-rule government whose powers may encompass all matters except foreign and national security affairs, police services, and monetary matters. Greenlanders have the same rights throughout the kingdom as other citizens.
The Danish government places no restrictions on access to the Internet and there are no credible reports that e-mail or Internet chat rooms are monitored without appropriate legal authority. Authorities continue to employ an Internet filter designed to block child pornography. In no known cases did the filter affect legitimate sites. The Danish Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press with some limitations such as cases involving child pornography, libel, blasphemy, hate speech, and racism, and the government generally respects these rights in practice.
In April 2013, the registrar for the .gl domain unilaterally voluntarily suspended resolution of [thepiratebay.gl](https://web.archive.org/web/20130410160045/http://thepiratebay.gl/), intended to be a new primary Domain Name for the famous Bittorrent search engine The Pirate Bay
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# History of Grenada
The **history of Grenada** in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada. First settled by indigenous peoples, Grenada by the time of European contact was inhabited by the Caribs. British colonists killed most of the Caribs on the island and established plantations on the island, eventually importing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations.
Control of the island was disputed by Great Britain and France in the 18th century, with the British ultimately prevailing. In 1795, Fédon\'s Rebellion, inspired by the Haitian Revolution, very nearly succeeded, taking significant military intervention to quell. Slavery was abolished in 1833, and in 1885, the island\'s capital, St. George\'s, became the capital of the British Windward Islands.
Grenada achieved independence from Britain in 1974. Following a coup by the Marxist New Jewel Movement in 1979, the island was invaded by United States troops and the government overthrown. The island\'s major crop, nutmeg, was significantly damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
## Early history {#early_history}
Approximately 2 million years ago, Grenada was formed by volcanic activity, which then resulted in land formation.
The earliest potential evidence for human presence on Grenada comes from the increase of charcoal particulates and the decline of arboreal pollen from the original climax forests, around 3760--3525 BC, during the Archaic Age. This evidence remains controversial, as it could be natural (for example, lightning fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.). Several shell fragments from archaeological sites have been dated 1700--1380 BC, but are from mixed, insecure contexts. More secure are the shell middens at Point Salines, dated between 765 and 535 BC. None of these dates are associated with definitively human artifacts, however. The earliest human-made artifacts that have been scientifically dated are from Early Ceramic Age settlements at Beausejour (260--410 AD) and Pearls (370--645 AD). Only one other known site (Grand Marquis) may have been occupied during this time as well.
Beginning around AD 750, the Amerindian population began to rise, probably as a result of continued migration from the South American mainland. Most of the 87 pre-Columbian sites identified in Grenada have a component during this period (AD 750--1200), marking the height Grenada\'s indigenous population. This period also represents major cultural and environmental changes throughout the Caribbean. Several waves of groups arrived in prehistory, often associated with Arawakan or Cariban languages, but linguistic reconstruction has shown the Cariban dialect to be fragmentary (as a trade language), the primary language family being Arawakan.
Christopher Columbus reportedly sighted the island on his third voyage in 1498, but he did not land and the name he gave (\"La Concepcion\") never was used. By the 1520s, the island was known as \"La Granada\", after the recently conquered city in Granada (and thus the Grenadines were \"Los Granadillos\"---or \"little Granadas\"). By the beginning of the 18th century, the name \"la Grenade\" in French was in common use, eventually Anglicized to \"Grenada\".
Partly because of indigenous resistance, Grenada (and much of the Windwards) remained uncolonized for nearly 150 years after Columbus passed by. When the French finally settled Grenada in 1649 (see below), there were at least two, separate indigenous groups: \"Caraibe\" (Caribs) in the north and \"Galibis\" in the south-east. Evidence suggests the \"Galibis\" were more recent arrivals from the mainland (arriving around AD 1250), whereas the group the French called \"Caraibe\" were living in villages that had been (in some cases) continuously occupied for over millennium, per archaeological evidence. That is, the indigenous names were somewhat reversed in Grenada: the people the French called \"Caribs\" were likely descendants of the earliest peoples on Grenada, whereas the Galibis appear to have been more recent arrivals from the mainland (and thus, closer to the Carib stereotype).
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# History of Grenada
## 17th century {#th_century}
### English attempted settlement {#english_attempted_settlement}
In April 1609 three English ships with 208 colonists landed in what was possibly the harbor of Saint Georges or somewhere nearby. After some months the three ships left to engage in illicit trade in Trinidad. On hearing that the colony was in distress they returned to Grenada in September. The survivors were taken on board and reached England in December. The original sources are poor and we don\'t know what caused the colony to fail or how many settlers died. Suggestions are tropical diseases, native hostility, poor planning, inexperienced colonists, spoiled food and lack of time to harvest a food crop. This was two years after the settlement of Jamestown and the backers of both colonies seem to have been in contact.
### French settlement and conquest {#french_settlement_and_conquest}
On 17 March 1649, a French expedition of 203 men from Martinique, led by Jacques Dyel du Parquet who had been the Governor of Martinique on behalf of the Compagnie des Îles de l\'Amérique since 1637, landed at St. Georges Harbour and constructed a fortified settlement, which they named Fort Annunciation. A treaty was swiftly agreed between du Parquet and the indigenous Chief Kairouane to peacefully partition the island between the two communities. Du Parquet returned to Martinique leaving his cousin Jean Le Comte as Governor of Grenada. Conflict broke out between the French and the indigenous islanders in November 1649 and fighting lasted for five years until 1654, when the last opposition to the French on Grenada was crushed. Rather than surrender, Kairouane and his followers chose to throw themselves off a cliff, a fact celebrated in the poetry of Jan Carew. The island continued for some time after to suffer raids by war canoe parties from St. Vincent, whose inhabitants had aided the local Grenadian islanders in their struggle and continued to oppose the French.
### French administration {#french_administration}
On 27 September 1650, du Parquet bought Grenada, Martinique, and St. Lucia from the Compagnie des Iles de l\'Amerique, which was dissolved, for the equivalent of £1160. In 1657, du Parquet sold Grenada to Jean de Faudoas, Comte de Sérillac for the equivalent of £1890. In 1664, King Louis XIV bought out the independent island owners and established the French West India Company. In 1674 the French West India Company was dissolved. Proprietary rule ended in Grenada, which became a French colony as a dependency of Martinique. In 1675, Dutch privateers captured Grenada, but a French man-of-war arrived unexpectedly and recaptured the island.
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# History of Grenada
## 18th century {#th_century_1}
### French colony {#french_colony}
In 1700, Grenada had a population of 257 whites, 53 coloureds, and 525 slaves. There were three sugar estates, 52 indigo plantations, 64 horses, and 569 head of cattle. Between 1705 and 1710 the French built Fort Royal at St. George\'s which is now known as Fort George. The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of cocoa and coffee in 1714 encouraged the development of smaller land holdings, and the island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. In 1738, the first hospital was constructed.
### British colony {#british_colony}
Grenada was captured by the British during the Seven Years\' War on 4 March 1762 by Commodore Swanton without a shot being fired. Grenada was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763. In 1766, the island was rocked by a severe earthquake. In 1767, a slave uprising was put down. In 1771 and again in 1775, the town of St. George, which was constructed solely of wood, was burnt to the ground -- after which it was sensibly rebuilt using stone and brick. Under British administration many French properties were bought out by Britons and restrictions were placed on the Catholic church. This caused trouble since most people continued to speak French.
France recaptured Grenada between 2--4 July 1779 during the American War of Independence, after Comte d\'Estaing stormed Hospital Hill. A British relief force was defeated in the naval Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779. However, the island was restored to Britain with the Treaty of Versailles four years later on 3 September 1783. In 1784, the first newspaper, the *Grenada Chronicle*, began publication.
### Fédon\'s Rebellion {#fédons_rebellion}
Julien Fédon, a mixed-race owner of the Belvedere estate in the St. John Parish, launched a rebellion against British rule on the night of 2 March 1795, with coordinated attacks on the towns of La Baye and Gouyave. Fédon was clearly influenced by the ideas emerging from the French Revolution and was initially supported by French Revolutionary advisors. Between March 1795 and June 1796, Fédon and his troops controlled all of Grenada except the parish of St George, the seat of government. During those insurgent months, thousands of enslaved joined the revolutionary forces, with some 7,000 perishing in the final assault against the mountain stronghold in June 1796, today known as Fedon\'s Camp. In the aftermath, hundreds of \"brigands\" were later pursued and executed publicly, but Fédon himself was never caught and his fate remains unknown.
## 19th century {#th_century_2}
### Early 19th century {#early_19th_century}
In 1833, Grenada became part of the British Windward Islands Administration and remained so until 1958. British operated slavery was abolished in 1834, but the last enslaved African descendants were eventually freed in 1838. Nutmeg was introduced in 1843, when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies.
### Late 19th century {#late_19th_century}
In 1857, the first East Indian immigrants arrived. In 1871, Grenada was connected to the telegraph. In 1872, the first secondary school was built. On 3 December 1877, the pure Crown colony model replaced Grenada\'s old representative system of government. On 3 December 1882, the largest wooden jetty ever built in Grenada was opened in Gouyave. In 1885, after Barbados left the British Windward Islands, the capital of the colonial confederation was moved from Bridgetown to St. George on Grenada. From 1889 to 1894, the 340 foot Sendall Tunnel was built for horse carriages.
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# History of Grenada
## Last colonial years: 1900--1974 {#last_colonial_years_19001974}
### Early 20th century {#early_20th_century}
The 1901 census showed that the population of the colony was 63,438. In 1917, T.A. Marryshow founded the Representative Government Association (RGA) to agitate for a new and participative constitutional dispensation for the Grenadian people. Partly as a result of Marryshow\'s lobbying the Wood Commission of 1921--1922 concluded that Grenada was ready for constitutional reform in the form of a \"modified\" Crown Colony government. This modification granted Grenadians from 1925 the right to elect 5 of the 15 members of the Legislative Council, on a restricted property franchise enabling the wealthiest 4 percent of Grenadian adults to vote. In 1928, electricity was installed in St. George\'s. In 1943, Pearls Airport was opened. On 5 August 1944, the *Island Queen* schooner disappeared with the loss of all 56 passengers and 11 crew.
### Towards independence: 1950--1974 {#towards_independence_19501974}
In 1950, Grenada had its constitution amended to increase the number of elected seats on the Legislative Council from 5 to 8, to be elected by full adult franchise at the 1951 election. In 1950 Eric Gairy founded the Grenada United Labour Party, initially as a trade union, which led the 1951 general strike for better working conditions. This sparked great unrest -- so many buildings were set ablaze that the disturbances became known as the \"red sky\" days -- and the British authorities had to call in military reinforcements to help regain control of the situation. On 10 October 1951, Grenada held its first general elections on the basis of universal adult suffrage. United Labour won six of the eight elected seats on the Legislative Council in both the 1951 and 1954 elections. However, the Legislative Council had few powers at this time, with government remaining fully in the hands of the colonial authorities.
On 22 September 1955, Hurricane Janet hit Grenada, killing 500 people and destroying 75 per cent of the nutmeg trees. A new political party, the Grenada National Party led by Herbert Blaize, contested the 1957 general election and with the cooperation of elected independent members took control of the Legislative Council from the Grenada United Labour Party. In 1958, the Windward Islands Administration was dissolved, and Grenada joined the Federation of the West Indies.
In 1960, another constitutional evolution established the post of Chief Minister, making the leader of the majority party in the Legislative Council, which at that time was Herbert Blaize, effective head of government. In March 1961, the Grenada United Labour Party won the general election and George E. D. Clyne became chief minister until Eric Gairy was elected in a by-election and took the role in August 1961. Also in 1961 the cruise ship the Bianca C caught fire in the St Georges harbour. All on board were rescued except for the engineer who was fatally burnt. In April 1962 Grenada\'s Administrator, the Queen\'s representative on the island, James Lloyd, suspended the constitution, dissolved the Legislative Council, and removed Gairy as Chief Minister, following allegations concerning the Gairy\'s financial impropriety. At the 1962 general election, the Grenada National Party won a majority and Herbert Blaize became Chief Minister for the second time.
After the Federation of the West Indies collapsed in 1962, the British government tried to form a small federation out of its remaining dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean. Following the failure of this second effort, the British and the islanders developed the concept of \"associated statehood\". Under the West Indies Act on 3 March 1967 (also known as the Associated Statehood Act) Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs. Herbert Blaize was the first Premier of the Associated State of Grenada from March to August 1967. Eric Gairy served as premier from August 1967 until February 1974, as the Grenada United Labour Party won majorities in both the 1967 and 1972 general elections.
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# History of Grenada
## Independence, revolution and US invasion: 1974--1983 {#independence_revolution_and_us_invasion_19741983}
### Independence
On 7 February 1974, Grenada became a fully independent state. Grenada continued to practise a modified Westminster parliamentary system based on the British model with a governor-general appointed by and representing the British monarch (head of state) and a prime minister who are both leader of the majority party and the head of government. Eric Gairy was independent Grenada\'s first prime minister serving from 1974 until his overthrow in 1979. Gairy won re-election in Grenada\'s first general election as an independent state in 1976; however, the opposition New Jewel Movement refused to recognize the result, claiming the poll was fraudulent, and so began working towards the overthrow of the Gairy regime by revolutionary means. In 1976, St. George\'s University was established.
### The 1979 coup and revolutionary government {#the_1979_coup_and_revolutionary_government}
On March 13, 1979, the New Jewel Movement launched an armed revolution that removed Gairy, suspended the constitution, and established a People\'s Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop who declared himself prime minister. His Marxist-Leninist government established close ties with Cuba, Nicaragua, and other communist bloc countries. All political parties except for the New Jewel Movement were banned and no elections were held during the four years of PRG rule.
### The 1983 coups {#the_1983_coups}
On 14 October 1983, a power struggle within Bishop\'s ruling party ended with his house arrest. His erstwhile friend and rival, Deputy Prime Minister, Bernard Coard, briefly became Head of Government. This coup precipitated demonstrations in various parts of the island which eventually led to Bishop being freed from arrest by an impassioned crowd of his loyal supporters on 19 October 1983. Bishop was soon recaptured by Grenadian soldiers loyal to the Coard faction and executed along with seven others, including three members of the cabinet.
That same day the Grenadian military under Gen. Hudson Austin took power in a second coup and formed a military government to run the country. A four-day total curfew was declared under which any civilian outside their home was subject to summary execution.
### Invasion
A U.S.--Caribbean led force invaded Grenada on 25 October 1983, in an action called Operation Urgent Fury, and swiftly defeated the Grenadian forces and their Cuban allies. During the fighting 45 Grenadians, 25 Cubans, and 19 Americans were killed. This action was taken in response to an appeal obtained from the governor general and to a request for assistance from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, without consulting the island\'s head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, Commonwealth institutions or other usual diplomatic channels (as had been done in Anguilla). Furthermore, United States government military strategists feared that Soviet use of the island would enable the Soviet Union to project tactical power over the entire Caribbean region. U.S. citizens were evacuated, and constitutional government was resumed. The United States gave \$48.4 million in economic assistance to Grenada in 1984.
In 1986, members of the PRG and the PRA were criminally tried for civilian killings associated with the October 19 coup. Fourteen, including Coard and his wife, Phyllis, were sentenced to death for actions related to the murder of 11 people, including Maurice Bishop. Three other defendants, all PRA soldiers, were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 or more years. The convicted prisoners came to be known as the Grenada 17, and the subject of an ongoing international campaign for their release. In 1991, all the murder sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. In October 2003 Amnesty International issued a report which stated that their trial had been \"gross violation of international standards governing the fairness of trials.\" In 2009, the last seven prisoners were released after serving 26 years.
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# History of Grenada
## Democracy restored: 1983 to present day {#democracy_restored_1983_to_present_day}
### Post invasion politics {#post_invasion_politics}
When US troops withdrew from Grenada in December 1983, Nicholas Braithwaite was appointed Prime Minister of an interim administration by the Governor General Sir Paul Scoon until elections could be organized.
On 28 October 1984, the new Point Salines International Airport was opened, which enabled Grenada to receive large commercial jets for the first time.
The first democratic elections since 1976 were held in December 1984 and were won by the Grenada National Party under Herbert Blaize who won 14 out of 15 seats in elections and served as prime minister until his death in December 1989. The NNP continued in power until 1989 but with a reduced majority. Five NNP parliamentary members, including two cabinet ministers, left the party in 1986--87 and formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which became the official opposition. In August 1989, Prime Minister Blaize broke with the GNP to form another new party, The National Party (TNP), from the ranks of the NNP. This split in the NNP resulted in the formation of a minority government until constitutionally scheduled elections in March 1990. Prime Minister Blaize died in December 1989 and was succeeded as prime minister by Ben Jones until after the 1990 elections.
The National Democratic Congress emerged from the 1990 elections as the strongest party, winning 7 of the fifteen available seats. Nicholas Brathwaite added 2 TNP members and 1 member of the Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) to create a 10-seat majority coalition. The governor general appointed him to be prime minister for a second time. Braithwaite resigned in Feb 1995 and was succeeded as prime minister by George Brizan who served until the Jun 1995 election.
In parliamentary elections on 20 June 1995, the NNP won 8 of the 15 seats and formed a government headed by Keith Mitchell. The NNP maintained and affirmed its hold on power when it took all 15 parliamentary seats in the January 1999 elections. Mitchell went on to win the 2003 elections with a reduced majority of eight of the 15 seats, and served as prime minister for a record 13 years until his defeat in 2008.
The 2001 census showed that the population of Grenada was 100,895.
The 2008 election was won by the National Democratic Congress under Tillman Thomas with 11 of the 15 seats.
In 2009, Point Salines International Airport was renamed Maurice Bishop International Airport in tribute to the former prime minister.
#### Since 2013 {#since_2013}
In February 2013, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) lost the election. The opposition New National Party (NNP) won all 15 seats in the general election. Keith Mitchell, leader of NNP, who had served three terms as prime minister between 1995 and 2008, returned to power.
In December 2014, Grenada joined Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) as a full member. Prime minister Mitchell said that the membership was a natural extension of the co-operation Grenada have had over the years with both Cuba and Venezuela.
Mitchell has led NNP to win all 15 seats in the House of Representatives on 3 occasions. In November 2021, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said that the upcoming general elections which are constitutionally due no later than June 2023, will be the last one for him.
In June 2022, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the snap election. The NDC won nine of the 15 parliamentary seats.The leader of NDC, Dickon Mitchell, became the new prime minister, meaning Keith Mitchell, Grenada\'s longest-serving prime minister, lost his post.
### Truth and reconciliation commission {#truth_and_reconciliation_commission}
In 2000--02, much of the controversy of the late 1970s and early 1980s was once again brought into the public consciousness with the opening of the truth and reconciliation commission. The commission was chaired by a Catholic priest, Father Mark Haynes, and was tasked with uncovering injustices arising from the PRA, Bishop\'s regime, and before. It held a number of hearings around the country. The commission was formed because of a school project. Brother Robert Fanovich, head of Presentation Brothers\' College (PBC) in St. George\'s tasked some of his senior students with conducting a research project into the era and specifically into the fact that Maurice Bishop\'s body was never discovered. Their project attracted a great deal of attention, including from the *Miami Herald* and the final report was published in a book written by the boys called *Big Sky, Little Bullet*. It also uncovered that there was still a lot of resentment in Grenadian society resulting from the era, and a feeling that there were many injustices still unaddressed. The commission began shortly after the boys concluded their project.
### Hurricane Ivan {#hurricane_ivan}
On 7 September 2004, Grenada was hit directly by category four Hurricane Ivan. The hurricane destroyed about 80 percent of the structures on the island, including the prison and the prime minister\'s residence, killed thirty-nine people, and destroyed most of the nutmeg crop, Grenada\'s economic mainstay. Grenada\'s economy was set back several years by Hurricane Ivan\'s impact. Hurricane Emily ravaged the island\'s north end in July 2005
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# Demographics of Grenada
The demography of the people of Grenada, **Grenadians** `{{IPAc-en|g|r|ə|ˈ|n|eɪ|d|iː|ən|z}}`{=mediawiki}, includes population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
## Population
According to the 2011 census Grenada has 105,539 inhabitants. The estimated population of `{{UN_Population|Year}}`{=mediawiki} is `{{UN_Population|Grenada}}`{=mediawiki} (`{{UN_Population|source}}`{=mediawiki}).
### Structure of the population {#structure_of_the_population}
Age Group Male Female Total \%
----------- -------- -------- --------- ---------
Total 56 222 55 245 111 467 100
0--4 4 282 3 872 8 154 7.32
5--9 3 793 3 634 7 427 6.66
10--14 4 392 4 276 8 668 7.78
15--19 4 869 4 818 9 687 8.69
20--24 5 027 4 797 9 824 8.81
25--29 4 758 4 722 9 480 8.50
30--34 3 596 3 514 7 110 6.38
35--39 3 424 3 130 6 554 5.88
40--44 3 120 2 904 6 024 5.40
45--49 3 416 3 198 6 614 5.93
50--54 3 179 3 195 6 374 5.72
55--59 2 455 2 231 4 686 4.20
60--64 1 806 1 765 3 571 3.20
65--69 1 261 1 497 2 758 2.47
70--74 1 106 1 287 2 393 2.15
75--79 732 999 1 731 1.55
80--84 417 695 1 112 1.00
85--89 168 359 527 0.47
90+ 78 197 275 0.25
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0--14 12 467 11 782 24 249 21.75
15--64 39 993 38 429 78 422 70.35
65+ 3 762 5 034 8 796 7.89
## Vital statistics {#vital_statistics}
Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Infant mortality rate
------ --------------------- ------------- -------- ---------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------- -----------------------
1950 77,000 2,962 1,056 1,906 38.6 13.8 24.9
1951 77,000 3,037 1,276 1,761 39.6 16.7 23.0
1952 77,000 3,119 1,255 1,864 40.4 16.3 24.2
1953 78,000 3,283 1,084 2,199 42.0 13.9 28.2
1954 79,000 3,507 793 2,714 44.2 10.0 34.2
1955 81,000 3,919 1,205 2,714 48.4 14.9 33.5
1956 83,000 3,627 1,179 2,448 43.8 14.2 29.6
1957 85,000 4,664 908 3,756 55.1 10.7 44.4
1958 86,000 4,253 973 3,280 49.2 11.2 37.9
1959 88,000 4,115 919 3,196 46.6 10.4 36.2
1960 90,000 4,016 1,032 2,984 44.7 11.5 33.2
1961 91,000 3,691 1,022 2,669 40.4 11.2 29.2
1962 92,000 3,419 840 2,579 37.0 9.1 27.9
1963 93,000 3,445 827 2,618 36.9 8.9 28.0
1964 94,000 3,374 804 2,570 35.9 8.5 27.3
1965 95,000 2,968 822 2,146 31.4 8.7 22.7
1966 95,000 2,820 852 1,968 29.7 9.0 20.7
1967 95,000 2,816 786 2,030 29.7 8.3 21.4
1968 95,000 2,994 822 2,172 31.6 8.7 22.9
1969 95,000 2,757 768 1,989 29.1 8.1 21.0
1970 94,000 2,741 743 1,998 29.0 7.9 21.2
1971 94,000 2,879 739 2,140 30.6 7.8 22.7
1972 94,000 2,939 660 2,279 31.3 7.0 24.3
1973 94,000 2,933 726 2,207 31.3 7.8 23.6
1974 93,000 2,734 734 2,000 29.4 7.9 21.5
1975 92,000 2,890 619 2,271 31.3 6.7 24.6
1976 91,000 2,712 678 2,034 29.7 7.4 22.2
1977 90,000 2,628 806 1,822 29.1 8.9 20.2
1978 89,000 2,521 765 1,756 28.3 8.6 19.7
1979 89,000 2,664 739 1,925 30.1 8.3 21.7
1993 97,056 2,220 745 1,475 22.6 7.6 15.0
1994 97,793 2,254 777 1,477 22.7 7.8 14.9
1995 98,540 2,286 807 1,479 22.8 8.0 14.8 12.7
1996 98,921 2,096 782 1,314 20.8 7.8 13.0 14.3
1997 99,516 2,191 707 1,484 21.7 7.0 14.7 14.1
1998 100,100 1,938 819 1,119 19.1 8.1 11.0 19.1
1999 100,703 1,791 794 997 17.7 7.8 9.8 15.2
2000 101,308 1,883 765 1,118 18.5 7.5 11.0 14.3
2001 103,143 1,899 727 1,172 18.6 7.1 11.5 17.4
2002 104,068 1,756 887 869 16.9 8.5 8.4 20.5
2003 104,769 1,851 810 1,041 17.7 7.7 10.0 11.9
2004 104,712 1,868 884 984 17.8 8.4 9.4 9.6
2005 104,441 1,804 834 970 17.3 8.0 9.3 2.2 9.4
2006 104,708 1,663 765 898 15.9 7.3 8.6 1.9 12.6
2007 104,981 1,825 740 1,085 17.4 7.0 10.4 2.2 7.1
2008 105,298 1,809 842 967 17.2 8.0 9.2 2.1 5.0
2009 105,175 1,800 781 1,019 17.1 7.4 9.7 2.0 7.8
2010 105,038 1,709 831 878 16.3 7.9 8.4 1.9 12.3
2011 106,667 1,812 795 1,017 17.0 7.5 9.5 2.177 15.5
2012 107,599 1,661 857 804 15.4 8.0 7.5 1.924 13.2
2013 108,580 1,838 822 1,016 16.9 7.6 9.4 2.129 17.4
2014 109,374 1,750 958 792 16.0 8.8 7.2 2.003 18.9
2015 110,096 1,694 869 825 15.4 7.9 7.5 1.925 16.5
2016 110,910 1,577 898 679 14.2 8.1 6.1 1.788 15.9
2017 111,467 1,398 885 513 12.5 7.9 4.6 1.705 24.3
2018 111,959 1,520 965 555 13.6 8.6 5.0 1.693 15.8
2019 112,579 1,575 981 594 14.0 8.7 5.3 11.4
2020 113,135 1,540 1,033 507 13.5 8.9 4.6 20.1
2021 113,703 1,611 1,273 338 14.2 11.2 3.0 18.6
2022 1,469 1,136 333 19.7
2023 1,380 1,068 312 12.3
### Fertility rate {#fertility_rate}
The fertility rate in Grenada was 2.21 in 2013.
## Ethnic groups {#ethnic_groups}
The vast majority of the population of Grenada are of African descent (89.4% at the 2001 census). There is also a significant mixed population (8.2%), along with a small European origin minority (0.4%), East Indians (1.6%), and there are small numbers of Lebanese/Syrians (0.04%) and Chinese (0.02%).
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# Demographics of Grenada
## Ethnic groups {#ethnic_groups}
### Amerindians
Grenada has a small population of pre-Columbian native Caribs. According to the 2001 census there are only 125 Caribs remaining (0.12% of the total population).
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# Demographics of Grenada
## Languages
Apart from a 114-year period of French occupancy (1649--1763) English has been the country\'s official language. However, over time the minority of the population use a colloquial spoken language considered to be either English-based creole languages or (Grenadian Creole English) and which is said to reflect the African, European and Indian heritage of the nation.
The Grenadian creoles originally influenced by French, now contain elements from a variety of Grenadian Creole and a little of the African languages. Grenadian Creole French is mainly spoken in smaller rural areas, but today it can only be heard in a few small pockets of the society. Grenadian Creole French is mainly known as *Patois* and may have similarities to the Saint Lucian Creole French.
It is believed that the one-time native or indigenous languages were Iñeri and Karina.
## Religion
Historically the religious makeup of the islands of Grenada covers the period from first European occupation in the 17th century. This has always been predominantly Christian and largely Roman Catholic (due to the first occupants being French) and from the 1891 census we get a snapshot of the population and its religious proclivities - over half were Roman Catholic (55%), a third were Church of England (36%), others listed were Wesleyan (6%) and Presbyterian (0.88%).
More recently, according to the government\'s 2011 information, 85.2% percent of the population of Grenada is considered Christian, 7.7% is non-Christian and 7% has no religious belief. Roughly one third of Christians are Roman Catholics (36% of the total population), a reflection of early French influence on the island, and one half are Protestant (49.2%).
Anglicanism constitutes the largest Protestant group, with about 11.5% of the population. Pentecostals are the second largest group (about 11.3%), followed by Seventh-day Adventists (approximately 10.5% of the population). Other estimates include Baptists (2.9%), Church of God (2.6%), Methodists (1.8%), Evangelicals (1.6%) Jehovah\'s Witnesses (1.1%), and Brethren Christian (0.5%).
The number of non-Christians is small. These religious groups include the Rastafarian Movement (1.1% of the population), Hinduism (0.2%) and Muslims (0.3%)
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# Transport in Grenada
**Transport in Grenada** consists of a network of highways connecting major population centres, airports and ports and harbours along the coast. Grenada has no merchant marine.
There is one industrial railway, used by a rum distillery.
**Highways:**\
*total:* 1,127 km\
*paved:* 687 km\
Drivers in Grenada drive on the left hand side of the road. Visitors not accustomed to this should be extra cautious when driving on the island\'s highways and roads.\
*unpaved:* 440 km (1999 est.)\
Grenada\'s roads can pose hazardous driving conditions, including aggressive drivers and sharp curves.
Grenada has several ports of entry including seaports, bays and harbours:
- St. George\'s
- St. David\'s Bay
- Grenville
- Hillsborough on Carriacou
**Airports:** 3 (1999 est.)
**Airports - with paved runways:**\
*total:* 3\
*2,438 to 3,047 m:* 1\
*914 to 1,523 m:* 1\
*under 914 m:* 1 (2006 est
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# History of Guam
The **history of Guam** starts with the early arrival around 2000 BC of Austronesian people known today as the Chamorro Peoples. The Chamorus then developed a \"pre-contact\" society, that was colonized by the Spanish in the 17th century. The present American rule of the island began with the 1898 Spanish--American War. Guam\'s history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands.
## Guam prior to European contact {#guam_prior_to_european_contact}
### Migrations
upright=1.5\|thumb\|Map showing the Neolithic Austronesian migrations into the islands of the Indo-Pacific The Mariana Islands were the first islands settled by humans in Remote Oceania. Incidentally it is also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the Austronesian peoples into Remote Oceania, and is separate from the later Polynesian settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. They were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BC by migrants departing from the Philippines.
Archeological studies of human activity on the islands has revealed potteries with red-slipped, circle-stamped and punctate-stamped designs found in the Mariana Islands dating between 1500 and 1400 BC. These artifacts show similar aesthetics to pottery found in Northern and Central Philippines, the Nagsabaran (Cagayan Valley) pottery, which flourished during the period between 2000 and 1300 BC.
Comparative and historical linguistics also indicate that the Chamoru language is most closely related to the Indonesian Malayan subfamily of the Austronesian languages, instead of the Oceanic subfamily of the languages of the rest of Remote Oceania.
Mitchondrial DNA and whole genome sequencing of the Chamoru people strongly support Philippine ancestry. Genetic analysis of pre-*Latte* period skeletons in Guam also show that they do not have Melanesian ancestry which rules out origins from the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, or eastern Indonesia. The Lapita culture itself (the ancestral branch of the Polynesian migrations) is younger than the first settlement of the Marianas (the earliest Lapita artifacts are dated to around 1350 to 1300 BCE), indicating that they originated from separate migration voyages.
Nevertheless, DNA analysis also shows a close genetic relationship between ancient settlers of the Marianas and early Lapita settlers in the Bismarck Archipelago. This may indicate that both the Lapita culture and the Marianas were settled by direct migrations from the Philippines, or that early settlers from the Marianas voyaged further southwards into the Bismarcks and reconnected with the Lapita people.
The Marianas also later established contact and received migrations from the Caroline Islands at around the first millennium CE. This brought new pottery styles, language, genes, and the hybrid Polynesian breadfruit.
The period 900 to 1700 CE of the Marianas, immediately before and during the Spanish colonization, is known as the *Latte* period. It is characterized by rapid cultural change, most notably by the massive megalithic *latte* stones (also spelled *latde* or *latti*). These were composed of the *haligi* pillars capped with another stone called *tasa* (which prevented rodents from climbing the posts). These served as supports for the rest of the structure which was made of wood. Remains of structures made with similar wooden posts have also been found. Human graves have also been found in front of *latte* structures. The *Latte* period was also characterized by the introduction of rice agriculture, which is unique in the pre-contact Pacific Islands.
The reasons for these changes are still unclear, but it is believed that it may have resulted from a third wave of migrants from maritime Southeast Asia. Comparisons with other architectural traditions makes it likely that this third migration wave were again from the Philippines, or from eastern Indonesia (either Sulawesi or Sumba), all of which have a tradition of raised buildings with capstones. Interestingly, the word *haligi* (\"pillar\") is also used in various languages throughout the Philippines; while the Chamoru word *guma* (\"house\") closely resembles the Sumba word *uma*.
### Ancient Chamoru society {#ancient_chamoru_society}
Most of what is known about Pre-Contact (\"Ancient\") Chamorus comes from legends and myths, archaeological evidence, Jesuit missionary accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like Otto von Kotzebue and Louis de Freycinet.
When Europeans first arrived on Guam, Chamoru society roughly fell into three classes: *matao* (upper class), *achaot* (middle class), and *mana\'chang* (lower class). The matao lived in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds while the mana\'chang lived in the interior of the island. Matao and mana\'chang rarely communicated with each other, and matao often used achaot as a go-between.
There were also \"makhanas\" (shamans) and \"suruhanus\" (herb doctors), skilled in healing and medicine. Belief in spirits of ancient Chamorros called *Taotao Mona* still persists as remnant of pre-European society. Early European explorers noted the sakman, the Chamoru fast sailing vessel used for trading with other islands of Micronesia.
### Latte
The latte stones were not a recent development in Contact Chamoru society. The latte stone consists of a head and a base shaped out of limestone. Like the Easter Island Moai statues, there is plenty of speculation over how this was done by a society without machines or metal, but the generally accepted view is that the head and base were etched out of the ground by sharp adzes and picks (possibly with the use of fire), and carried to the assembly area by an elaborate system of ropes and logs. The latte stone was used as a part of the raised foundation for a magalahi (matao chief) house, although they may have also been used for canoe sheds.
Archaeologists using carbon-dating have broken Pre-Contact Guam (i.e. Chamoru) history into three periods: \"Pre-Latte\" (BC 2000? to AD 1) \"Transitional Pre-Latte\" (AD 1 to AD 1000), and \"Latte\" (AD 1000 to AD 1521). Archaeological evidence also suggests that Chamoru society was on the verge of another transition phase by 1521, as latte stones became bigger.
Assuming the stones were used for chiefly houses, it can be argued that Chamoru society was becoming more stratified, either from population growth or the arrival of new people. The theory remains tenuous, however, due to lack of evidence, but if proven correct, will further support the idea that Pre-Contact Chamorus lived in a vibrant and dynamic environment.
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# History of Guam
## Spanish era {#spanish_era}
### Magellan\'s first encounter with Guam {#magellans_first_encounter_with_guam}
The first known contact between Guam and Europeans occurred with the arrival of a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan. His three-ship fleet arrived on March 6, 1521, after a long voyage across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, from Spain. History credits the village of Umatac as his landing place, but drawings from the navigator\'s diary suggest that Magellan may have landed in Tumon in northern Guam. The expedition had started out in Spain with five ships. By the time they reached the Marianas, they were down to three ships and barely half the crew, due to storms, disease, and mutiny in one ship.
When Magellan\'s fleet arrived at Guam, they were greeted by hundreds of small outrigger canoes that appeared to be flying over the water due to their considerable speed. These outrigger canoes were called proas and resulted in Magellan naming Guam *Islas de las Velas Latinas* (\"Islands of the Lateen sails\"). Antonio Pigafetta (one of 18 crewmen who completed the voyage) wrote in his account that the name was \"Island of Sails\".
Tired and hungry from their long voyage, the crew prepared to go ashore and get food and water. However, the Chamorus had a different concept of ownership, based on subsistence living, and were very excited by the appearance of these strange vessels. The Chamorus canoed out to the ships and began helping themselves to everything that was not nailed down to the deck of the galleons. \"The aboriginals were willing to engage in barter\... Their love of gain overcame every other consideration.\"
Pigafetta wrote that the inhabitants \"entered the ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on,\" including \"the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship.\" \"Those people are poor, but ingenious and very thievish, on account of which we called those three islands *Islas de los Ladrones* (\"Islands of thieves\").\"
After a few shots were fired from the *Trinidad*\'s big guns, the natives were frightened off from the ship and retreated into the surrounding jungle. Magellan was eventually able to obtain rations and offered iron, a highly prized material, in exchange for fresh fruits, vegetables, and water. Details of this visit, the first in history between the Spanish and a Pacific island people, come from Pigafetta\'s journal.
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# History of Guam
## Spanish era {#spanish_era}
### Spanish colonization {#spanish_colonization}
Despite Magellan\'s visit, Guam was not officially claimed by Spain until 1565 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. However, the island was not actually colonized until the 17th century.
On June 15, 1668, the galleon *San Diego* arrived at the island of Guam. Jesuit missionaries led by Diego Luis de San Vitores arrived on Guam to introduce Christianity and develop trade. The Spanish taught the Chamorus to cultivate maize (corn), raise cattle, and tan hides, as well as to adopt western-style clothing. They also introduced the Spanish language and culture. Once Christianity was established, the Catholic Church became the focal point for village activities, as in other Spanish cities. Since 1565, Guam had been a regular port-of-call for the Spanish galleons that crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Philippines.
Chief Quipuha was the maga\'lahi, or high ranking male, in the area of Hagåtña when the Spanish landed there in 1668. Quipuha welcomed the missionaries and consented to be baptized by Fr. San Vitores as Juan Quipuha. Quipuha granted the lands on which the first Catholic Church in Guam was constructed in 1669. Chief Quipuha died in 1669 but his policy of allowing the Spanish to establish a base on Guam had important consequences for the future of the island. It also facilitated the Manila Galleon trade.
A few years later, Fr. San Vitores and his assistant, Pedro Calungsod, were killed by Chief Mata\'pang of Tomhom (Tumon), allegedly for baptizing the Chief\'s baby girl without the Chief\'s consent. This was in April 1672. Many Chamorus at the time believed baptisms killed babies: because priests would baptize infants already near death (in the belief that this was the only way to save such children\'s souls), baptism seemed to many Chamorus to be the cause of death.`{{r|Rodgers}}`{=mediawiki} The death of Quipuha, and the murder of San Vitores and Calungsod, led to a number of conflicts. Captain Juan de Santiago started a campaign to conquer the island, which was continued by the successive commanders of the Spanish forces. The Spanish-Chamorro Wars on Guam began in 1670 over growing tensions with the Jesuit mission, with the last large-scale uprising in 1683. After his arrival in 1674, Captain Damian de Esplana ordered the arrest of rebels who attacked the population of certain towns. Hostilities eventually led to the destruction of villages such as Chochogo, Pepura, Tumon, Sidia-Aty, Sagua, Nagan, and Ninca. Starting in June 1676, the first Spanish Governor of Guam, Capt. Francisco de Irrisarri y Vinar, controlled internal affairs more strictly than his predecessors in order to curb tensions. He also ordered the construction of schools, roads, and other infrastructure. In 1680, Captain Jose de Quiroga arrived and continued some of the development projects started by his predecessors. He also continued the search for the rebels who had killed Father San Vitores, resulting in campaigns against the rebels which were hiding out in some islands, eventually leading to the deaths. of Matapang, Hurao, and Aguarin. Quiroga brought some natives from the northern islands to Guam, ordering the population to live in a few large villages. These included Jinapsan, Umatac, Pago, Agat, and Inarajan, where he built a number of churches. By July 1695, Quiroga had completed the conquest of Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Aguigan. Intermittent warfare, plus the typhoons of 1671 and 1693, and in particular the smallpox epidemic of 1688, reduced the Chamorro population from 50,000 to 10,000, finally to less than 5,000.
During the course of the Spanish administration of Guam, lower birth rates and diseases reduced the population from 12,000`{{r|Rodgers}}`{=mediawiki} to roughly 5,000 by 1741. After 1695, Chamorus settled in five villages: Hagåtña, Agat, Umatac, Pago, and Fena. During this historical period, Spanish language and customs were introduced in the island and Catholicism became the predominant religion. The Spanish built infrastructures such as roads and ports, as well as schools and hospitals. Spanish and Filipinos, mostly men, increasingly intermarried with the Chamorus, particularly the new cultured or \"high\" people (*manak\'kilo*) or gentry of the towns. In 1740, Chamorus of the Northern Mariana Islands, except Rota, were moved from some of their home islands to Guam.
### Expulsion of the Jesuits {#expulsion_of_the_jesuits}
On February 26, 1767, Charles III of Spain issued a decree confiscating the property of the Jesuits and banishing them from Spain and her possessions. As a consequence, the Jesuit fathers on Guam departed on November 2, 1769, on the schooner *Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe*, abandoning their churches, rectories and ranches.
Governor Don Mariano Tobias, who arrived of on September 15, 1771, brought agricultural and civil reforms. These included making land available to the islanders for cultivation; encouraging the development of cattle raising; importing deer and water buffalo from Manila, and donkeys and mules from Acapulco; establishing cotton mills and salt pans; establishing free public schools; and forming the first Guam militia. He was transferred to Manila in June 1774.
Spain built several defensive fortifications to protect their Pacific fleet, such as Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad in Umatac. The Galleon Era ended in 1815 following Mexican Independence. Guam later was host to a number of scientists, voyagers, and whalers from Russia, France, and England who also provided detailed accounts of daily life on Guam under Spanish rule. Through the Spanish colonial period, Guam inherited food, language, and surnames from Spain and Spanish America. Other reminders of colonial times include the old Governor\'s Palace in Plaza de España and the Spanish Bridge, both in Hagåtña. Guam\'s Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica was formally opened on February 2, 1669, as was the Royal College of San Juan de Letran. The cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas gained many similarities with Spanish culture due to three centuries of Spanish rule.
### Post-Napoleonic era {#post_napoleonic_era}
Following the Napoleonic Wars, many Spanish colonies in the Western Hemisphere had become independent, shifting the economic dependence of Guam from Mexico to the Philippines. Don Francisco Ramon de Villalobos, who became governor in 1831, improved economic conditions including the promotion of rice cultivation and the establishment of a leper hospital.
Otto von Kotzebue visited the island in November 1817, and Louis de Freycinet in March 1819. Jules Dumont d\'Urville made two visits, the first in May 1828. The island became a rest stop for whalers starting in 1823.
A devastating typhoon struck the island on August 10, 1848, followed by a severe earthquake on January 25, 1849, which resulted in many refugees from the Caroline Islands, victims of the resultant tsunami. After a smallpox epidemic killed 3,644 Guamanians in 1856, Carolinians and Japanese were permitted to settle in the Marianas. Guam received nineteen Filipino prisoners after their failed 1872 Cavite mutiny. Later in 1896, more than fifty Filipino \"deportados\" were sent to Guam; when they attempted to escape many were killed and wounded by Chamorro artillerymen.
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# History of Guam
## American era {#american_era}
### Capture of Guam {#capture_of_guam}
On June 21, 1898, the United States captured Guam in a bloodless landing during the Spanish--American War. By the Treaty of Paris, Spain officially ceded the island to the United States.`{{r|Rodgers}}`{=mediawiki} Between the American capture of Guam, and installation of a Naval Governor in August 1899, there was a flux in governance of the island. Guam became part of an American telegraph line to the Philippines, also ceded by the treaty; a way station for American ships traveling to and from there; and an important part of the United States\' War Plan Orange against Japan. Although Alfred Thayer Mahan, Robert Coontz, and others envisioned the island as \"a kind of Gibraltar\" in the Pacific, Congress repeatedly failed to fulfill the military\'s requests to fortify Guam; when the German warship `{{SMS|Cormoran|1914|6}}`{=mediawiki} was interned in 1914 before America\'s entry into World War I, its crew of 543 outnumbered their American custodians.`{{r|Rodgers}}`{=mediawiki}
Guam came to serve as a station for American merchant and warships traveling to and from the Philippines (another American acquisition from Spain) while the Northern Mariana Islands were sold by Spain to Germany for part of its rapidly expanding German Empire. A U.S. Navy yard was established at Piti in 1899, and a United States Marine Corps barracks at Sumay in 1901.
During the Philippine--American War of 1899--1902, Apolinario Mabini was exiled to Guam in 1901 after his capture. Mabini was one of 43 prisoners, accompanied by 15 servants, who were exiled to Guam. They were imprisoned on the site of a former leper hospital in Asan. The prison was commanded by an officer of the United States Army; under the army officer the guards of the facility were provided by the United States Marine Corps. The facility was named the Presidio of Asan. Marines assigned to the facility would rotate from Cavite every six months. One of those exiled and imprisoned at the facility would be one of the first two Resident Commissioner of the Philippines Pablo Ocampo. The facility closed in 1903.
Following the German defeat in World War I, the Northern Mariana Islands became part of the South Seas Mandate, a League of Nations Mandate in 1919 with the nearby Empire of Japan as the mandatory (\"trustee\") as a member nation of the victorious Allies in the \"Great War\". The 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia said of Guam, \"of its total population of 11,490 (11,159 natives), Hagåtña, the capital, contains about 8,000. Possessing a good harbor, the island serves as a United States naval station, the naval commandant acting also as governor. The products of the island are maize, copra, rice, sugar, and valuable timber.\" Military officers governed the island as \"USS *Guam*\", and the United States Navy opposed proposals for civilian government until 1950.`{{r|Rodgers}}`{=mediawiki}
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# History of Guam
## American era {#american_era}
### World War II {#world_war_ii}
*Main article: Japanese occupation of Guam* Further information: Pacific Islands home front during World War II During World War II, Guam was attacked and invaded by Japan on Monday, December 8, 1941, at the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor, across the International Date Line. In addition, Japan made major military moves into Southeast Asia and the East Indies islands of the South Pacific Ocean against the British and Dutch colonies, opening a new wider Pacific phase in the Second World War. The Japanese renamed Guam *Ōmiya-jima* (Great Shrine Island).
The Northern Mariana Islands had become a League of Nations mandate assigned to Japan in 1919, pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Indigenous Chamorro people from the Northern Marianas were brought to Guam to serve as interpreters and in other capacities for the occupying Japanese force. The Guamanian Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. After the war, this would cause resentment between the Guamanian Chamorros and the Chamorros of the Northern Marianas. Guam\'s Chamorros believed their northern brethren should have been compassionate towards them, whereas having been administered by Japan for over 30 years, the Northern Mariana Chamorros were loyal to the Japanese government.
The Japanese occupation of Guam lasted for approximately 31 months, from 1941 to 1944. During this period, the indigenous people of Guam were subjected to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps and forced prostitution. Approximately 1,000 people died during the occupation, according to later Congressional committee testimony in 2004. Some historians estimate that war violence killed 10% of Guam\'s then 20,000 population. It was a coercive experience for the Chamoru people, whose loyalty to the United States became a point of contention with the Japanese. Several American servicemen remained on the island, however, and were hidden by the Chamoru people. All of these servicemen were found and executed by Japanese forces in 1942; only one escaped.
The second Battle of Guam began on July 21, 1944, with American troops landing on western side of the island after several weeks of pre-invasion bombardment by the U.S. Navy. After several weeks of heavy fighting, Japanese forces officially surrendered on August 10, 1944. More than 18,000 Japanese were killed as only 485 surrendered. Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi, who surrendered in January 1972, appears to have been the last confirmed Japanese holdout, having held out for 28 years in the forested back country on Guam. The United States also captured and occupied the nearby Northern Marianas Islands.
Guam was subsequently converted into a forward operations base for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. Airfields were constructed in the northern part of the island (including Andersen Air Force Base), the island\'s pre-WWII Naval Station was expanded, and numerous facilities and supply depots were constructed throughout the island. North Field was established in 1944, and was renamed for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen of the old U.S. Army Air Forces as Andersen Air Force Base.
Guam\'s two largest pre-war communities (Sumay and Hagåtña) were virtually destroyed during the 1944 battle. Many Chamoru families lived in temporary re-settlement camps near the beaches before moving to permanent homes constructed in the island\'s outer villages. Guam\'s southern villages largely escaped damage, however.
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# History of Guam
## American era {#american_era}
### Self-determination {#self_determination}
The immediate years after World War II saw the U.S. Navy attempting to resume its predominance in Guam affairs. This eventually led to resentment, and thus increased political pressure from Chamoru leaders for greater autonomy.
The result was the Guam Organic Act of 1950 which established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States and, for the first time in Guam history, provided for a civilian government. In 1951, Public Law 01-12 established the new government, including a judicial branch, and an executive branch with many departments.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, section 307, granted U.S. citizenship to \"all persons born in the island of Guam on or after April 11, 1899. In the 1960s, the island\'s required security clearance for visitors was lifted.
On September 11, 1968, eighteen years after passage of the Organic Act, Congress passed the \"Elective Governor Act\" (Public Law 90-497), which allowed the people of Guam to elect their own governor and lieutenant governor. Nearly four years later, Congress passed the \"Guam-Virgin Islands Delegate\" Act that allowed for one Guam delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. The delegate has a voice in debates and a vote in committees, but no vote on the floor of the House.
Andersen Air Force Base played a major role in the Vietnam War. The host unit was later designated the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Thirteenth Air Force (13AF). In September 2012, 13 AF was deactivated and its functions merged into PACAF. The multinational Cope North military exercise is an annual event.
Although Public Law 94-584 established the formation of a \"locally drafted\" constitution (later known as the \"Guam Constitution\"), the proposed document was rejected by Guam residents in an August 4, 1979 referendum.
In the meantime, Guam\'s local government had formed several political status commissions to address possible options for self-determination. The following year after passage of the Guam Delegate Act saw the creation of the \"Status Commission\" by the Twelfth Guam Legislature.
This was followed by the establishment of the \"Second Political Status Commission\" in 1975 and the Guam \"Commission on Self-Determination\" (CSD) in 1980. The Twenty-Fourth Guam Legislature established the \"Commission on Decolonization\" in 1996 to enhance CSD\'s ongoing studies of various political status options and public education campaigns.
These efforts enabled the CSD, barely two years after its creation, to organize a status referendum on January 12, 1982. 49% of voters chose a closer relationship with the United States via Commonwealth.
Twenty-six percent voted for Statehood, while ten percent voted for the Status Quo (as an Unincorporated territory). A subsequent run-off referendum held between Commonwealth and Statehood saw 73% of Guam voters choosing Commonwealth over Statehood (27%). Today, Guam remains an unincorporated territory despite referendums and a United Nations mandate to establish a permanent status for the island.
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# History of Guam
## American era {#american_era}
### Contemporary Guam {#contemporary_guam}
Guam\'s U.S. military installations remain among the most strategically vital in the Pacific Ocean. When the United States closed U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay and Clark Air Base bases in the Philippines after the expiration of their leases in the early 1990s, many of the forces stationed there were relocated to Guam.
The removal of Guam\'s security clearance by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 allowed for the development of a tourism industry. The island\'s rapid economic development was fueled both by rapid growth in this industry as well as increased U.S. Federal Government spending during the 1980s and 1990s.
Since 1974, about 124 historic sites in Guam have been recognized under the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Guam temporarily hosted 100,000 Vietnamese refugees in 1975\'s Operation New Life, and 6,600 Kurdish refugees in 1996.
On August 6, 1997, Guam was the site of the Korean Air Flight 801 aircraft accident. The Boeing 747--300 jetliner was preparing to land when it crashed into a hill, killing 228 of the 254 people on board.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis, which hit Japan particularly hard, severely affected Guam\'s tourism industry. Military cutbacks in the 1990s also disrupted the island\'s economy. Economic recovery was further hampered by devastation from Supertyphoons Paka in 1997 and Pongsona in 2002, as well as the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks on tourism.
The recovery of the Japanese and Korean tourist markets reflected those countries\' economic recoveries, as well as Guam\'s continued appeal as a weekend tropical retreat. U.S. military spending also dramatically increased as part of the War on Terrorism.
The late 2000s saw proposals to strengthen U.S. military facilities, including negotiations to transfer 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa. American forces were originally scheduled to relocate from Okinawa to Guam beginning in 2012 or 2013. However, that was set back due to budget constrains and local resistance to the additional military presence; Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz was activated in 2020 but the relocation is scheduled to start no later than by the first half of the 2020s.
In August 2017, North Korea warned that it might launch mid-range ballistic missiles into waters within 18 to of Guam, following an exchange of threats between the governments of North Korea and the United States.
In 2018, a Government Accountability Office report stated that Agent Orange was used as a commercial herbicide in Guam during the Vietnam and Korean Wars. An analysis of chemicals present in the island\'s soil, together with resolutions passed by Guam\'s legislature, suggest that Agent Orange was among the herbicides routinely used on and around military bases Anderson Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Agana, Guam. Despite the evidence, the Department of Defense continues to deny that Agent Orange was ever stored or used on Guam. Several Guam veterans have collected an enormous amount of evidence to assist in their disability claims for direct exposure to dioxin containing herbicides such as 2,4,5-T which are similar to the illness associations and disability coverage that has become standard for those who were harmed by the same chemical contaminant of Agent Orange used in Vietnam.
\"Cosmopolitan\" Guam poses particular challenges for Chamorus struggling to preserve their culture and identity in the face of acculturation. The increasing numbers of Chamorus, especially Chamoru youth, relocating to the U.S. Mainland has further complicated both the definition and preservation of Chamoru identity
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# Geography of Guam
Guam is a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, at the boundary of the Philippine Sea. It is the southernmost and largest member of the Mariana Islands archipelago, which is itself the northernmost group of islands in Micronesia. The closest political entity is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), another U.S. territory. Guam shares maritime boundaries with CNMI to the north and the Federated States of Micronesia to the south. It is located approximately one quarter of the way from the Philippines to Hawaii. Its location and size make it strategically important. It is the only island with both a protected harbor and land for multiple airports between Asia and Hawaii, on an east--west axis, and between Papua New Guinea and Japan, on a north--south axis.
The island is a result of the volcanic activity created by subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Philippine Sea Plate at the nearby Mariana Trench, which runs from the east of Guam to the southwest. Volcanic eruptions established the base of the island in the Eocene, roughly 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). The north of Guam is a result of this base being covered with layers of coral reef, turning into limestone, and then being thrust by tectonic activity to create a plateau. The rugged south of the island is a result of more recent volcanic activity. Cocos Island off the southern tip of Guam is the largest of the many small islets along the coastline.
Politically, Guam is divided into 19 villages. The majority of the population lives on the coralline limestone plateaus of the north, with political and economic activity centered in the central and northern regions. The rugged geography of the south largely limits settlement to rural coastal areas. The western coast is leeward of the trade winds and is the location of Apra Harbor, the capitol Hagåtña, and the tourist center of Tumon. The U.S. Defense Department owns about 29% of the island, under the management of Joint Region Marianas.
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# Geography of Guam
## Geology
The Mariana Islands lie atop the largely submerged East Mariana Ridge, a part of the Izu--Bonin--Mariana (IBM) Arc. The IBM Arc is a tectonic plate convergent boundary where the west Pacific Plate subducts the Philippine Sea Plate. Guam is actually located on the Mariana Plate, a micro plate between the two. The subduction area is marked by the Mariana Trench, the deepest gash in the earth\'s surface, which includes three deep spots to the south of Guam. From east to west, these are: Nero Deep, which was the deepest known spot in the ocean from 1899 to 1927 at 9660 m; Sirena Deep, the third deepest measured point at 10714 m; and Challenger Deep, the deepest point at 10902 to.
There have been three major eruptions on Guam. the first, the Facpi formation, in the mid Eocene, laid the base of the island and is still the topmost formation along the southwestern coast. The second eruption created the Alutom formation that is still the topmost strata in the middle of the island. The Mount Alifan-Mount Lamlam ridge is the remnant of the Alutom formation caldera.
The last volcanic layer, called the Umatac formation, was formed by the third and final eruption, which surrounded this ridge in the south of Guam. Meanwhile, volcanic activity alternately submerged areas of the island, which hosted coral reefs, and then lifted those reefs, which became limestone. The island may be divided into four general geophysical regions:`{{r|"EIS_Ch 3"|p=4}}`{=mediawiki} the uplifted and relatively flat coralline limestone plateau in the north that provides most of the drinking water; the low-rising hills of the Alutom Formation in the center; the mountains of the Umatac formation in the south; and the coastal lowlands ringing most of the island.`{{r|"EIS_Ch 3"|p=1}}`{=mediawiki} Much of the coast is protected by a fringing reef.
Soils are mostly silty clay or clay and may be gray, black, brown or reddish brown; acidity and depth vary. There are four National Natural Landmarks in Guam chosen as exemplars of the island\'s geology: Facpi Point, Fouha Point, Mount Lamlam, and Two Lovers Point.
<File:Two> lovers point (80103943).jpg\|Two Lovers Point, a National Natural Landmark, is a sea cliff of coralline limestone in northern Guam
### Earthquakes
Guam occasionally experiences earthquakes; most with epicenters near Guam have had magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 8.7. Unlike Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam is not volcanically active, though vog (volcanic smog) from Anatahan affects it due to proximity.
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# Geography of Guam
## Strategic position {#strategic_position}
Guam is about 1500 mile from both Tokyo in the north and Manila in the west, and about 3800 mile from Honolulu in the east. Guam\'s size and possession of a natural safe anchorage at Apra Harbor, uniquely among its neighbors, have driven much of its history.
Guam was a minor but integral part of the Spanish Manila galleon trade. Located on the east-to-west trade winds, galleons from Mexico would briefly reprovision on Guam before continuing on to Manila. The westerlies are well away from Guam so it was not a stop on the return trip. During the height of Pacific whaling, Apra Harbor was a major stop for whalers.
After the American capture of Guam in 1898, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid submarine communications cable for telegraph through Guam Cable Station, linking the United States to Asia for the first time. Guam continues to be a major submarine cable hub in the western Pacific. In 1935, Pan American Airways made Sumay, Guam, a base for its *China Clipper*, the first trans-Pacific air cargo service, flying from San Francisco to Manila, arrived at Sumay on November 27, 1935, and the first passenger service flight on October 21, 1936.
The Japanese capture of Guam in 1941 and subsequent American liberation in 1944 were driven by a recognition of Guam\'s strategic location in a Pacific War. Military facilities on Guam, including Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, are considered critical forward deployment bases in the Asia-Pacific. Guam was a support center for the Korean War (1949--1953) and became even more important during the Vietnam War, when the bombing campaigns Operation Arc Light (1965--1973) and Operation Linebacker II (1972) were flown out of Andersen Air Force Base. Guam was similarly the site of Operation New Life, the processing of Vietnamese refugees after the Fall of Saigon in 1975.
Guam is a linchpin of the \"Second Island Chain\" in the Island Chain Strategy first described by the U.S. during the Korean War, but which has become an increasing focus of Chinese foreign policy. In 2016, China deployed the DF-26, their first intermediate-range ballistic missile with the range to hit Guam. Chinese media wonks and military experts dubbed it the \"Guam Killer.\"
<File:Andersen> AFB with 150 B-52s 1972.jpg\|About 150 B-52 bombers at Andersen Air Force Base during the 1972 bombings of North Vietnam. <File:Geographic> Boundaries of the First and Second Island Chains.png\|The first and second island chains.
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# Geography of Guam
## Settlement patterns {#settlement_patterns}
A 1668 description reported that there were approximately 180 Chamoru villages on Guam with a total island population between 35,000 and 50,000. The Spanish strategy of villagization, called *reducción*, which began in the Spanish-Chamorro Wars, transferred the population to seven towns. These relocated people were forced to travel to work on distant farms and ranches, creating the *lanchu* system of farmsteading, which was to become a traditional part of Chamoru society well into the twentieth century.
A map from the early 1700s shows nearly 40 villages on Guam, mostly along the coastlines. The Spanish eventually emptied all of the northern and central villages of Guam, except for Hagåtña. The population of Guam and the entire Northern Marianas, except for Rota, was moved to Hagåtña, and five southern villages: Agat, Inarajan, Merizo, Pago (which no longer exists), and Umatac. Meanwhile, outbreaks of infectious disease inflicted a terrible toll, which was accelerated by concentrating the population. The Chamoru population in 1689 was estimated at 10,000, a third to fifth of the number just 20 years previously.`{{r|Hezel|p=70}}`{=mediawiki}
The population changed little over the next two centuries. The population in 1901, after the American Capture of Guam, was 9,676, with the majority located in Hagåtña and Sumay on Apra Harbor. The population was 18,509 in 1930. The American Naval government build roads and schools in outlying areas in order to urge the population to spend time on their ranch lands and produce more agricultural products. There were eight municipalities approved by the Naval governor in the 1920s, Hagåtña, Agat, Asan, Inarajan, Merizo, Piti, Sumay and Yona. This increased to 15 in 1939.
The devastation from the U.S. retaking of Guam in 1941 and subsequent military build-up of installations at the end of the Pacific War transformed the island\'s settlements. Two municipalities that disappeared entirely after the land became military bases were Machanao in the north and Sumay on Apra Harbor, which are now part of Naval Base Guam. The military government prohibited resettlement and rebuilding of Hagåtña, which held almost half of the pre-war population. The former residents of Hagåtña dispersed, mainly to their *lanchus* (ranches).
Once most of the wartime bases were built, northern Guam experienced sustained housing construction. The original location of Dededo was bulldozed by the Americans to create Harmon Air Force Base. When the new location was devastated by Typhoon Karen in 1962 and Typhoon Olive in 1963, the resulting federal aid sparked a construction boom that then resulted in the first large housing subdivisions.
The neighboring municipality of Yigo on the northeast of the island has experienced dramatic population growth. In 1940, there were about 40 families living in the area. By the beginning of the 21st century, it was Guam\'s second most populous village after Dededo.
## Climate
*Main article: Guam#Climate* Further information: Climate change in Guam, List of typhoons on Guam Guam has a tropical marine climate that is generally warm and humid, but moderated by northeast trade winds. The dry season is from January to June. The wet season is from July to December. There is little temperature variation. There are frequent squalls during the wet season. Typhoons are relatively rare but are most common during the wet season and are potentially very destructive.
Typhoon Pongsona in 2002 had wind gusts up to 290 km/h (183 mph 1-min) over Guam and caused widespread devastation, but no direct deaths because of strict building standards. Pongsona was the most damaging typhoon on Guam since Typhoon Paka in 1997.
## Environment
*Main article: Marianas tropical dry forests* Further information: Invasive species in Guam, List of birds of Guam, List of mammals of Guam, List of Superfund sites in Guam The rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake (*Boiga irregularis*), an exotic species, caused the local extinction of the native bird population, such as the Guam rail and Guam kingfisher. The island also supports feral populations of introduced Philippine deer (*Rusa marianna*), pigs (*Sus scrofa*), and carabao (*Bubalus bubalis carabanesis*).
Extraction of natural resources for economic gain is based around the sea. This includes commercial fishing, mostly servicing and unloading of longline fleets and commercial vessels. There is recreational fishing of Indo-Pacific blue marlin (*Makaira mazara*), wahoo (*Acanthocybium solandri*), mahi-mahi (*Coryphaena hippurus*), yellowfin tuna (*Thunnus albacares*), and deepwater reef fish. Tourism from Japan in particular, but increasingly from China and South Korea, largely derives from an attractive tropical climate and amenities.
A 2012 estimate was that 16.67% of the land area was being used for permanent crops, while only 1.85% was considered arable land suitable for plowing, planting, and reaping. 2 km^2^ was irrigated.
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# Geography of Guam
## Extreme points {#extreme_points}
The three highest points on Guam are Mount Lamlam at 406 m, Mount Jumullong Manglo at 391 m, and Mount Bolanos, 368 m. Mount Lamlam is sometimes claimed to be the world\'s highest mountain at 37820 feet, measured from a base in Challenger Deep 304 km away. Even if measured from Sirena Deep, 145 km away, Mount Lamlam is taller than Mauna Kea, which is typically cited as the tallest mountain including subsurface rise from the ocean floor at 10203 m.
The extreme north, east, south, and west locations on mainland Guam are Ritidian Point, Pati Point, Aga Point, and Point Udall, respectively. However, Cocos Island, located off the southern coast of Guam\'s mainland is the ultimate southernmost point of the territory. Point Udall, previously named Orote Point, is also the westernpoint point of the U.S., as measured from the geographic center of the United States
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# Politics of Guam
Guam is a two-party presidential representative democracy, in which the Governor is the head of government. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States, with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs. Guam is also listed on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.
## Background
The economic situation in Guam is currently dependent on the significant U.S. military presence there. Its status as a tourist destination for Japanese, Singaporeans and South Koreans also contributes to Guam\'s economy. It has also emerged as a destination for economic migrants from the Philippines working at lower-wage jobs in the hospitality industry.
## Debate over political status {#debate_over_political_status}
Maintenance of the status quo vis-à-vis the current political relationship between the territory and the United States is controversial. There is a significant movement in favor of the Territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a political status similar to Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Competing movements exist, which advocate political independence from the United States, statehood, or a combination with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single territory (not necessarily commonwealth). Therese M. Terlaje, Speaker of the Legislature of Guam, indicated support in 2018 for holding a plebiscite to allow Guamians to vote for their favored political status.
These proposals, however, are not seen as favorable by the U.S. federal government, which argues Guam does not have the financial stability or self-sufficiency to warrant such status. They cite Guam\'s increasing reliance on Federal spending as evidence, and question how commonwealth status or statehood would benefit the United States as a whole.
A portion of the people on Guam favors a modified version of the current Territorial status, involving greater autonomy from the federal government (similar to the autonomy of individual States). Perceived indifference by the U.S. Congress regarding a change-of-status petition submitted by Guam has led many to feel that the territory is being deprived of the benefits of a more equitable union with the United States.
## Past referendums on political status {#past_referendums_on_political_status}
### January 1982 status referendum {#january_1982_status_referendum}
In January 1982, a referendum on Guam\'s status was held, with a 49.49% plurality of voters favoring commonwealth status, with 25.65% favoring statehood, the second most popular option. 10.19% said they supported the status quo, while 5.40% supported U.S. incorporated territory status. 3.9% of voters favored a free association agreement with the U.S., while independence was the least popular option, garnering 3.82% support.
### September 1982 status referendum {#september_1982_status_referendum}
A second referendum with the two most popular options in the original vote (commonwealth status and statehood) was held in September 1982. By a 72.82% to 27.18% margin, Guamanians voted in favor of commonwealth status over statehood. However, Guam has not received commonwealth status, and remains an unincorporated territory.
### Future referendums {#future_referendums}
In 2000, the Guam Legislature authorized the creation of a non-binding vote to allow native inhabitants of Guam to cast their votes in favor of statehood, a free association agreement, or outright independence from the United States. In 2017, Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood declared the proposal unconstitutional under the 15th Amendment
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# Communications in Guam
Though Guam is a United States territory, some U.S. long-distance plans and courier services list Guam as an international location. As a result of Guam\'s being added to the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in 1997, calls made to the U.S., Canada, or other participating countries from Guam (or to Guam from other NANP locations) only require the caller to dial a 1 followed by the area code.
In this way, only domestic charges are incurred between the US and Guam on most carriers. Before Guam\'s inclusion, calling the U.S. required dialing the international 011 first, thus resulting in higher long-distance rates and less frequent calls to the U.S. by relatives in Guam. Prices of long-distance calls to these destinations have dropped significantly to the point where now calling the U.S. from Guam or calling Guam from the U.S. costs the same.
## Mail
Some companies in the U.S. mainland still treat Guam as a foreign country and refuse to sell and ship items to Guam. However, if an item is shipped via USPS, shipping costs to Guam are the same as coast-to-coast shipping costs within the US. Many others will ship to Guam but will charge the shipping as an international destination. This is mainly because the company is using a private shipping company like UPS, FedEx, or DHL for its shipping.
Much of the mail to and from Guam routes through Hawaii and awaits cargo space on United Airlines which is contracted to deliver mail between Hawaii and Guam.
## Telephones
**Telephones -- main lines in use:** 85,000 (2007)
**Telephones -- mobile cellular:** 98,000 (2007)
**Telephone system:**
: *domestic:* GTA: \~70,000 local access lines, dial-up and DSL, Internet, long-distance service, TDMA and GSM wireless services via Pulse Mobile & Docomo Pacific (formerly Guam Wireless) ChoicePhone LLC, dba iConnect with iDen, GSM and 4G LTE networks.
: *international:* satellite earth stations -- 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to United States, Japan and Australia.
: *international access code:* +1.671 (in the North American Numbering Plan, Area code 671)
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
**Radio broadcast stations:** AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2005)
**Radios:** 300,000 (2007)
**Television broadcast stations:** 8 (2007)
**Televisions:** 200,000 (2007)
## Internet
**Internet Service Providers (ISPs):** 4 (2013)
**Country code (Top-level domain):** GU
## Submarine cables {#submarine_cables}
Because of its location in the western Pacific and its status as U.S. territory, Guam has one of the most extensive submarine communications cable infrastructures in the Asia-Pacific. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami cut many of the primary cables connecting the United States and Asia, prompting companies to look for alternate locations for new cables. In 2019, GTA Teleguam and RTI Cable built the island\'s first combined neutral cable landing station and data center. This coincided with a bill introduced to the Legislature of Guam by Sen. Telo Taitague to conduct an economic study and develop policy recommendations on submarine cables. GTA also seeks to attract U.S. companies to build data centers on Guam, noting the reduced network latency from Asia to Guam, compared to the U.S. Existing cable landing stations and their cables are:
- Tanguisson cable landing station in Tamuning: Asia-America Gateway, Australia--Japan Cable and Guam-Philippines
- Tumon Bay cable landing station in Tamuning: TPC-5CN, Australia--Japan Cable
- Tata Piti cable landing station: VSNL Transpacific, Tata TGN-Intra Asia, and Pipe Pacific Cable-1
- GTA Piti-I cable landing station: SEA-US, Japan-Guam-Australia South
- Gateway Network Connections neutral cable landing station and data center in Piti: HK-G, Japan-Guam-Australia North, SxS Cable System
- Unknown landing station: HANTRU-1
Retired cables landing on Guam include China-US Cable Network and PacRimWest
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# Transportation in Guam
The United States territory of Guam has no railways or freeways, nor does it have a merchant marine. The largest port is Apra Harbor is the largest port, serving almost all commercial traffic, including cruise, cargo and fishing vessels. There are smaller harbors located on the island (most notably one in Hagatna and one in Agat) which serve recreational boaters. Roads are primarily paved by a mixture of coral and oil, and when the mixture gets wet it tends to have oil float to the surface, making the roads dangerous. This is one of the reasons the speed limit on most of the island is 35 mph. But, during road repair or maintenance, a different mixture of asphalt that is not as slippery is used. Its main commercial airport is the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.
The Guam Department of Public Works is the government agency in charge of building, managing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure and equipment.
**Highways:**
: *total:* 885 km
: *paved:* 675 km
: *unpaved:* 210 km
: *note:* there is another 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations
**Airports:** 5 (1999 est.)
**Airports - with paved runways:**
: *total:* 4
: *over 3,047 m:* 2
: *2,438 to 3,047 m:* 1
: *914 to 1,523 m:* 1 (2007 est.)
**Airports - with unpaved runways:**
: *total:* 1
: *under 914 m:* 1 (2007 est
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# Politics of Guatemala
**Politics of Guatemala** takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Guatemala is both head of state, head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Guatemala is a Constitutional Republic.
Guatemala\'s 1985 Constitution provides for a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
Historically, Guatemala was characterized by civil war and frequent coups. Modern Guatemalan politics are still strongly affected by the Guatemalan Civil War (1960--1996). From the late 1990s to the mid-2010s, Guatemalan democracy improved, as greater civilian control of the military was achieved and anti-corruption measures were adopted. Since 2017, there has been democratic backsliding in Guatemala.
## Legislative branch {#legislative_branch}
The Congress of the Republic *(Congreso de la República)* has 160 members, elected for a four-year term, partially in departmental constituencies and partially by nationwide proportional representation.
## Judicial branch {#judicial_branch}
The Constitutional Court *(Corte de Constitucionalidad)* is Guatemala\'s constitutional court and only interprets the law in matters that affect the country\'s constitution. It is composed of five judges, elected for concurrent five-year terms each with a supplement, each serving one year as president of the Court: one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one is appointed by the President, one is elected by Superior Council of the Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by the Bar Association *(Colegio de Abogados);*
The Supreme Court of Justice *(Corte Suprema de Justicia)* is Guatemala\'s highest court. It comprises thirteen members, who serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number. The Supreme Court has an Appeal Court formed by 43 members. When one of the Supreme Court is absent or cannot participate in a case, one of the Appeal Court takes its place. The president of the Supreme Court of Justice is also president of the Judicial Branch of Guatemala (*Organismo Judicial de Guatemala*), and supervises both the hundreds of trial judges around the country (who are named to five-year terms) and the administrative work force which assists the magistrates.
## Administrative divisions {#administrative_divisions}
Guatemala is divided into 22 departments, administered by governors appointed by the president. Guatemala City and 333 other municipalities are governed by popularly elected mayors or councils.
## Foreign relations {#foreign_relations}
Guatemala\'s major diplomatic interests are regional security and increasingly, regional development and economic integration.
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# Politics of Guatemala
## Political culture and human rights {#political_culture_and_human_rights}
The 1999 presidential and legislative elections were considered by international observers to have been free and fair.`{{by whom|date=November 2021}}`{=mediawiki} Participation by women and indigenous voters was higher than in the recent past, although concerns remained regarding the accessibility of polling places in rural areas.
Alfonso Portillo\'s landslide victory combined with a Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) majority in Congress suggested possibilities for rapid legislative action. However, under the Guatemalan Constitution of 1985, passage of many kinds of legislation requires a two-thirds vote. Passage of such legislation is not possible, therefore, with FRG votes alone.
The political balance was disrupted in 2000 when allegations surfaced that the FRG had illegally altered legislation. Following an investigation, the Supreme Court stripped those involved, including President of Congress and FRG chief Ríos Montt, of their legislative immunity to face charges in the case. At roughly the same time, the PAN opposition suffered an internal split and broke into factions; the same occurred in the ANN. As a result, reforms essential to peace implementation await legislative action.
New cases of human rights abuse continued to decline, although violent harassment of human rights workers presented a serious challenge to government authority. Common crime, aggravated by a legacy of violence and vigilante justice, presents another serious challenge. Impunity remains a major problem, primarily because democratic institutions, including those responsible for the administration of justice, have developed only a limited capacity to cope with this legacy. The government has stated it will require until 2002 to meet the target of increasing its tax burden (at about 10% of GDP, currently the lowest in the region) to 12% of GDP.
During the Presidential race, the FRG organized what will later be known as Black Thursday (Jueves negro). The FRG organized its partisans from the country and brought them to the city. The FRG gave them transport, food, a shelter for the night, and meter long sticks. With these sticks, the participants ran through the streets wreaking havoc on the public infrastructure. During this day a journalist of Prensa Libre (a leading newspaper) was killed.
The media, which have a tradition of being independent and free,\[According to whom?\] took it very personally and for the next month, every headline was about these events, and the participation of the ruling party in this day of terror. The FRG was protesting the ruling of the TSE (supreme electoral tribunal) to ban the FRG candidate Efrain Rios Mont from the race. The TSE argued that as a formal putschist, he was banned by the constitution from ever becoming president. The FRG argued that since the events in which the former general participated predate the constitution, he was eligible for presidential office. Common sense argued that if such a clause was not retroactive by nature it would have no point.
Since 2004 Óscar Berger of the GANA (a coalition of political parties rather than a single one) won the elections, it is important to note that this was the first government in the history of democratic Guatemala that did not have an overwhelming majority in Congress. After he took office in January 2004 it was made public that the FRG had wildly ransacked the government going to the extremes of stealing computer equipment and objects of historic importance. Alfonso Portillo fled to Mexico with an impressive amount of money stolen from military funds, the national hospital, and the revenue service. Guatemala made a formal request for the deportation of Portillo to face charges of embezzlement, however, Mexico has never revoked diplomatic asylum once it is granted to a person.
Though the constitution says nothing about it, the vice president runs the government like a prime minister while the president deals with foreign affairs, this can be seen regularly as the VP stands in for the president in many events that are traditionally presided by the President of the Republic.
Criminality has reached staggering proportions: about 200 murders per month and it is starting to affect the economy as many companies prefer to leave the country than face the growing corruption and insecurity. One significant problem is the ongoing gang warfare between the M18 (Mara Dieciocho) and the MS (Mara Salvatrucha). These are two rival street gangs comprising loosely linked international franchise organizations, who wield a power somewhat like that of the US mafia of the 1930s and are for the moment above and beyond the grasp of the law. They hold territory under their control and extort \"taxes\" (la renta) from it.
They are not yet involved in high-level organized trafficking. That industry is of a different class of organized crime in Guatemala, with Mexican smugglers and top-ranking Guatemalan police officials regularly making headlines being caught with hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.
The mara phenomenon originated in the United States in the 1980s, specifically in Los Angeles, among refugees fleeing civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala. Later many members of the maras were deported from the United States to their countries of origin, and during the 1990s this has helped fuel the spread of the two gangs across the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and even Italy and Spain. There is a zone of Guatemala City, \"El Gallito\" which is recognized as being outside of Government control, it belongs to the drug lords that inhabit it. Barrio \"El Gallito\" is located in Zone 3, 2 mi away from the National Palace where the Government\'s offices are located.
Drug trafficking has reached staggering proportions in Guatemala, with corruption extending to top positions of many branches of government. Various narco-mafias vie for control of the remote northern jungle regions of Petén, where drugs, arms, and people all cross the border into Mexico, mostly bound for the United States. Drug trafficking is undoubtedly the greatest threat to political freedom in Guatemala today.
Guatemala is plagued by lynchings which severely blemish the country\'s humans rights record as a violation of due process of law.
The Berger administration has been hailed in some circles for its work in devolution. Guatemala has always been a strongly centralized state and the administration sought to take halt the growing pre-eminence of the Capital. For example, the administration has engaged in mobile cabinets where the President and all his ministers will go into the country and change the seat of power every so often, to be \"closer to the people\".
The administration is facing growing financial difficulties, potentially in part due to 60% of the population being considered \"poor\" and therefore ineligible for taxation. The SAT (superintendence of tributary administration), the revenue service, is therefore obligated to tax the middle class which is starting to suffer under the burden. The SAT has become stringent in its application of the law seeking the full penalties of incarceration for tax evasion.
In September 2006 the PNC (civil national police), in a joint action with the national military took by storm the Pavon detention centre, a prison with 1,500 inmates which until that date hadn\'t been requisitioned for 10 years and which was a hub of criminal activity. Some inmates, the guard of the chief of the mafioso what ran the prison and the leader himself resisted the onslaught of forces of law with AK-47 and handguns, they were massacred. Around 3,000 infantry and 4 tanks participated in the action. This was a milestone in the history of Guatemala and made national headlines.
2006 saw the dismemberment of the GANA in the face of the 2007 elections. It fractured into many parties, damaging the ability of the government to get legislation through Congress.
In the November 2007, second round presidential elections, Álvaro Colom of the UNE was elected president, defeating ex-general Otto Perez Molina of the PP. And in 2011, Retired General Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party won the presidential election in a runoff against populist Manuel Baldizón of the LIDER party. Pérez Molina assumed office on 14 January 2012, and his vice president is Roxana Baldetti. In September 2015, President Otto Perez Molina resigned because of bribery allegations.
In October 2015 presidential election, former TV comedian Jimmy Morales was elected as the new President of Guatemala after huge anti-corruption demonstrations. He took office in January 2016. In January 2020, Alejandro Giammattei replaced Jimmy Morales as the President of Guatemala. Giammattei had won the presidential election in August 2019 with his \"tough-on-crime\" agenda. In August 2023, Bernardo Arevalo, the candidate of the centre-left Semilla (Seed) Movement, had a landslide victory in Guatemala\'s presidential election. On 15 January 2024, Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as Guatemala\'s president
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# Telecommunications in Guatemala
**Telecommunications in Guatemala** include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
- Radio stations: 1 government-owned radio station and hundreds of privately owned radio stations (2007).
- Radios: 835,000 (1997).`{{update after|2014|1|14}}`{=mediawiki}
- Television stations: 4 privately owned national terrestrial channels dominate TV broadcasting; multi-channel satellite and cable services are available (2007).
- Television sets: 640,000 (1997).`{{update after|2014|1|14}}`{=mediawiki}
## Telephones
Guatemala\'s incumbent telephone company is TELGUA, which won the bidding for the privatization of the government run GUATEL.
- Calling code: +502
- International call prefix: 00
- Main lines in use:
- 665,061 lines (2000)
- 1.4 million lines (2006)
- 1.7 million lines, 63rd in the world (2012)
- Mobile cellular:
- 663,296 lines (2000)
- 6.8 million lines (2006)
- 10.2 million lines, 70% of the population (2007)
- 20.8 million lines, 46th in the world (2012)
- Telephone system: fairly modern network centered in Guatemala City; connected to Central American Microwave System, a trunk microwave radio relay system that links the countries of Central America and Mexico with each other.
- Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean).
- Communications cables: landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring (ARCOS-1) and the SAm-1 fiber optic submarine cable systems that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US (2011).
- Operators:
: {\| class=\"wikitable\"
\|- ! International Operator ! Brand ! Users ! Technology ! Web Site \|- \| América Móvil \| Claro/PCS Digital \| 3,591,138 (June 2007) \| CDMA 1x EVDO Rev 0 1900 MHz, GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1900 MHz, UMTS/HSPA 1900 MHz (1.5 Mbit/s) with video calling and data services available. \| [Claro Guatemala](http://www.claro.com.gt) \|- \| Telefónica \| Movistar \| 2,514,612 (June 2007) \| CDMA 1x EVDO Rev A 1900 MHz and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz, UMTS/HSPA 1900 MHz (7.2 Mbit/s) with data services only available. \| [Movistar Guatemala](http://www.movistar.com.gt) \|- \| Millicom / Local partners \| TIGO/COMCEL \| 3,116,998 (June 2007) \| TDMA/N-AMPS (to be shut down) and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850 MHz, UMTS/HSDPA 850 MHz (3.6 Mbit/s) with video calling and data services available \| [TIGO Guatemala](http://www.tigo.com.gt) \|- \| Digicel Group \| Digicel must be launched before June 18, 2008`{{update after|2014|1|14}}`{=mediawiki} \| `{{update after|2014|1|14}}`{=mediawiki} \| Planned GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900 MHz \| [Digicel Group](http://www.digicelgroup.com) \|}
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# Telecommunications in Guatemala
## Internet
- Top-level domain: .gt
- Internet users:
: {\| class=\"wikitable\"
\|- ! Year ! Users \|- \| 2002 \| \~200,000 \|- \| 2003 \| \~600,000 \|- \| 2004 \| \~1.0 million \|- \| 2005 \| \~1.7 million \|- \| 2006 \| \~2.4 million \|- \| 2007 \| \~3.8 million \|- \| 2009 \| \~2.3 million, 72nd in the world \|- \| 2012 \| \~2.3 million, 86th in the world; 16.0% of the population, 153rd in the world \|- \|2021 \|\~9.2 million \|}
- Fixed broadband: unknown (2012).
- Mobile broadband: 632,624 subscriptions, 85th in the world; 4.5% of the population, 113th in the world (2012).
- Internet hosts: 357,552 hosts, 60th in the world (2012).
- IPv4: 552,192 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 39.2 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 27 (2004).
### Internet censorship and surveillance {#internet_censorship_and_surveillance}
In 2011 the OpenNet Initiative reported no evidence of Internet filtering in Guatemala.
Guatemala\'s constitution protects freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and individual privacy, however, government officials routinely violate these rights. Recent constitutional reforms have legalized various electronic surveillance techniques that threaten online privacy.
- The Ley de Proteccion Integral de la Niñez y Adolescencia (Law on the Protection of Children and Adolescents) permits the restriction of content for children younger than eighteen years of age if it is deemed harmful to their development. Media outlets and organizers of public events are required to evaluate and classify programmed content according to this law.
- The Ley de Emisión del Pensamiento (Law on Expression of Thought) prohibits libel, slander, and treason in printed form, and stipulates that the author of any publication containing an opinion that the judiciary considers to be subversive, morally damaging, or \"disrespectful\" of private life may be subject to punishment. The Law on Expression of Thought explicitly requires newspapers that have incorrectly attributed acts to or published false information about people or entities to publish any corrections, explanations, or refutations sent to them by those they have accused. In cases of printed material that involves treason, is subversive, is \"damaging to morals,\" or contains slander or libel, newspapers may be subject to a trial by jury; decisions may be appealed within 48 hours. The law makes an exception when the offended party is a government employee or official: if the offending content concerns \"purely official acts\" related to government work, the case will be judged in a \"court of honor,\" and the decision will be final and closed to appeal.
- The Ley de Orden Público (Law of Public Order) states that if the government has declared the country to be \"in a state of siege,\" journalists must \"refrain from publishing anything that might cause confusion or panic
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# Armed Forces of Guatemala
The **Guatemalan Armed Forces** (*Fuerzas Armadas de Guatemala*) is the unified military organization comprising the Guatemalan Army, Navy, Air Force, and Presidential Honor Guard. The president of Guatemala is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy, training, and budget through the Minister of Defence. Day-to-day operations are conducted by the Chief of the General Staff.
## History
Guatemala is a signatory to the Rio Pact and was a member of the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA). The President of the Republic is commander-in-chief.
Prior to 1945 the Defence Ministry was titled the Secretariat of War (*Secretaría de la Guerra*).
An agreement signed in September 1996, which is one of the substantive peace accords, mandated that the mission of the armed forces change to focus exclusively on external threats. Presidents Álvaro Arzú and his successors Alfonso Portillo, Óscar Berger and Álvaro Colom, have used a constitutional clause to order the army on a temporary basis to support the police in response to a nationwide wave of violent crime, a product of the Mexican criminal organizations going across the north-west region.
The peace accords call for a one-third reduction in the army\'s authorized strength and budget --- achieved in 2004 --- and for a constitutional amendment to permit the appointment of a civilian minister of defense. A constitutional amendment to this end was defeated as part of a May 1999 plebiscite, but discussions between the executive and legislative branches continue on how to achieve this objective.
In 2004 the army has gone beyond its accord-mandated target, and has implemented troop reductions from an estimated 28,000 to 15,500 troops, including subordinate air force (1,000) and navy (1,000) elements. It is equipped with armaments and material from the United States, Israel, Taiwan, Argentina, Spain, and France. As part of the army downsizing, the operational structure of 19 military zones and three strategic brigades are being recast as several military zones are eliminated and their area of operations absorbed by others. The air force operates three air bases; the navy has two port bases.
The Guatemalan army has a special forces unit (specializing in anti-insurgent jungle warfare) known as the Kaibiles. In 2011, a Guatemalan court convicted four members of the Kaibiles, of killing more than 200 civilians in the Dos Erres massacre in 1982. Each man was sentenced to 6,050 years in prison. Their convictions for their roles in the massacre nearly 30 years prior, in which soldiers killed more than 200 men, women, and children, would not have happened if not for the courage of victims of violence and Guatemala\'s attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz. After the convictions of the Dos Erres four, based on a Guatemalan government\'s commitment to reorganize its special forces units, the U.S. Department of Defense resumed military aid.
## Armed Forces Day {#armed_forces_day}
The *Día del Ejército* (Army Day or Armed Forces Day) is celebrated on 30 June, although if it occurs on a Tuesday or Wednesday it is celebrated on the prior Monday, and if it occurs on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday it moves to the following Monday.
## Organization
The Armed Forces today number at around 39,000 active personnel.
### Leadership
### Service branches {#service_branches}
#### Army
The Army or Land Forces are the oldest military branch of the armed forces. In the middle of the 19th century, General Rafael Carrera promoted it with the triumph in the Battle of San José La Arada, dated to 2 February 1851, a date that is today commemorated as the day of this branch.
#### Navy
The Navy was founded on 15 January 1959, by the then President Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, due to the need to protect the country\'s marine resources, which at the time were the object of illegal predation by fishing boats from neighboring countries. It is a state entity with functions as a police agency for seas and rivers.
#### Air Force {#air_force}
The Guatemalan Air Force (*Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca; FAG*) constitutes the aviation portion of the Guatemalan Army. Founded in 1921, it is organized, equipped and trained to plan, conduct and execute the actions imposed by the State Military Defense in relation to the use of air power.
#### Honor Guard {#honor_guard}
The Presidential Honor Guard of Guatemala is a branch of the Guatemalan Land Forces, responsible for the care and protection of the President of the Republic, as well as the Vice President.
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# Armed Forces of Guatemala
## Equipment
### Small arms {#small_arms}
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | Image | Caliber | Type | Origin | Notes |
+====================================+=======+============+=============================+========+============================================================+
| Pistols | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M1911 | | .45 ACP | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Browning Hi-Power | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Beretta 92 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Walther P38 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Glock 19 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| SIG Sauer P226 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Shotguns | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Valtro PM5/350 | | 12 gauge | Shotgun | | Use by Kaibiles; stockless configuration with 350mm barrel |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Submachine guns | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Uzi | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Mini-Uzi | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| FMK-3 | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| MAC-10 | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M3 Grease Gun | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | M3 and M3A1 |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Beretta M12 | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rifles | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| AKM | | 7.62×39mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| AKS-74U | | 5.45×39mm | Carbine\ | | |
| | | | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Samopal vz.58 | | 7.62×39mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| IMI Galil | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| IWI Galil ACE | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Galil Córdova | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tavor CTAR21 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | In use with Kaibiles |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M16 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Colt 727 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | In use with Kaibiles |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Colt 733 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | In use with Kaibiles |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M4 | | 5.56×45mm | Carbine | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| T65 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| ArmaLite AR-10 | | 7.62×51mm | Battle rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Machine guns | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Daewoo K3 | | 5.56×45mm | Light machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Browning M1919 | | 7.62×51mm | Medium machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Browning M2 | | .50 BMG | Heavy machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| FN MAG | | 7.62×51mm | General-purpose machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sniper and anti-materiel rifles | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Barrett M82 | | .50 BMG | Anti-materiel rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rocket propelled grenade launchers | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M20 Super Bazooka | | 60mm | Rocket-propelled grenade | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M7A2 LAW | | | Rocket-propelled grenade | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Grenade launchers | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M203 | | 40×46mm SR | Grenade launcher | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
| M79 | | 40×46mm | Grenade launcher | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+------------+-----------------------------+--------+------------------------------------------------------------+
### Anti-tank weapons {#anti_tank_weapons}
+----------+--------------+------------------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Caliber | Notes |
+==========+==============+==================+========+=========+=================+
| M40A1 | | Recoilless rifle | | 105mm | 56 in service. |
+----------+--------------+------------------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| M-1968 | | Recoilless rifle | | 105mm | 64 in service. |
+----------+--------------+------------------+--------+---------+-----------------+
### Boats
+--------------------------------------+-------------+-----------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+======================================+=============+=======================+========+==========+========+================+
| Golfo de Tribuga-class landing craft | | Landing Craft Utility | | 1 | | |
+--------------------------------------+-------------+-----------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
### Tanks
+--------------------+-------------+------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+====================+=============+============+========+==========+========+================+
| M41 Walker Bulldog | | Light tank | | 10 | | |
+--------------------+-------------+------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
### Reconnaissance
+--------------+-------------+------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+==============+=============+========================+========+==========+========+================+
| RBY Mk 1 | | Reconnaissance vehicle | | 10 | | |
+--------------+-------------+------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M8 Greyhound | | Armored car | | 12 | | |
+--------------+-------------+------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| 775 |
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# Armed Forces of Guatemala
## Equipment
### Armored personnel carriers {#armored_personnel_carriers}
+------------------------+-------------+---------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+========================+=============+===========================+========+==========+========+================+
| M113 | | Armored personnel carrier | | 10 | | |
+------------------------+-------------+---------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Cadillac Gage Commando | | Armored personnel carrier | | 7 | | |
+------------------------+-------------+---------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Armadillo | | Armored personnel carrier | | 30 | | |
+------------------------+-------------+---------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
### Utility vehicles {#utility_vehicles}
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+======================+=============+=================+========+==========+========+================+
| AIL Abir | | Utility vehicle | | 20 | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M151 | | Utility vehicle | | Unknown | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Trucks | | | | | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M35 | | Utility truck | | Unknown | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M54 | | Utility truck | | Unknown | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Ural-4320 | | Utility truck | | 3 | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer | | Utility truck | | Unknown | | |
+----------------------+-------------+-----------------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
### Artillery
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+=================+=============+==========+========+==========+========+================+
| Mortars | | | | | | |
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M224 | | Mortar | | 625 | | |
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| Field artillery | | | | | | |
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M-56 | | Howitzer | | 26 | | |
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
| M101 | | Howitzer | | 24 | | |
+-----------------+-------------+----------+--------+----------+--------+----------------+
### Air defence systems {#air_defence_systems}
+-------------+-------------+------------+--------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
+=============+=============+============+========+===============+========+================+
| Bofors L/60 | | Autocannon | | Unknown | | |
+-------------+-------------+------------+--------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| Blowpipe | | MANPADS | | 82 launchers
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# History of Guernsey
The **history of Guernsey** stretches back with evidence of Neolithic occupation, followed by Roman occupation. Christianity was brought to Guernsey by St Sampson.
The islands were annexed by the Duchy of Normandy and were ruled separately by William the Conqueror even after becoming King of England. Over the centuries the islands experienced trade benefits and restrictions with attacks by pirates and naval forces leading to improvements in fortifications and the establishment of the Guernsey militia. Guernsey has remained loyal to the English Crown for over 1,000 years.
During the English Civil War, Guernsey supported the Parliamentarians, whilst Castle Cornet sided with the Royalists. The Napoleonic Wars brought prosperity through privateering and maritime trade, with a later rise of the stone industry, quarrying, horticulture, and tourism. The language in common use began to change from Guernésiais to English.
The islands were occupied by German troops in World War II, with the Islanders later rebuilding their lives through tourism, agriculture, trade and more recently, the finance industry.
## Prehistory
Around 6000 BC, the rising sea created the English Channel and separated the Norman promontories that became the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey from continental Europe. Neolithic farmers then settled on its coast and built the dolmens and menhirs found on the islands today. The island of Guernsey contains two sculpted menhirs of great archaeological interest, while the dolmen known as *L\'Autel du Dehus* contains a dolmen deity known as *Le Gardien du Tombeau*.
The Roman occupation of western Europe induced people to flee, including to the Channel Islands where a number of hoards have been found, including the Grouville Hoard. It later brought trade and Roman settlements. A 3rd-century Gallo-Roman ship wreck was found in St Peter Port harbour. Trade was by ship down the west coast of Europe, silver from England, Breton pottery, wine amphorae, as discovered in the Kings Road excavation in St Peter Port. The Nunnery in Alderney, was a 5th-century Roman signal station fort.
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# History of Guernsey
## Early history {#early_history}
### The arrival of Christianity {#the_arrival_of_christianity}
During their migration to Brittany, Britons occupied the *Lenur* islands (the former name of the Channel Islands) including *Sarnia* or *Lisia* (Guernsey) and *Angia* (Jersey). It was formerly thought that the island\'s original name was *Sarnia*, but recent research indicates that this might have been the Latin name for Sark. (*Sarnia* nonetheless remains the island\'s traditional designation.) Travelling from the Kingdom of Gwent, Saint Sampson, later the abbot of Dol in Brittany, is credited with the introduction of Christianity to Guernsey.
A chapel, dedicated to St Magloire, stood in the Vale. St Magloire was a nephew of St Samson of Dol, and was born about the year 535. The chapel in his name was mentioned in a bull of Pope Adrian IV as being in the patronage of Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy; all traces of the chapel have gone. While the chapel would probably be of a much later date, St Magloire, the British missionary, may well have set up a centre of Christian worship before A.D. 600.
Somewhere around A.D. 968, from the Benedictine monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, came to Guernsey to establish a community in the North of the Island. The Priory of Mont Saint-Michel was a dependency of the famous Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel
### The Duchy of Normandy {#the_duchy_of_normandy}
The history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey goes back to 933 when the islands came under the control of William Longsword, son of Rollo the first Duke of Normandy, having been annexed from the Duchy of Brittany by the Duchy of Normandy. The island of Guernsey and the other island in the Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy. In the islands, Elizabeth II\'s traditional title as head of state was Duke of Normandy. (The masculine nomenclature \"Duke\" is retained even when the monarch is female.)
In 1020, Duke Richard II split Guernsey in half, between the viscounts of the Cotentin and the viscounts of Bessin. However, when one of the former\'s ancestor died heirless in around 1137, the fief reverted to the Duke, hence why it is named *Fief le Roi* (the King\'s fief).
According to tradition, Robert I, Duke of Normandy (the father of William the Conqueror) was journeying to England in 1032, to help Edward the Confessor. He was obliged to take shelter in Guernsey and gave land, now known as the *Clos du Valle*, to the monks. Furthermore, in 1061, when pirates attacked and pillaged the Island, a complaint was made to Duke William. He sent over Sampson D\'Anneville, who succeeded, with the aid of the monks, in driving the pirates out. For this service, Sampson D\' Anneville and the monks were rewarded with a grant of half the Island between them. The portion that went to the monastery was known as *Le Fief St Michel*, and included the parishes of St Saviour, St Pierre du Bois, Ste. Marie du Catel, and the Vale. The part of Sampson was called fief of Anneville. Another version says that Sampson followed Duke William and fought Neel de Saint Saveur Nigel de Saint-Sauveur, who held the fief of de Bessin in Guernsey. The rebels were eventually defeated at the decisive Battle of Val-ès-Dunes (1047) and on this occasion Nèel, Viscount of Cotentin, fled to Brittany and forfeited his fief in Guernsey. This battle is described by Wace in his poem \"Roman du Rou\". In any case, in this version too, Sampson d\'Anneville stands at the beginning of the actual feudal settlement of the island. Sampson built a manor house called Manor d\'Anneville and had two sons. The founding of the Seigneurie and fief d\'Anneville in one quarter of the island, followed by the settlement of various Norman lords, means that feudal settlement and organisation of the island had already taken place before the Conquest. This tradition, of course, underlines the special character of Guernsey. It is echoed by many historians. Other historians, such as James Marr, suggest that this second phase of development was longer and continued after the death of William in 1087 and the rise of Geoffrey of Anjou.
In 1066, the Duke William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings to become the King of England; however, he continued to rule his French possessions, including Guernsey, as a separate entity, as fealty was owed to the King of France. This initial association of Guernsey with England did not last long, as William split his possessions between his sons: Robert Curthose became Duke of Normandy and William Rufus gained the English Crown. William Rufus\' brother Henry I recaptured Normandy for England in 1106. The island was then part of the English King\'s realm (though still part of Normandy and France). Around 1142, it is recorded that Guernsey was under the control of the Count of Anjou, who administered Normandy for the Duke.
### Late Middle Ages {#late_middle_ages}
The loss of Normandy by King John in 1204 isolated the Channel Islands from mainland Europe. Each time England and France went to war over the coming centuries, trade to and from the Channel Islands was restricted or banned and even when not officially at war, the island was repeatedly attacked by continental pirates and naval forces.
Fortifications were improved in the Channel Islands, manned by professional soldiers and the Guernsey militia who would help to defend the Island for the next 600 years. Service was compulsory in the militia for every man in the Island. Raids on Guernsey in 1336 and 1337 by exiled David Bruce, came at the start of the Hundred Years War, they were followed by Sark being captured and using this as a base, the next year when, starting in 1339, Guernsey was occupied by the Capetians, holding the Island for two years and Castle Cornet for seven. The attacks would recur on several occasions.
It was 1348 when the Black Death reached the Island, ravaging the population. In 1372, the island was invaded by Aragonese mercenaries under the command of Owain Lawgoch (remembered as *Yvon de Galles*), who was in the pay of the French king. Lawgoch and his dark-haired mercenaries were later absorbed into Guernsey legend as an invasion by fairies from across the sea.
In 1394 Richard II of England granted a new Charter to the islands. Because of great loyalty shown to the Crown, they were exempted for ever from English tolls, customs and duties.
Shipbuilding skills improved and trade to and from Guernsey increased with a growing number of ports, sometimes using trading treaties and sometimes avoiding paying duties. Guernsey ships in the 14th century were small. 12-80 tons with crews of 8-20 men. In times of war, ships could be seized as prizes, the practice continuing in times of peace, against all nationalities, as piracy.
In 1441, Guernsey\'s liberties, customs and usages were set out in *Le Précepte d\'Assise*.
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# History of Guernsey
## Early history {#early_history}
### The Reformation {#the_reformation}
In the mid-16th century, the island was influenced by Calvinist reformers from Normandy. During the Marian persecutions, three local women, the Guernsey Martyrs, were burned at the stake in 1556 for their Protestant beliefs. Two years later Elizabeth I came to the throne and Catholicism faded in Guernsey.
The French and piracy were problems to trade with Guernsey in the 16th century, requiring English naval ships to keep them at bay. Guernsey and Jersey were given certain privileges as the English crown needed the Islands to be loyal, not least of which was the Islands neutrality, allowing trade to be pursued with France and England, even when these were at war. The trade creating revenue from taxes to pay for the Island garrisons.
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# History of Guernsey
## Early modern history {#early_modern_history}
### Civil War {#civil_war}
During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians, while Jersey remained Royalist. Guernsey\'s decision was mainly related to the higher proportion of Calvinists and other Reformed churches, as well as Charles I\'s refusal to invest in the defences of the island. The allegiance was not total, however; there were a few Royalist uprisings in the southwest of the island, while Castle Cornet was occupied by the Governor, Sir Peter Osborne, and Royalist troops. Castle Cornet, which had been built to protect Guernsey, was turned on by the town of St. Peter Port, who constantly bombarded it. It was the penultimate Royalist stronghold to capitulate (in 1651)
### 17th and 18th trade and emigration {#th_and_18th_trade_and_emigration}
The Newfoundland cod trade was important to Guernsey until around 1700 when the small Guernsey ships found that the smuggling trade could prove more profitable, with Island businesses established to buy in goods for sale to smugglers until smuggling declined at the end of the 18th century, when legal privateering took over as the most profitable business.
Wars against France and Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries gave Guernsey shipowners and sea captains the opportunity to exploit the island\'s proximity to mainland Europe by applying for Letters of Marque and turning their merchantmen into licensed privateers. It was very profitable. In the first ten years of 18th century, the War of the Spanish Succession, 608 prizes were taken by Guernsey privateers. there was however a downside with about 50 ships being lost. To spread the risk, people would buy a share in a ship, (`{{frac|1|8}}`{=mediawiki} for instance) receiving a portion of prize monies after costs, if successful. Many Islanders became rich without ever setting foot on a sailing vessel. Ships became larger, with more crew and were better armed as more money was invested. Late in the 18th century, during the American Revolutionary War which lasted for 8 years, Guernsey and Alderney privateers took 221 prizes worth £981,300 (in today\'s terms, about £100m). The Islands and Guernsey in particular provided an important element to the blockading of enemies of Britain.
During the late 17th century the grant by Charles II of England of an island to George Carteret the Bailiff of Jersey, which was renamed *New Jersey*, combined with the Channel Island trading ships visiting New England saw Islanders setting up businesses and settling overseas. By the beginning of the 18th century, Guernsey\'s residents were starting to settle in North America. Guernsey County was founded in Ohio in 1810.
Ordinary trade continued, fishing had always been an important business. Knitting was an important home industry, overseas shipping carrying such diverse goods as wood, sugar, rum, coal, tobacco, salt, textiles, finished goods, glass, emigrants and wine. Trading mainly with Europe, the West Indies and the Americas.
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# History of Guernsey
## 19th century {#th_century}
Privateering during the Napoleonic Wars generated more profits, rolling on from the French Revolutionary Wars. London issued 5,632 letters of Marque of which Guernsey captains received 602, amongst around 70 ships varying in size from 5 to 500 ton. The Letter of Marque would set out which countries\' ships could be taken, by which ship, owned by which people. Ships also became stronger and better armed. The war saw the introduction of a series of UK Privateer Acts, to set out rules of valuation of prizes to reduce disputes in Court.
Fort George was a former garrison for the British Army. Construction started in 1780, and was completed in 1812. It was built to accommodate the increase in the number of troops stationed in the island in anticipation of a French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. Le Braye du Valle was a tidal channel that made the northern extremity of Guernsey, Le Clos du Valle, a tidal island. Le Braye du Valle was drained and reclaimed in 1806 by the British Government as a defence measure. The eastern end of the former channel became the town and harbour (from 1820) of St. Sampson\'s, now the second biggest port in Guernsey. The western end of La Braye is now Le Grand Havre. The roadway called \"The Bridge\" across the end of the harbour at St. Sampson\'s recalls the bridge that formerly linked the two parts of Guernsey at high tide. New roads were built and main roads metalled for ease of use by the military.
In 1813, the States requested to the Privy Council permission to issue Guernsey coinage. The Council agreed on the condition it was struck at the Royal Mint. However, when the first coins were issued in 1830, they had not been minted at the Royal Mint, but by R. Boulton & Co. of Birmingham. It is likely for this reason that coins of the Guernsey pound did not traditionally feature the sovereign. French currency remained legal tender in Guernsey until 1921. Guernsey created money debt-free for building roads in 1815.
In 1821, the population of Guernsey was 20,302, 11,173 of whom were living in St. Peter Port. By 1901, the island population had doubled.
The 19th century saw a dramatic increase in prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global maritime trade, and the rise of the stone industry. Ships were travelling further to trade, one notable Guernseyman, William Le Lacheur, established the Costa Rican coffee trade with Europe and the Corbet Family who created the Fruit Export Company Shipbuilding also increased in the 1840-70 era, declining when iron ships were demanded.
The quarrying industry was an important employer in the 19th century, Guernsey granite was highly prized, with London Bridge and many important London roads being repaved in Guernsey granite, resulting in hundreds of quarries appearing in the northern parishes. Horticulture developed from the use of glasshouses for growing grapes to the growing of tomatoes, becoming a very important industry from the 1860s. Tourism during the Victorian era and the use of Guernsey as a refuge or retirement location brought money to the Island, Victor Hugo being one of the most distinguished refugees.
Light industry businesses would regularly appear and after a few decades would move on, such as the Dundee firm James Keiller, who set up in Guernsey in 1857 and lasting until 1879 to avoid the high taxes on sugar in the UK, with marmalade manufactured in Guernsey exported all over the world.
It was normal for the island to deport vagrants, criminals and anyone who had fallen on hard times who were not \"local\". Between 1842 and 1880, 10,000 people were deported. This included local-born widows and local-born children of \"foreign\" men and people who, whilst not born in Guernsey, had resided in Guernsey for over 50 years. This reduced the burden on the parish requirement to look after their poor and discouraged France, England and Ireland encouraging their poor to emigrate to Guernsey.
At the end of the century, long resisted, the time had arrived for change, to schools, where English would be taught as a language, to the government, including the use of English as a language in Court together with voting reform, and some changes to the unfair treatment of non-locals as regards their deportation if unwanted and their summary arrest and detention for petty debt offences, it being almost impossible for an immigrant to ever be recognised as a local, irrespective of their wealth and the number of decades residing in Guernsey.
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# History of Guernsey
## 20th century {#th_century_1}
### World War I {#world_war_i}
During World War I, approximately 3,000 island men served in the British Expeditionary Force. Of these, about 1,000 served in the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry regiment formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916. In August 1917, Guernsey hosted an anti submarine French flying boat squadron, erecting hangars near Castle Cornet. The base is credited with having destroyed 25 German submarines. The Guernsey Roll of Honour includes 1,343 who were Bailiwick of Guernsey individuals or who served in the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry.
The economic depression in the 1930s also affected Guernsey. Unemployed labourers being given jobs such as building sea defences and constructing roads, including Le Val des Terres, opened in 1935 by *Le Prince de Galles*.
### World War II {#world_war_ii}
For most of World War II, the Bailiwick was occupied by German troops. Before the occupation, many Guernsey children had been evacuated to England to live with relatives or strangers during the war. Some children were never reunited with their families. The occupying German forces deported some of the Bailiwick\'s residents to camps in the southwest of Germany, notably to the *Lager Lindele* (Lindele Camp) near Biberach an der Riß. Among those deported was Ambrose (later Sir Ambrose) Sherwill, who, as the President of the States Controlling Committee, was *de facto* head of the civilian population. Sir Ambrose, who was Guernsey-born, had served in the British Army during the First World War and later became Bailiff of Guernsey. Three islanders of Jewish descent were deported to France and from there to Auschwitz where they were killed in The Holocaust. In Alderney, four camps were built to house forced labourers, mostly from Eastern Europe, two were handed for the SS to run. They were the only concentration camps run on British soil and are commemorated on memorials under Alderney\'s French name *Aurigny*.
Occupation laws were enforced by the German garrison. For example, rewards were offered to informants who reported anyone for painting \"V-for Victory\" signs on walls and buildings; a practice that had become popular among islanders wishing to express their loyalty to Britain.
Guernsey was very heavily fortified during World War II out of all proportion to the island\'s strategic value, for example four captured vintage Russian 305mm naval guns were installed at Batterie Mirus. German defences and alterations remain visible, including additions made to Castle Cornet and a windmill. Hitler had become obsessed with the idea that the Allies would try to regain the islands at any price, so over 20 per cent of the materials used to construct the \"Atlantic Wall\" (the Nazi attempt to defend continental Europe from seaborne invasion) was committed to the Channel Islands, including 47,000 cu m of concrete used for gun bases. Most of the German fortifications remain intact and although the majority of them stand on private property, several are open to the public.
Starvation threatened the Island in late 1944 after the German forces were cut off and supplies could not be brought in from France. The SS *Vega*, chartered by the Red Cross, brought Red Cross food parcels and other essential supplies into the Island.
The Island was liberated on 9 May 1945.
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# History of Guernsey
## 20th century {#th_century_1}
### Post-war {#post_war}
After 1945 the Islanders had to rebuild their lives, the return of evacuees, especially children who could hardly remember their relatives. Many properties had been damaged through wood being stripped from them for fuel, the island had an enormous debt, tourism was destroyed and the growing industry was damaged. The amount of scrap metal collected is now regretted. Rationing continued as in the UK, until the mid-1950s.
Many traditional businesses, such as fishing and quarrying, would not return. So the Islanders looked to other opportunities, the physical import/export of goods was difficult as the harbours were too small and freight cost too expensive, so control of trade was looked at, the right to supply Mateus Rosé to the UK was controlled by a Guernsey business and it became the top selling wine in the world.
By the 1960s the island had recovered, tourism was important again, the horticulture industry was booming, 500 million tomatoes being exported annually, then came the crash. Cheap North Sea fuel allowed the Netherlands to provide cheap heating to their growers, the Guernsey industry was undercut on price, which combined with rising fuel prices saw the complete demise of the tomato industry after 100 years by the end of the 1970s. Restrictions were introduced to make it harder and more expensive for people to move to the island as there was a fear of a massive population increase.
During the 1970s and 1980s the island began to boom in the finance industry. Not an easy transition for people from the growing industry to an office environment. Profits and salaries were good and the Island had revenues to support long term capital expenditure plans. Continuing through the 1990s with divergence to related industries, such as captive insurance and fund management have managed to keep unemployment low. Tourism declined in the 1980s when the price of a holiday in Spain became much cheaper than coming to Guernsey, leaving the island aiming to attract the higher end of the market.
Light industry businesses had continued to appear and operate for a few decades in Guernsey including electronic (Tektronix from 1957 to the 1980s) and the current Specsavers which was established in 1984
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# History of Guinea
The modern state of Guinea did not come into existence until 1958, but the history of the area stretches back well before European colonization. Its current boundaries were determined during the colonial period by the Berlin Conference (1884--1885) and the French, who ruled Guinea until 1958.
## West African empires {#west_african_empires}
What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires. The Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids. It was in this period that Islam first arrived in the region.
The Sosso kingdom (12th to 13th centuries) briefly flourished in the void but the Islamic Mandinka Mali Empire came to prominence when Soundiata Kéïta defeated the Sosso ruler, Sumanguru Kanté at the semi-historical Battle of Kirina in c. 1235. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa (Emperors), the most famous being Kankou Moussa, who made a famous hajj to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century.
The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, expanding its power from about 1460, and eventually surpassing the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. It continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco in 1591. The Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms.
Starting in the 13th century, the Arab slave trade flourished in the region and the Gulf of Guinea. The slave trade was greatly expanded in the 15th century when Portugal established a number of trading posts in Guinea, purchasing exporting, and kidnapping captives as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Other European nations would eventually participate in the trade, which persisted into the mid 19th century.
## Kingdoms in Guinea {#kingdoms_in_guinea}
After the fall of the major West African empires, various kingdoms existed in what is modern day Guinea.
### Futa Jallon {#futa_jallon}
Fulani Muslims migrated to Futa Jallon in Central Guinea and established an Islamic state from 1735 to 1898 with a written constitution and alternate rulers.
### Wassoulou Empire {#wassoulou_empire}
The Wassoulou empire was a short-lived (1878--1898) empire, led by Samory Touré in the predominantly Malinké area of what is now upper Guinea and southwestern Mali (Wassoulou). It moved to Ivory Coast before being conquered by the French.
## Colonial era {#colonial_era}
Guinea\'s colonial period began with French military penetration into the area in the early to mid-19th century, as France replaced Portugal as the dominant European power in the region. The French exerted control by building forts and occupying coastal towns, then gradually expanding inland. The French Empire first administrated the territory as part of its Senegalese colony, later establishing the colony of Rivières du Sud in 1882 and finally the colony of French Guinea in 1891. French domination was assured by the defeat in 1898 of the armies of Samori Touré, the Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and leader of Malinké descent, whose defeat gave France control of what today is Guinea and adjacent areas.
France negotiated Guinea\'s present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with other nations, namely the British colony of Sierra Leone, Portuguese colonial Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau), and the United States-backed Liberia.
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# History of Guinea
## Independence (1958) {#independence_1958}
In 1958 the French Fourth Republic collapsed due to political instability and its failures in dealing with its colonies, especially Indochina and Algeria. The founding of a Fifth Republic was supported by the French people, while French President Charles de Gaulle made it clear on 8 August 1958 that France\'s colonies were to be given a stark choice between more autonomy in a new French Community and immediate independence in the referendum to be held on 28 September 1958.
The other French colonies chose the former but Guinea --- under the leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré whose Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) had won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections --- voted overwhelmingly for independence. The French withdrew quickly, destroying infrastructure and equipment along the way, and on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as president.
### Sékou Touré\'s rule (1958--1984) {#sékou_tourés_rule_19581984}
French President Charles de Gaulle warned U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower not to embrace Guinea or France would leave NATO\'s integrated military structure and tell United States troops to leave France. As a result, the United States did not engage with the Touré government, in response Guinea quickly turned to the Soviet Union---making it the Kremlin\'s first success story in Africa. Following France\'s withdrawal, Guinea quickly aligned itself with the Soviet Union and adopted socialist policies. This alliance was short lived, however, as Guinea moved towards a Chinese model of socialism. Nevertheless, President John F. Kennedy and his Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver tried even harder than the Kremlin\'s Nikita Khrushchev. By 1963 Guinea had shifted away from Moscow into a closer friendship with Washington. Guinea relied more and more on aid and investment from the U.S. Even the relationship with France improved, after the election of Valéry Giscard d\'Estaing as president, trade increased and the two countries exchanged diplomatic visits.
By 1960, Touré had declared the PDG the only legal party. For the next 24 years, the government and the PDG were one. Touré was reelected unopposed to four seven-year terms as president, and every five years voters were presented with a single list of PDG candidates for the National Assembly. Advocating a hybrid African Socialism domestically and Pan-Africanism abroad, Touré quickly became a polarising leader, and his government became intolerant of dissent, imprisoning hundreds, and stifling free press.
At the same time, the Guinean government nationalised land, removed French appointed and traditional chiefs from power, and broke ties with French government and companies. Vacillating between support for the Soviet Union and (by the late 1970s) the United States, Guinea\'s economic situation became as unpredictable as its diplomatic line. Alleging plots and conspiracies against him at home and abroad, Touré\'s regime targeted real and imagined opponents, driving thousands of political opponents into exile.
In 1970, Portuguese forces, from neighboring Portuguese Guinea, staged Operation Green Sea, a raid into Guinea with the support of exiled Guinean opposition forces. Among other goals, the Portuguese military wanted to kill or capture Sékou Touré due his support of the PAIGC, a guerilla movement operating inside Portuguese Guinea. After several days of fierce fighting, the Portuguese forces retreated without achieving most of their goals. The regime of Sékou Touré increased the number of internal arrests and executions.
The Guinean Market Women\'s Revolt in 1977 resulted in the regime\'s softening of economic restrictions and began a turn away from the radical socialism previously practiced by the government.
Sékou Touré died on March 26, 1984, after a heart operation in the United States, and was replaced by Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui, who was to serve as interim president pending new elections.
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# History of Guinea
## Independence (1958) {#independence_1958}
### Lansana Conté\'s rule (1984--2008) {#lansana_contés_rule_19842008}
The PDG was due to elect a new leader on April 3, 1984. Under the constitution, that person would have been the only candidate for president. However, hours before that meeting, Colonels Lansana Conté and Diarra Traoré seized power in a bloodless coup. Conté assumed the role of president, with Traoré serving as prime minister until December.
Conté immediately denounced the previous regime\'s record on human rights, released 250 political prisoners and encouraged approximately 200,000 more to return from exile. He also made explicit the turn away from socialism, but this did little to alleviate poverty and the country showed no immediate signs of moving towards democracy.
In 1992, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with a presidential poll in 1993 followed by elections to parliament in 1995 (in which his party -- the Party of Unity and Progress -- won 71 of 114 seats.) Despite his stated commitment to democracy, Conté\'s grip on power remained tight. In September 2001 the opposition leader Alpha Condé was imprisoned for endangering state security, though he was pardoned 8 months later. He subsequently spent a period of exile in France.
In 2001 Conté organized and won a referendum to lengthen the presidential term and in 2003 begun his third term after elections were boycotted by the opposition. In January 2005, Conté survived a suspected assassination attempt while making a rare public appearance in the capital Conakry. His opponents claimed that he was a \"tired dictator\" whose departure was inevitable, whereas his supporters believed that he was winning a battle with dissidents. Guinea still faces very real problems and according to *Foreign Policy* is in danger of becoming a failed state.
In 2000 Guinea became embroiled in the instability which had long blighted the rest of West Africa as rebels crossed the borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone and it seemed for a time that the country was headed for civil war. Conté blamed neighbouring leaders for coveting Guinea\'s natural resources, though these claims were strenuously denied. In 2003 Guinea agreed plans with her neighbours to tackle the insurgents. In 2007 there were big protests against the government, resulting in the appointment of a new prime minister.
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# History of Guinea
## Independence (1958) {#independence_1958}
### Conté\'s death and the 2008 coup d\'état {#contés_death_and_the_2008_coup_détat}
In a coup d\'état several days following Touré\'s death, Lansana Conté became the President. The constitution and parliament were suspended and a committee for national recovery was established. Conté remained in power until his death on 22 December 2008.
In several hours following his death, Moussa Dadis Camara seized control of Guinea as the head of a junta. On 28 September 2009, the junta ordered its soldiers to attack people who had gathered to protest Camara\'s presumed candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections. The soldiers went on a rampage of rape, mutilation, and murder.
On 3 December 2009, an aide shot Camara during a dispute about the rampage of September 2009. Camara went to Morocco for medical care. Vice-president (and defense minister) Sékouba Konaté flew back from Lebanon to run the country in Camara\'s absence.
On 12 January 2010 Camara was flown from Morocco to Burkina Faso. After meeting in Ouagadougou on 13 and 14 January, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, produced a formal statement of twelve principles promising a return of Guinea to civilian rule within six months. It was agreed that the military would not contest the forthcoming elections, and Camara would continue his convalescence outside Guinea. On 21 January 2010 the military junta appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month transition government, leading up to elections.
The presidential election was set to take place on 27 June and 18 July 2010, it was held as being the first free and fair election since independence in 1958. The first round took place normally on 27 June 2010 with ex Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and his rival Alpha Condé emerging as the two runners-up for the second round. However, due to allegations of electoral fraud, the second round of the election was postponed until 19 September 2010. A delay until 10 October was announced by the electoral commission (CENI), subject to approval by Sékouba Konaté. Yet another delay until 24 October was announced in early October. Elections were finally held on 7 November. Voter turnout was high, and the elections went relatively smoothly.
16 November 2010, Alpha Condé, the leader of the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RGP), was officially declared the winner of a 7 November run-off in Guinea\'s presidential election. He had promised to reform the security sector and review mining contracts if elected.
On the night of 18 July 2011, President Condé\'s residence was attacked in an attempted coup. The attack included a fierce firefight and rocket propelled grenades. The president was unharmed. Sixteen people have been charged with the attempted assassination. Most of those indicted are close associates of Konaté.
The National Assembly of Guinea, the country\'s legislative body, has not met since 2008 when it was dissolved after the military coup in December. Elections have been postponed many times since 2007 and, most recently, were scheduled for 8 July 2012. In April 2012, President Condé postponed the elections indefinitely, citing the need to ensure that they were \"transparent and democratic\".
In February 2013, a plane carrying the head of the Guinean armed forces, General Kelefa Diallo, and nine other military officials, crashed on its way to the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
#### 2013 protests
The opposition coalition withdrew from the electoral process in mid-February, mainly due to President Conde\'s insistence on using a suspicious South African firm Waymark Infotech to draw up the registered voter list. In late February 2013, political violence erupted in Guinea after protesters took to the streets to voice their concerns over the transparency of the upcoming May 2013 elections. The demonstrations were fueled by the opposition coalition\'s decision to step down from the electoral process in protest at the lack of transparency in the preparations for elections.
Nine people were killed during the protests, while around 220 were injured, and many of the deaths and injuries were caused by security forces using live fire on protesters. The political violence also led to inter-ethnic clashes between the Fula and Malinke peoples, the latter forming the base of support for President Condé, with the former consisting mainly of the opposition. On 26 March 2013 the opposition party backed out of the negotiation with the government over the upcoming 12 May election. The opposition claimed that the government has not respected them, and have not kept any promises they agreed to. This is expected to lead to more protests and fighting in the streets of Guinea.
### 2014 Ebola outbreak {#ebola_outbreak}
Beginning in July 2014, Guinea suffered the most severe recorded outbreak of Ebola in history, which rapidly spread to neighbouring countries Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic was over by June 2016.
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# History of Guinea
## Independence (1958) {#independence_1958}
### 2020 elections
In October 2020, president Alpha Condé won presidential elections. Condé had been in power since 2010 and he won the third term. Opposition did not accept the results because of allegations of fraud. The president said a constitutional referendum in March 2020 allowed him to run despite a two-term limit. After the election there were violent protests across the country.
### Coup d\'état 2021 {#coup_détat_2021}
On September 5, 2021, Alpha Condé was deposed by the military. National Committee of Reconciliation and Development headed by Mamady Doumbouya took power. On 1 October 2021, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led the previous month\'s coup, was sworn in as interim president of Guinea
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# Geography of Guinea
Guinea is a country on the coast of West Africa and is bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Guinea is divided into four geographic regions: Maritime Guinea (Lower Guinea) a coastal plain running north to south behind the coast; the pastoral Fouta Djallon highlands (Middle Guinea); the northern savanna (Upper Guinea); and a southeastern rain-forest region (Forest Guinea).
## Location
Guinea lies in western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Its geographic coordinates are 11 00 N 10 00 W type:country.
## Area and boundaries {#area_and_boundaries}
Area:
:\* Total: 245,857 km²
:\*\**country rank in the world:* 77th
:\* Land: 245,717 km²
:\* Water: 140 km²
Area comparative
:\* Australia comparative: slightly larger than Victoria
:\* Canada comparative: slightly more than `{{sfrac|1|2}}`{=mediawiki} the size of the Yukon
:\* United Kingdom comparative: approximately the size of the United Kingdom
:\* United States comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
:\* EU comparative: slightly larger than Romania Guinea\'s land boundaries span a total of 4,046 km: with Ivory Coast 816 km, Guinea-Bissau 421 km, Liberia 590 km, Mali 1,062 km, Senegal 363 km, and Sierra Leone 794 km. It has a 320-km coastline, and claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nmi, with a territorial sea of 12 nmi.
## Climate
The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate, with a monsoonal-type rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform temperatures, southwesterly winds, and high humidity.
The capital Conakry\'s year-round average high is 32 C, and the low is 21 C. Conakry\'s average annual rainfall is almost 3800 mm. Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter rainy season and greater daily temperature variations. There is a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds.
## Rivers and water {#rivers_and_water}
The Niger River, the Gambia River, and the Senegal River are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.
## Ecoregions
- Guinean forest-savanna mosaic covers most of the country, covering most of Maritime Guinea and Upper Guinea, as well as the lower elevations of the Fouta Djallon. It extends north into Guinea Bissau and Senegal, and east through Mali and Ivory Coast.
- Western Guinean lowland forests occupies the southwestern portion of Maritime Guinea around Conakry, and Forest Guinea, along with coastal Sierra Leone, Liberia, and western Ivory Coast.
- Guinean montane forests, cover the Fouta Djallon and Guinea Highlands of southeast Guinea above an elevation of 600 meters.
- Guinean mangroves, in the coastal estuaries. Enclaves extend north into Guinea Bissau, Gambia and Senegal, and southeast through Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast.
## Terrain
Its terrain is generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior. The country\'s lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m), and highest is Mont Nimba (1,752 m).
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 549km² of tidal flats in Guinea, making it the 47th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.
This is a list of the extreme points of Guinea, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point -- the northern section of the border with Senegal, Boké Region\*.
- Easternmost point -- the confluence of the Gben river and the Férédougouba river on the border with Ivory Coast, Nzérékoré Region.
- Southernmost point -- unnamed location on the border with Liberia immediately south of the village of Gonon, Nzérékoré Region.
- Westernmost point -- Ile du Noufrage, Boké Region.
- Westernmost point (mainland) -- the point at which the border with Guinea-Bissau enters the Rio Compony estuary
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# Demographics of Guinea
Demographics of Guinea describes the condition and overview of Guinea\'s peoples. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.
## Population
According to `{{UN_Population|source}}`{=mediawiki} the total population was `{{UN_Population|Guinea}}`{=mediawiki} in `{{UN_Population|Year}}`{=mediawiki}, compared to only 3 094 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 42.9%, 53.8% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.3% was 65 years or older .
Total population Population aged 0--14 (%) Population aged 15--64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
------ ------------------ --------------------------- ---------------------------- -------------------------
1950 3 094 000 37.1 57.6 5.3
1955 3 300 000 38.6 57.0 4.4
1960 3 541 000 40.0 56.2 3.8
1965 3 823 000 41.8 54.9 3.4
1970 4 154 000 42.2 54.6 3.2
1975 4 287 000 42.6 54.3 3.1
1980 4 407 000 43.3 53.5 3.2
1985 4 924 000 43.9 52.8 3.3
1990 5 759 000 44.4 52.3 3.3
1995 7 565 000 44.6 52.1 3.3
2000 8 344 000 44.2 52.4 3.3
2005 9 041 000 43.6 53.0 3.3
2010 9 982 000 42.9 53.8 3.3
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Population in households only. Post-censal estimates.):
Age Group Male Female Total \%
----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ---------
Total 6 091 847 6 467 776 12 559 623 100
0--4 1 037 280 1 022 153 2 059 433 16.40
5--9 959 509 929 185 1 888 694 15.04
10--14 822 307 806 488 1 628 795 12.97
15--19 657 907 666 443 1 324 350 10.54
20--24 528 044 567 632 1 095 676 8.72
25--29 417 642 512 403 930 045 7.41
30--34 339 033 443 928 782 962 6.23
35--39 275 317 357 350 632 667 5.04
40--44 228 609 289 300 517 909 4.12
45--49 192 971 228 709 421 680 3.36
50--54 162 513 181 040 343 553 2.74
55--59 135 604 137 422 273 025 2.17
60--64 110 535 105 633 216 168 1.72
65--69 85 963 81 143 167 106 1.33
70--74 62 168 59 044 121 212 0.97
75--79 39 993 39 338 79 331 0.63
80+ 36 453 40 565 77 018 0.61
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0--14 2 819 096 2 757 826 5 576 922 44.40
15--64 3 048 174 3 489 860 6 538 034 52.06
65+ 224 577 220 090 444 667 3.54
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# Demographics of Guinea
## Vital statistics {#vital_statistics}
Registration of vital events is in Guinea not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.
Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
------ --------------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------
1950 2 984 135 85 49 45.0 28.6 16.4 5.97 202.7 35.55
1951 3 032 137 88 49 45.1 29.1 16.1 5.98 202.7 35.55
1952 3 081 139 90 49 45.2 29.2 16.0 5.99 202.6 35.59
1953 3 131 142 92 50 45.3 29.3 16.0 6.01 202.3 35.67
1954 3 182 145 93 51 45.4 29.3 16.1 6.02 201.9 35.73
1955 3 234 147 94 53 45.5 29.1 16.3 6.04 201.5 35.90
1956 3 288 150 96 54 45.5 29.1 16.5 6.05 200.9 35.97
1957 3 342 152 97 56 45.6 29.0 16.6 6.07 200.2 36.06
1958 3 399 155 98 57 45.6 28.8 16.9 6.08 199.3 36.25
1959 3 457 158 99 59 45.6 28.6 17.0 6.10 198.3 36.36
1960 3 517 161 100 61 45.7 28.4 17.3 6.11 197.3 36.55
1961 3 579 164 101 63 45.7 28.1 17.5 6.13 196.1 36.75
1962 3 642 166 102 65 45.7 27.9 17.7 6.14 194.9 36.91
1963 3 708 169 102 67 45.6 27.6 18.0 6.15 193.7 37.16
1964 3 776 172 103 68 45.5 27.4 18.1 6.17 192.4 37.34
1965 3 845 175 104 71 45.5 27.1 18.4 6.18 191.1 37.60
1966 3 917 178 105 73 45.4 26.8 18.6 6.19 189.7 37.84
1967 3 991 181 106 75 45.3 26.5 18.8 6.20 188.2 38.12
1968 4 067 184 106 78 45.3 26.1 19.3 6.21 186.8 38.56
1969 4 145 188 107 81 45.3 25.9 19.4 6.23 185.3 38.72
1970 4 222 192 108 84 45.4 25.6 19.8 6.24 183.9 39.01
1971 4 298 195 109 86 45.4 25.3 20.1 6.26 182.3 39.31
1972 4 372 199 110 89 45.4 25.0 20.4 6.28 180.7 39.67
1973 4 445 202 111 92 45.4 24.9 20.6 6.31 179.0 39.89
1974 4 517 205 112 94 45.4 24.6 20.7 6.34 177.2 40.14
1975 4 588 209 112 97 45.3 24.3 21.1 6.37 175.3 40.59
1976 4 659 212 112 100 45.3 23.9 21.4 6.40 173.2 41.02
1977 4 730 216 112 104 45.4 23.6 21.8 6.43 170.9 41.41
1978 4 805 220 112 108 45.5 23.2 22.3 6.47 168.6 41.90
1979 4 885 225 112 113 45.9 22.9 23.0 6.54 166.2 42.39
1980 4 973 229 112 116 45.9 22.5 23.3 6.54 163.8 42.88
1981 5 067 233 113 120 45.9 22.2 23.7 6.56 161.4 43.32
1982 5 171 239 113 126 46.1 21.8 24.3 6.58 159.1 43.93
1983 5 282 244 114 131 46.1 21.5 24.7 6.59 156.8 44.38
1984 5 402 250 114 136 46.2 21.1 25.1 6.60 154.4 44.95
1985 5 532 256 114 142 46.3 20.7 25.6 6.61 152.0 45.52
1986 5 671 263 116 148 46.4 20.4 26.0 6.64 149.7 45.92
1987 5 821 271 117 154 46.6 20.0 26.5 6.67 147.4 46.42
1988 5 977 278 119 159 46.5 19.9 26.7 6.66 145.0 46.59
1989 6 136 285 121 164 46.5 19.7 26.8 6.66 142.4 46.85
1990 6 354 292 123 169 46.3 19.5 26.8 6.63 139.6 47.00
1991 6 616 305 126 180 46.4 19.1 27.3 6.59 136.6 47.55
1992 6 832 316 126 190 46.2 18.5 27.8 6.55 133.4 48.36
1993 7 046 322 126 196 45.9 18.0 27.9 6.49 129.9 48.96
1994 7 262 328 129 199 45.2 17.7 27.4 6.41 126.6 49.17
1995 7 468 331 128 204 44.4 17.1 27.3 6.34 123.0 49.87
1996 7 683 340 127 213 44.2 16.6 27.7 6.25 119.1 50.54
1997 7 843 345 126 219 43.7 15.9 27.8 6.16 115.5 51.36
1998 7 993 342 123 219 42.7 15.4 27.3 6.08 111.9 52.05
1999 8 175 346 123 223 42.2 15.0 27.2 6.01 108.1 52.36
2000 8 337 349 124 225 41.6 14.8 26.8 5.94 104.4 52.48
2001 8 446 349 124 226 41.0 14.5 26.5 5.85 100.8 52.66
2002 8 578 348 121 227 40.5 14.1 26.5 5.79 97.3 53.28
2003 8 772 353 121 232 40.1 13.7 26.4 5.74 94.0 53.68
2004 8 961 359 120 239 39.9 13.4 26.5 5.72 91.0 54.12
2005 9 140 366 120 247 39.9 13.0 26.9 5.70 88.4 54.63
2006 9 331 373 119 254 39.8 12.7 27.1 5.66 86.0 55.11
2007 9 547 381 119 262 39.8 12.4 27.4 5.62 84.0 55.55
2008 9 780 390 119 271 39.8 12.1 27.6 5.56 82.0 56.04
2009 10 021 399 120 279 39.7 11.9 27.8 5.51 80.4 56.35
2010 10 271 405 120 285 39.4 11.7 27.7 5.40 78.8 56.72
2011 10 528 410 121 289 38.9 11.5 27.5 5.30 77.4 57.02
2012 10 789 415 121 294 38.4 11.2 27.2 5.20 76.1 57.41
2013 11 055 422 121 301 38.1 10.9 27.2 5.12 74.8 57.79
2014 11 333 430 123 307 37.9 10.9 27.0 5.05 73.9 57.89
2015 11 626 441 125 316 37.9 10.7 27.2 5.02 72.7 58.13
2016 11 931 446 124 323 37.4 10.4 27.0 4.93 71.2 58.76
2017 12 241 449 124 325 36.6 10.1 26.5 4.79 70.1 59.11
2018 12 555 451 125 326 35.9 9.9 26.0 4.67 68.8 59.35
2019 12 878 456 125 331 35.4 9.7 25.7 4.58 67.4 59.72
2020 13 371 475 133 342 35.5 9.9 25.6 4.49 66.0 59.4
2021 13 711 480 135 345 35.0 9.8 25.2 4.40 69.7 59.4
2022 14 055 483 131 353 34.4 9.3 25.1 4.30 66.9 60.4
2023 14 405 488 131 356 33.8 9.1 24.7 4.22 65.4 60.7
### Demographic and Health Surveys {#demographic_and_health_surveys}
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
1992 41 5.67 (5.1) 37 5.18 (4.5) 42 5.89 (5.3)
1999 36.9 5.5 (5.0) 32.9 4.4 (3.8) 38.4 6.1 (5.6)
2005 38.4 5.7 (5.1) 31.8 4.4 (3.9) 40.8 6.3 (5.7)
2012 34 5.1 (4.6) 29.4 3.8 36.1 5.8
2018 33.6 4.8 (4.3) 29.4 3.8 (3.4) 35.8 5.5 (4.9)
2021 32.5 4.1 28.5 3.1 34.3 4.7
Fertility data as of 2012 and 2018 (DHS Program):
Administrative region Total fertility rate (2012) Total fertility rate (2018) Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant (2012) Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant (2018) Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49 (2012) Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49 (2018)
----------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------
Boké 4.7 4.8 14.4 9.7 5.6 5.2
Conakry 3.6 3.2 6.2 5.8 4.8 4.1
Faranah 5.8 5.8 11.6 10.5 6.7 5.8
Kankan 6.9 6.5 14.4 13.6 6.9 6.9
Kindia 5.2 5.0 12.4 10.2 6.2 5.5
Labé 5.3 5.6 8.9 7.6 6.5 5.0
Mamou 5.4 4.1 8.4 7.9 6.1 4.8
N\'Zérékoré 5.1 4.5 11.0 6.3 5.6 4.2
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# Demographics of Guinea
## Vital statistics {#vital_statistics}
### Life expectancy {#life_expectancy}
+------------+---------------------+
| Period | Life expectancy in\ |
| | Years |
+============+=====================+
| 1950--1955 | 33.07 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1955--1960 | 34.33 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1960--1965 | 35.38 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1965--1970 | 36.14 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1970--1975 | 37.43 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1975--1980 | 39.87 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1980--1985 | 43.05 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1985--1990 | 47.92 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1990--1995 | 51.28 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 1995--2000 | 51.61 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 2000--2005 | 51.31 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 2005--2010 | 55.45 |
+------------+---------------------+
| 2010--2015 | 57.93 |
+------------+---------------------+
## Ethnic groups {#ethnic_groups}
- Fulɓe (singular Pullo). Called Peuhl or Peul in French, Fula or Fulani in English, who are chiefly found in the mountainous region of Fouta Djallon;
- Maninka. Malinke in French, Mandingo in English, mostly inhabiting the savanna of Upper Guinea and the Forest region;
- Susus or Soussous. Susu is not a lingua franca in Guinea. Although it is commonly spoken in the coastal areas, including the capital, Conakry, it is not largely understood in the interior of the country.
- Several small groups (Gerzé or Kpelle, Toma, Kissis, etc.) in the forest region and Bagas (including Landoumas), Koniaguis etc.), In the coastal area.
- Fulani (Peul) 33,4%
- Malinke 29,4%
- Soussou 21.2%
- Guerze 7.8%
- Kissi 6.2%
- Toma 1.6%
- Other/No Answer 4% (2018 est.)
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# Demographics of Guinea
## Languages
French (official), each ethnic group has its own language.
Other languages have established Latin orthographies that are used somewhat, notably for Susu and Maninka. The N\'Ko script is increasingly used on a grassroots level for the Maninka language.
## Religion
Muslim 86.8%, Christian 3.52%, Indigenous beliefs 9.42%, Buddhist 0.5%, no religious beliefs 0.1% (2020)
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# Politics of Guinea
**Politics of Guinea** takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guinea is both head of state and head of government of Guinea. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
## History
### Conté era (1984--2008) {#conté_era_19842008}
A military dictatorship, led by then-Lt. Col. Lansana Conté and styling itself the Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN), took control of Guinea in April 1984, shortly after the death of independent Guinea\'s first president, Sékou Touré. With Conté as president, the CMRN set about dismantling Touré\'s oppressive regime, abolishing the authoritarian constitution, dissolving the sole political party and its mass youth and women\'s organizations, and announcing the establishment of the Second Republic. The new government released all political prisoners and committed itself to the protection of human rights. In order to reverse the steady economic decline under Touré\'s rule, the CMRN reorganized the judicial system, decentralized the administration, promoted private enterprise, and encouraged foreign investment.
In 1990, Guineans approved by referendum a new constitution that inaugurated the Third Republic, and established a Supreme Court. In 1991, the CMRN was replaced by a mixed military and civilian body, the Transitional Council for National Recovery (CTRN), with Conté as president and a mandate to manage a five-year transition to full civilian rule. The CTRN drafted laws to create republican institutions and to provide for independent political parties, national elections, and freedom of the press. Political party activity was legalized in 1992, when more than 40 political parties were officially recognized for the first time.
In December 1993, Conté was elected to a 5-year term as president in the country\'s first multi-party elections, which were marred by irregularities and lack of transparency on the part of the government. In 1995, Conté\'s ruling PUP party won 76 of 114 seats in elections for the National Assembly amid opposition claims of irregularities and government tampering. In 1996, President Conté reorganized the government, appointing Sidya Touré to the revived post of Prime Minister and charging him with special responsibility for leading the government\'s economic reform program. In the early hours of 23 December 2008, Aboubacar Somparé, the President of the National Assembly, announced on television that Conté had died at 6:45pm local time on 22 December \"after a long illness\", without specifying the cause of death.
According to Somparé, Conté \"hid his physical suffering\" for years \"in order to give happiness to Guinea.\" Conté had left the country for medical treatment on numerous occasions in the years preceding his death, and speculation about his health had long been widespread. Contrary to his usual practice, Conté did not appear on television to mark Tabaski earlier in December 2008, and this sparked renewed speculation, as well as concern about the possibility of violence in the event of his death. At around the same time, a newspaper published a photograph suggesting that Conté was in poor physical condition and having difficulty standing up. The editor of that newspaper was arrested and the newspaper was required to print a photograph in which Conté looked healthy.
According to the constitution, the President of the National Assembly was to assume the Presidency of the Republic in the event of a vacancy, and a new presidential election was to be held within 60 days. Somparé requested that the President of the Supreme Court, Lamine Sidimé, declare a vacancy in the Presidency and apply the constitution. Prime Minister Souaré and Diarra Camara, the head of the army, stood alongside Somparé during his announcement. The government declared 40 days of national mourning and Camara called on soldiers to remain calm.
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# Politics of Guinea
## History
### Camara\'s 2008 coup and following {#camaras_2008_coup_and_following}
Six hours after Somparé announced Conté\'s death, a statement was read on television announcing a military *coup d\'état*. This statement, read by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara on behalf of a group called National Council for Democracy, said that \"the government and the institutions of the Republic have been dissolved\". The statement also announced the suspension of the constitution \"as well as political and union activity\".
On 27 September 2009, the day before planned demonstrations in the capital city Conakry, the government declared demonstrations illegal. Thousands of protestors defied the ban, assembling in a soccer stadium. 157 were left dead after the level of violence used by security forces escalated. Captain Moussa (Dadis) Camara told Radio France International on 28 September the shootings by members of his presidential guard were beyond his control. \"Those people who committed those atrocities were uncontrollable elements in the military,\" he said. \"Even I, as head of state in this very tense situation, cannot claim to be able to control those elements in the military.\"
On 3 December 2009 Captain Moussa Dadis Camara suffered a head wound in an attempted assassination in Conakry led by his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité, who is known as Toumba. Captain Camara underwent surgery at a hospital in Morocco. Reports say Toumba\'s men opened fire on Captain Camara late Thursday at an army camp in the city of Conakry.
In a document released in 2010, an unknown source spoke with a U.S. diplomat and described the \"ethnicization\" of Guinea and the risk of conflict and violence like in Rwanda. He stated that Dadis Camara has recruited mercenaries from South Africa and Israel and assembled them, along with some of his own men, in Forecariah, in the ethnically Sussu region in the west of the country, while Dadis was from the Forest region to the east. His militia numbered 2,000-3,000 and was armed with weapons from Ukraine. The risk of conflict and destabilization threatened the entire region, he said.
After a meeting in Ouagadougou on 13 and 14 January, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, produced a formal statement of twelve principles promising a return of Guinea to civilian rule within six months. It was agreed that the military would not contest the forthcoming elections. On 21 January 2010 the military junta appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month transition government, leading up to elections.
In July 2024, Camara was convicted alongside several military commanders for crimes against humanity. However, in early 2025, Camara was pardoned for health reasons by the then-current junta.
### 2010 elections
The presidential election was set to take place on 27 June and 18 July 2010, it was held as being the first free and fair election since independence in 1958.
The first round took place normally on 27 June 2010 with ex Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and his rival Alpha Condé emerging as the two runners-up for the second round. However, due to allegations of electoral fraud, the second round of the election was postponed until 19 September 2010. A delay until 10 October was announced by the electoral commission (CENI), subject to approval by Sékouba Konaté. Yet another delay until 24 October was announced in early October. Elections were finally held on 7 November. Voter turnout was high, and the elections went relatively smoothly.
16 November 2010, Alpha Condé, the leader of the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RGP), was officially declared the winner of a 7 November run-off in Guinea\'s presidential election. He had promised to reform the security sector and review mining contracts if elected.
### 2013 violence
In February 2013, the Guinean opposition party announced it would be stepping down from the electoral process due to a lack of transparency over the company used in registering voters. Calling on citizens to protest nationwide, the ensuing week saw multiple clashes between police and protesters, resulting in at least nine deaths, some of those due to live fire from security forces.
The protests were also a result of the previous months\' political wrangling between Condé\'s administration and the opposition; minor protests were quelled on the street, and opposition supporters were arbitrarily arrested, prompting the resignation of two Guinean opposition ministers in September 2012. This month also saw the opposition parties announce their stepping down from the National Transitional Council, which is effectively an interim parliament, and that they would also boycott the national electoral commission. The president of the national electoral commission, Louceny Camara, also stepped down due to pressure from the opposition over his relationship with President Condé; Camara was rumoured to be his ally and a key figure in the president\'s rumoured attempts to pre-rig the legislative polls.
The week after the protest saw another minor clash between protesters and security forces after a march to mark the funerals of the deceased was dispersed by tear gas and gunfire.
On 7 March 2013, the government postponed the 12 May election date indefinitely until the political tension eased and preparations for free and fair elections could be established.
Despite the election postponement, President Condé ordered a crackdown on those responsible for the violence, and on 10 March, a Guinean court ordered opposition leaders to appear at a hearing scheduled for 14 March, in which they would be questioned for their role in organising the protests. Former Prime Minister Sidya Toure branded the summons as an \"illegal procedure for what was an authorised march\" and a \"manipulation of justice for political ends\".
### 2020 controversial elections {#controversial_elections}
In October 2020, president Alpha Condé won presidential elections. Condé had been in power since 2010 and he won the third term. Opposition did not accept the results because of allegations of fraud. The president said a constitutional referendum in March 2020 allowed him to run despite a two-term limit. After the election there were violent protests across the country.
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# Politics of Guinea
## History
### 2021 coup
Following a military coup on 5 September 2021 the government was dissolved, borders closed, constitution suspended and President Condé was arrested. On 1 October 2021 Mamady Doumbouya was sworn in as Guinea\'s interim president after leading the coup.
## Ethnic politics {#ethnic_politics}
President Alpha Condé derives support from Guinea\'s second-largest ethnic group, the Malinke. Guinea\'s opposition is backed by some of the Fula ethnic group (*Peul*; *Fulɓe*), who account for around 33.4 percent of the population.
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# Politics of Guinea
## Executive branch {#executive_branch}
The president of Guinea is normally elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president. The president governs Guinea, assisted by a Cabinet of 25 civilian ministers appointed by him. The government administers the country through eight regions, 33 prefectures, over 100 subprefectures, and many districts (known as communes in Conakry and other large cities and villages or \"quartiers\" in the interior). District-level leaders are elected; the president appoints officials to all other levels of the highly centralized administration.
Between the 2010 Presidential Elections and 2021 coup the head of state was Alpha Condé. Following the 2021 coup he was replaced by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya acting as Chairman of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, a transitional military junta.
## Legislative branch {#legislative_branch}
The National Assembly of Guinea, the country\'s legislative body, had not met for a long period of time since 2008 when it was dissolved after the military coup in December of that year. Elections have been postponed many times since 2007. In April 2012, President Condé postponed the elections indefinitely, citing the need to ensure that they were \"transparent and democratic\".
The legislative elections took place on 28 September 2013 and President Alpha Conde\'s party, the Rally of the Guinean People, won with 53 seats.
In February 2022, five months after the 2021 military coup, a National Transitional Council headed by former lawmaker Dansa Kurouma and consisting of 81 members was established as a transitional parliament.
## Administrative divisions of Guinea {#administrative_divisions_of_guinea}
Guinea is divided into seven administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. The national capital, Conakry, ranks as a special zone. The regions are Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labé, Mamou, Nzérékoré and Conakry.
## Political parties and elections {#political_parties_and_elections}
### Presidential elections {#presidential_elections}
{{#section-h:2015 Guinean presidential election\|Results}}
### Parliamentary elections {#parliamentary_elections}
{{#section-h:2020 Guinean legislative election\|Results}}
## International organization participation {#international_organization_participation}
Guinea\'s membership in the African Union was suspended after the coup
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# Telecommunications in Guinea
**Telecommunications in Guinea** include radio, television, fixed and mobile radio, and the Internet.
The people of Guinea are among the poorest in West Africa and this reality is reflected in the development of the country\'s telecommunications environment. Radio is the most important source of information for the public in Guinea, and the only one to reach the entire country.
There is a single government-owned radio network, a growing number of private radio stations, and one government TV station. The fixed telephone system is inadequate, with just 18,000 lines to serve the country\'s 10.5 million inhabitants in 2012. Internet usage is very low, reaching just 1.5% of the population in 2012.
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
Radio remains the most important source of information for the public, and the only one to reach the entire country. The government licensed the country\'s first private broadcasters in 2006.
- Radio stations:
- one state-run radio broadcast station, Radio Télévision Guinéenne (RTG); RTG also operates several stations in rural areas; there are a steadily increasing number of privately owned radio stations, nearly all in the capital, Conakry; and about a dozen community radio stations (2011);
- 4 AM, 8 FM, and 3 shortwave (1998).
- Radios: 357,000 (1997).`{{update after|2014|2|5}}`{=mediawiki}
- Television stations:
- one state-run TV station, Radio Télévision Guinéenne (RTG); foreign TV programming is available via satellite and cable subscription services (2011);
- 6 TV stations (1997).
- Television sets: 85,000 (1997).`{{update after|2014|2|5}}`{=mediawiki}
### State censorship {#state_censorship}
The government maintains marginal control over broadcast media, the media laws promulgated following the 2010 democratic transition have not been implemented, and there are reports of state censorship through journalist harassment and station closures. For example:
- On 26 August 2012, the National Communication Council (CNC) suspended private radio station Liberte FM, based in the Forest Region city of N'Zerekore. The closure prevented Liberte FM from covering protests announced by opposition leaders for the following day. The national government allowed Liberty FM to reopen 48 hours later, after the protests concluded.
- On 1 October 2012, Electricity of Guinea cut service to Espace FM, host of the investigative reporting radio program \"The Big Mouths.\" The utility company claimed that Espace FM and its sister station, Sweet FM, collectively owed nearly 150 million GNF (\$21,521) for electricity bills, despite the station\'s possession of payment receipts. Both stations were forced to operate on expensive generator power.
- The government has been accused of penalizing stations and journalists who broadcast items criticizing government officials and their actions. Some journalists accuse government officials of attempting to influence the tone of their reporting with inappropriate pressure and bribes. Some journalists also hire bodyguards, and many practice self-censorship.
## Telephones
- Calling code: +224
- International call prefix: 00
- Main lines:
- 18,000 lines in use, 115th in the world (2012);
- 11,000 lines in use (1995).
- Mobile cellular:
- 12,394 million lines,(2019).
- 790,000 lines (2007).
- Telephone system: inadequate system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and a new microwave radio relay system; Conakry reasonably well-served; coverage elsewhere remains inadequate and large companies tend to rely on their own systems for nationwide links; fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership is expanding and exceeds 40 per 100 persons (2011).
- Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011).
- Communications cables: African Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine communications cable, which has a landing point in Conakry, links 23 countries along the west coast of Africa and on to Portugal and France.
## Internet
- Top-level domain: .gn
- Internet users:
- 4,563 million users; 38% of the population (2019),
- 3,131 million users; 27% of the population (2017)
- 2,147 million users; 20% of the population (2014)
- Fixed broadband: 762 subscriptions, 183rd in the world; less than 0.05% of population, 189th in the world (2012).
- Wireless broadband: Unknown (2012).
- Internet hosts: 15 hosts, 223rd in the world (2012).
- IPv4: 4,096 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 0.4 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
- Internet Service Providers: several ISPs including SKYVISON, ETI Bull, and Vizocom.
### Internet censorship and surveillance {#internet_censorship_and_surveillance}
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.
The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of the press, but the government, nevertheless, restricts these freedoms. Libel against the head of state, slander, and false reporting are subject to heavy fines. Some journalists accuse government officials of attempting to influence the tone of their reporting with inappropriate pressure and bribes. Some journalists hire bodyguards, and many practice self-censorship. Although the constitution and law provide for the inviolability of the home and legal searches require judicial search warrants, police reportedly ignore legal procedures in the pursuit of criminal suspects or when it serves their personal interests
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# Transport in Guinea
**Transport in Guinea** is composed by a variety of systems that people in the country use to get around as well as to and from domestic and international destinations. The railway from Conakry to Kankan ceased operating in the mid-1980s. Most vehicles in Guinea are 20+ years old, and cabs are any four-door vehicle which the owner has designated as being for hire. Domestic air services are intermittent. Conakry International Airport is the largest airport in the country, with flights to other cities in Africa as well as to Europe.
Locals, nearly entirely without vehicles of their own, rely upon these taxis (which charge per seat) and small buses to take them around town and across the country. There is some river traffic on the Niger and Milo rivers. Horses and donkeys pull carts, primarily to transport construction materials.
Iron mining at Simandou (North and South blocks) in the southeast is leading to the construction of a new heavy-haul standard gauge railway and deep-water port. Bauxite mining at Kalia in the east is may link to this line.
## Railways
*total:* 1,155km\
*standard gauge:* 366km `{{RailGauge|1435mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge\
*metre gauge:* 789km `{{RailGauge|1000mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge (includes 662km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry)
The lines do not all connect.
### Santou - Dapilon {#santou___dapilon}
This 125km long standard gauge railway connects bauxite mines in the Santou II and Houda areas with a new port at Dapilon, both places in the north of Guinea.
See: [Boffa-Boke Railway](https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/dapilon-santou-rail-project/)
### Chemin de Fer de Boké {#chemin_de_fer_de_boké}
This 136km long standard gauge railway connects bauxite mines at Sangaredi with Port Kamsar and carries about 12000000 t per annum.
### Chemin de fer de Conakry -- Fria {#chemin_de_fer_de_conakry_fria}
This 127km line is `{{RailGauge|1000mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge and heads off in a northwestern direction. It shares its first 16km with Chemin de Fer de Guinee.
### Chemin de Fer de Guinee {#chemin_de_fer_de_guinee}
This 662km line is `{{RailGauge|1000mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge. Conversion to `{{RailGauge|1435mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge has been proposed.
### Societe des Bauxites de Kindia (SBK) {#societe_des_bauxites_de_kindia_sbk}
This 105km line is standard gauge and parallels the Chemin de Fer de Guinee line between Canakry and Sofonia.
- [Rail Map (red dots)](http://www.fallingrain.com/icao/GUCY.html) [Rail Map (gray lines)](http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Conakry.shtml)
### TransGuinean Railway (under construction 2025) {#transguinean_railway_under_construction_2025}
The Transguinean Railway will be 622km long and of `{{RailGauge|1435mm}}`{=mediawiki} (standard gauge). It goes from Simandou iron ore mines in the south east to a new port at Matakong.
### Timeline
**2021**
- Santou - Dapilon commenced operation.
#### 2019
- Télimélé - Boffa
#### 2008 {#section_1}
- July 2008 - wobbles over Simandou leases
- four ex-Croatian locomotives refurbished and regauged in Russia
#### 1994 {#section_2}
- Progress
### Statistics
- [Length](http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=gv&v=113)
## Highways
*total:* 30,500 km\
*paved:* 5,033 km\
*unpaved:* 25,467 km (1996 est.)
The Trans--West African Coastal Highway crosses Guinea, connecting it to Bissau (Guinea-Bissau), and when construction in Sierra Leone and Liberia is complete, to a total of 13 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
## Waterways
1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
## Ports and harbors {#ports_and_harbors}
- Boké, Conakry, Kamsar
## Merchant marine {#merchant_marine}
none (1999 est.)
## Airports
15 (1999 est.)
### Airports - with paved runways {#airports___with_paved_runways}
*total:* 5\
*over 3,047 m:* 1\
*2,438 to 3,047 m:* 1\
*1,524 to 2,437 m:* 3 (1999 est.)
The airport code for the capital, Conakry, is CKY.
### Airports - with unpaved runways {#airports___with_unpaved_runways}
*total:* 10\
*1,524 to 2,437 m:* 5\
*914 to 1,523 m:* 4\
*under 914 m:* 1 (1999 est
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# Republic of Guinea Armed Forces
The **Guinean Armed Forces** (*Forces armées guinéennes*) are the armed forces of Guinea. They are responsible for the territorial security of Guinea\'s border and the defence of the country against external attack and aggression.
Guinea\'s armed forces are divided into five branches -- army, navy, air force, the paramilitary National Gendarmerie and the Republican Guard -- whose chiefs report to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is subordinate to the Minister of Defense. In addition, regime security forces include the National Police Force (Sûreté National). The Gendarmerie, responsible for internal security, has a strength of several thousand, and is armed with military equipment. It is aided by the Republican Guard, which provides protection for government officials.
## History
Up to 41,000 Guineans may have been recruited into French forces between 1950 and 1957, many serving in Vietnam. At independence, the 12,630 Guinean soldiers serving in the French military were given the option to stay on or return to Guinea. Most decided to return home. The new armed forces were formed by incorporating some of the former French soldiers, after a careful screening process to determine political reliability, with members of the former territorial Gendarmerie to form the **People\'s Army of Guinea** (*L\'Armee Populaire de Guinee*). By the end of January 1959 the new army had reached a strength of around 2,000 officers and soldiers. In 1966 the IISS estimated that the army had reached a strength of about 4,800, equipped with Soviet, Czech, and Chinese weaponry. Soviet armoured personnel carriers and 105-mm and 155-mm artillery had arrived.
In February 1969, the Guinean government moved against the armed forces after alleging that a plot centred in Labé, the centre of the Fula (*links=no*; *Fulɓe*) homeland was planning to assassinate then-president Ahmed Sékou Touré and seize power, or, failing that, force the secession of Middle Guinea. This followed military dissatisfaction over the creation of a PDG control element in each army unit. Later the alleged Fula connection was dropped, the accusations widened to other groups, and over 1,000 Guineans arrested. After the plot, the army was regarded by the government as a centre of potential subversion, and the militia was developed as a counterforce to any military threat to the government.
The army resisted the Portuguese invasion of Guinea in November 1970. Purges that followed the 1970 invasion decimated the upper ranks of the army, with eight officers sentenced to death and 900 officers and men who had reached a certain age retired from active duty. General Noumandian Keita, chief of the Combined Arms General Staff, was convicted and replaced by the army\'s chief of staff, Namory Kieta, who was promoted to general.
In March 1971 elements of the Guinean military were deployed to Freetown in Sierra Leone after the Sierra Leonean President, Siaka Stevens, appeared to start losing his control of the Sierra Leonean military. Stevens visited Conakry on 19 March 1971, and soon afterwards, around 200 Guinean soldiers were despatched to Freetown. Two Guinean MiGs made a low flyover of Freetown and Touré placed the Guinean military on alert \'because of the serious troubles affecting the fraternal peoples of Sierra Leone.\' The force, also reported as numbering 300, protected Stevens, though it was shortly reduced to 100 and then to fifty, plus a helicopter. The last Guinean troops were withdrawn in 1974.
In early 1975 the Guinean military consisted of an army of around 5,000, an air force of 300, and a naval component of around 200. The army comprised four infantry battalions, one armoured battalion, and one engineer battalion. In the early 1970s the armed forces were organised into four military zones, corresponding to the four geographical regions (Lower Guinea, Middle Guinea, Upper Guinea, and Guinée forestière). One of the four infantry battalions was assigned to each of the military zones. The zone headquarters also doubled as battalion headquarters, and acted as a supervisory element for elements of company and platoon size assigned to each of the country\'s twenty-nine administrative regions.
The only concentration of troops in Conakry appeared to be the armoured battalion, with a modest number of Soviet medium tanks manufactured in the late 1940s, as well as Soviet APCs, and elements of the engineer battalion. The armed forces, though formally responsible for defending the country\'s territorial integrity, were really during that period focused upon national development tasks, including agricultural, industrial, and construction tasks. The engineer battalion had companies in Conakry, Kankan, and Boké, and was engaged in constructing and repairing buildings and roads.
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# Republic of Guinea Armed Forces
## History
### The militia {#the_militia}
Increasing mistrust of the regular armed forces after the Labé plot led to the militia assuming greater importance. The militia had grown out of a 1961 Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) decision to create workplace \'committees for the defence of the revolution.\' These committees were encouraged by party officials to report dishonest practices such as theft and embezzlement of funds which might \'endanger the achievements of the revolution.\'
The PDG youth arm, the Youth of the African Democratic Revolution (JRDA) was especially exhorted to report irregularities and crime to party or police authorities. Units of volunteers, formed in response to this call, assumed limited policing functions. Following government praise for these units\' efforts, the militia\'s role expanded, especially as black-market activity and smuggling grew worse. The force was formalized as the Popular Militia (Milices Populaires) in the early 1960s, given distinctive uniforms, and linked to the developing civic service, which was engaged in national development tasks. After 1966 it was consciously modeled after the Chinese Red Guards.
In 1969, the militia was officially granted a role equivalent to the army, as a counterbalance in any military coup d\'état. The elements in the Conakry area were issued small arms and given military training. Touré had heralded this policy in 1967 when he wrote: \'thanks to their special political, physical, and social training, the people\'s militia will become the indisputable mainspring of our security system, of which the conventional armed forces constitute \[but\] a fundamental section.\'
The militia was re-titled the National and Popular Militia in 1974 and its regular section scaled down, as the President announced that the country could not afford the large standing force that he believed was necessary to deter what he saw as the constant threat of invasion. The militia was re-organised in multiple tiers, with a staff in Conakry, some combat units, and the remainder of the permanent element serving as a cadre for reserve militia units in villages, industrial sites, and schools.
The permanent cadre was to circulate among the villages, spending three months in each one, to train the local militia. President Touré announced that the ultimate goal was to have a 100-strong paramilitary unit in each of the country\'s 4,000 villages. Infantry weapons of Soviet manufacture imported from the USSR, Czechoslovakia and the PRC were to be issued as they became available.
With much focus on the militia, Touré kept much of the armed forces in poverty. The International Crisis Group said that \'..conditions of service were deplorable, even for officers. The senior officer corps lived on meagre rations and saw its privileges and family allowances curtailed over time. Soldiers of all ranks had to find ways to supplement their rations and were often reduced to working either on state farms or in small agricultural projects.\' \'\...All regular military activity, for example exercises, was considered potentially subversive.\'
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# Republic of Guinea Armed Forces
## History
### Command appointments under Sékou Touré, March 1984 {#command_appointments_under_sékou_touré_march_1984}
Source: Mamadou Kaly Bah, [Regard Rétrospectif sur l\'Armée Guinéenne](https://web.archive.org/web/20111006024044/http://www.webguinee.net/etat/postcolonial/institutions/armees/kaly/retrospectif.html#descente), 1 November 1993
- Joint Headquarters (Chef: Général Toya Condé)
- Army Headquarters (Chef: Général Soma; Adjoint: Colonel Lansana Conté)
- Zone militaire de Kindia (Commandant: Capitaine Babacar N\'Diaye)
- Zone militaire de Boké (Commandant: Cdt. Finando Tiani)
- Zone militaire de Labé (Commandant: Cdt. Lancei Camara)
- Zone militaire de Kankan (Commandant: Cdt. Mory Traoré)
- Zone militaire de Faranah (Commandant: Cdt. Noumoukè Keita)
- Zone militaire de Nzérékoré (Commandant: Idrissa Condé)
- Bataillon du Quartier Général (Camp Almamy Samory Touré) (Commandant: Capitaine Kerfalla Camara)
- Conakry Spécial Battalion (Camp Alfa Yaya Diallo) (Commandant: Cdt. Sidiki Condé)
- Tank Battalion (Commandant: Capitaine Baourou Condé)
- Bataillon des Troupes aéroportées (Parachutistes) (Commandant: Capitaine Lanciné Fangama Kéita)
- Air Force Headquarters (Chef: Cdt. Abdourahmane Kéita)
- Navy Headquarters (Chef: Capitaine Mohamed Lamine Sacko)
- National Gendarmerie Headquarters (Chef: Cdt. Makan Camara)
- Popular Militia Headquarters (Chef: Capitaine Mamadi Bayo)
### The 1980s and Conté {#the_1980s_and_conté}
On 3 April 1984, following Touré\'s death, Lansana Conté, assistant chief of staff of the army, led a coup d\'état which toppled the interim head of state. A military junta, the CMRN, was installed, which started to feud within itself, and quickly, as had occurred under the Touré regime, the paramount national security concern became the preservation of the president\'s power. Conté had to suppress his first revolt in July 1985, by his immediate deputy, Colonel Diarra Traoré.
Regional conflicts in the 1990s and 2000--2001 attacks along the southern border by rebels acting as proxies for Liberia\'s Charles Taylor had important effects on the security forces. The Conté government was deeply involved in the First Liberian Civil War as it supported ULIMO, the major grouping opposing Taylor in Liberia. Yet on the other side of the border the Guinean government also contributed troops to the ill-fated ECOWAS peacekeeping force ECOMOG in Liberia. After ECOMOG departed in 1997--98, the Guinean government began supporting the new Liberian rebel movement LURD. Attacks by Taylor-backed rebels in 2000--01 were partially an attempt to stop this support.
More serious was a 1996 attempted coup that originated as a military mutiny caused by the armed forces\' poor living conditions. Conté, \'civilianised\' since a rigged election in 1993, had to make significant concessions in order to save his regime. Conté appointed his first civilian Minister of Defense in 1997.
The military was used three times in 2006--2007 to suppress popular protest: in June 2006, resulting in 16 deaths, on 22 January 2007, when it fired on protesters at the 9 November Bridge in Conakry, killing over 100, and on 9 February 2007, when it killed several more protesters.
The military suffered serious unrest in 2008 as soldiers demanded wage arrears. Among measures taken by Conté to try and shore up his support within the military after 2007 was the transfer of the \'popular Sékouba Konaté to Conakry to head the parachute Autonomous Battalion of Airborne Troops (French acronym BATA) in an attempt to calm the troops.\' However, these and other measures failed to stop the coup d\'état led by Moussa Dadis Camara in late December 2008.
In January 2009 a CNDD ordonnance combined four elite units of the Guinean armed forces -- the presidential guards, the Bataillon Autonome des Troupes Aéroportées (BATA), the Battaillon des Commandos de Kindia (popularly known as the \'Commandos Chinois\') and the Battaillon des Rangers -- into a combined commando regiment.
On 28 September 2009, in what became known as the \'Bloody Monday\' massacre/2009 Guinea protest, Amnesty International said that Guinea security forces killed more than 150 people and raped over 40 women during and following the protests. More than 1,500 people were wounded and many people went missing or were detained. As of early 2010, AI said that at least two senior military officers named by the United Nations as potentially having individual criminal responsibility for events constituting crimes against humanity, remain in positions of influence in the Guinean Presidential Cabinet, despite the formation of a new transitional government.
The International Crisis Group said in September 2010 that from 2001 to 2009 the size of the armed forces has risen dramatically from 10,000 in 2001 to a reported 45,000 in 2010 (though the latter figure needs to be treated with great caution.) \'Both formal and informal recruitment contributed to this quick expansion. Erratic mass promotions have resulted in an inverted structure, with more officers than regular soldiers, undermining professionalism and straining the defence budget. Indiscipline, criminality and impunity are rife, while working and living conditions for rank-and-file soldiers are deplorable.\'
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# Republic of Guinea Armed Forces
## Composition
### Air Force {#air_force}
After achieving independence from France in 1958, the Force Aerienne de Guinea was formed with Soviet assistance in the delivery of 10 MiG-17F fighters and two MiG-15UTI trainers. In the same era an An-2, An-12, An-14, Il-14 and Il-18V transports were delivered, Mil Mi-4 helicopters also entered service. Other eastern bloc deliveries included three Aero L-29 jet trainers, six Yak-11s and Romania contributed licensed built IAR-316 Alouette III and two IAR-330L Puma transport helicopters. Further Soviet aid was requested when Conakry Airport was opened for use by Soviet Naval Aviation maritime reconnaissance aircraft. This resulted in the delivery of eight MiG-21PFMs and a MiG-21U in 1986 to replace the remaining MiG-17s.
#### Inventory
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
--------------------- -------- --------- --------- ------------ -------
Helicopter
Aérospatiale SA 330 France Utility 2
Mil Mi-17 Russia Utility 2
Mil Mi-24 Russia Attack Mi-25 3
### Army
The IISS *Military Balance 2020* listed the Army as comprising 8,500 personnel, with one armoured battalion, one special forces battalion, five infantry battalions, one ranger battalion, one commando battalion, one air mobile battalion, and the Presidential Guard battalion.
There are four military regions -- the 1st RM: Kindia; 2nd RM: Labé; 3rd RM: Kankan; 4ème RM: Nzérékoré, plus the Conakry special zone.
The Warsaw Pact provided most Guinean army equipment. Armored vehicles reportedly includes 30 T-34 tanks, 8 T-54 tanks (IISS 2012), and PT-76 light tanks (15 reported in service by International Institute for Strategic Studies in 2012).
### Navy
The navy has about 900 personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
The region now known as Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa, has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the 13th century CE, it was a province of the Mali Empire which later became independent as the empire of Kaabu. The Portuguese Empire claimed the region during the 1450s, but its control was limited to several forts along the coast during most of this period; it gained control of the mainland after a series of \"pacification campaigns\" from 1912 to 1915, which used military forces to violently crush local resistance. The offshore Bijagos Islands were not colonized until 1936. Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in 1974. The introduction of multi-party politics in 1991 led to the first multi-party elections in 1994. A civil war broke out in 1998, which lasted until the following year.
## Peoples
Although the region\'s history has not yet been extensively documented with archaeological records, it had a population of hunter-gatherers by 1000 CE. Agriculturists using iron tools soon followed.
The oldest inhabitants were the Jola, Papel, Manjak, Balanta, and Biafada peoples. The Mandinka and Fulani later migrated into the region, pushing the earlier inhabitants towards the coast. A small number of Mandinka had been present in the region as early as the 11th century, but they migrated *en masse* in the 13th century as Senegambia was incorporated into the Mali Empire by Kaabu founder Tiramakhan Traore. A process of \"Mandinkization\" followed. The Fulani arrived as early as the 12th century as semi-nomadic herders, but were not a large presence until the 15th century.
The Balanta and Jola had weak (or non-existent) institutions of kingship, with an emphasis on heads of villages and families. The Mandinka, Fula, Papel, Manjak, and Biafada chiefs were vassals of kings with a variety of customs, rites, and ceremonies. Nobles commanded all major positions, however, which included the judicial system. Social stratification was apparent in clothing and accessories, housing materials, and transportation options.
Commerce was widespread among the ethnic groups. Items traded included pepper and kola nuts from the southern forests, iron from the savannah-forest zone, salt and dried fish from the coast, and Mandinka cotton cloth. Products were commonly sold at markets and fairs, held every seven or eight days and sometimes attended by several thousand buyers and sellers from up to 60 mi away. Weapons were prohibited in the marketplace, and soldiers were positioned around the area to maintain order throughout the day. Market sections were allocated for specific products except for wine, which could be sold anywhere.
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
## Pre-colonial kingdoms {#pre_colonial_kingdoms}
### Kaabu
#### Origins
Kaabu, established in the 13th century, was a province of Mali through the conquest of Senegambia by Tiramakhan Traore (a general of Mali Empire founder Sundiata Keita. According to oral tradition, Tiramakhan Traore invaded the region to punish the Wolof king for insulting Sundiata and went south of the Gambia River into the Casamance. This began a migration of Mandinka into the region. By the 14th century, much of Guinea-Bissau was administered by Mali and ruled by a *farim kaabu* (commander of Kaabu).
The Empire of Mali began to decline during the 14th century. Formerly-secure possessions in present-day Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau were cut off by the expanding power of Koli Tenguella in the early 16th century. Kaabu became an independent federation of kingdoms, the era\'s most powerful western Mandinka state.
#### Society
Kaabu\'s ruling classes were composed of elite warriors known as the Nyancho, who traced their patrilineal lineage to Tiramakhan Traore. The Nyancho were reportedly good cavalrymen and raiders. The Kaabu *Mansaba* was seated in Kansala (present-day Gabu) in the eastern Gebú region. Malian imperial history was central to Kaabu culture, maintaining its significant institutions and the lingua franca of Mandinka. Individuals from other ethnic backgrounds were assimilated into this dominant culture, and frequent inter-ethnic marriages assisted the process.
The slave trade dominated the economy, enriching the warrior classes with imported cloth, beads, metalware, and firearms. Trade networks to North Africa were dominant until the 14th century, with coastal trade with the Europeans beginning to increase during the 15th century. An estimated 700 enslaved people left the region annually in the 17th and 18th centuries, many from Kaabu.
#### Decline
In the late 18th century, the rise of the Imamate of Futa Jallon in the east was a powerful challenge to the animist Kaabu. During the first half of the 19th century, civil war erupted as local Fula people sought independence. This long-running conflict led to the 1867 Battle of Kansala. A Fula army led by Alpha Molo Balde laid siege to the earthen walls of Kansala for 11 days. The Mandinka kept the Fulani from climbing the walls for a time, but were eventually overwhelmed. The *Mansaba* Dianke Walli, sensing defeat, ordered his troops to set the city\'s gunpowder on fire; this killed the Mandinka defenders and most of the invading army. Although the loss of Kansala marked the end of the Kaabu empire and the rise of the Fuladu kingdom, smaller Mandinka kingdoms survived until they were absorbed by the Portuguese.
### Biafada kingdoms {#biafada_kingdoms}
The Biafada people inhabited the area around the Rio Grande de Buba in three kingdoms: Biguba, Guinala, and Bissege. The former two were important ports with significant *lançado* communities, subjects of the Mandinka *mansa* of Kaabu.
### Kingdom of Bissau {#kingdom_of_bissau}
According to oral tradition, the kingdom of Bissau was founded by the son of the king of Quinara (Guinala), who moved to the region with his pregnant sister, his six wives, and the subjects of his father\'s kingdom. Relations between the kingdom and the Portuguese were initially warm, but deteriorated over time.
The kingdom defended its sovereignty against the Portuguese \"pacification campaigns,\" defeating them in 1891, 1894, and 1904. The Portuguese, under commanded by Teixeira Pinto and warlord Abdul Injai, absorbed Bissau in 1915.
### Bijagos
The Bijagos Islands were inhabited by people with different ethnic origins, leading to cultural diversity in the archipelago. Bijago society was warlike. Men were dedicated to building boats and raiding the mainland, attacking the coastal peoples and other islands. Women cultivated land, constructed houses, and gathered food. They could choose their husbands, generally warriors with the best reputation. Successful warriors could have many wives and boats, and were entitled to one-third of a boat\'s spoils from any expedition.
Bijago night raids on coastal settlements had a significant impact. Portuguese traders on the mainland tried to stop the raids because they hurt the local economy. The islanders sold a considerable number of slaves to the Europeans, however, who frequently pushed for more captives. The Bijagos, out of the reach of mainland slave traders, were largely safe from enslavement. Portuguese sources say that the children made good slaves but not the adults, who were likely to commit suicide, lead rebellions on slave ships, or escape when they reached the New World.
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
## European contact {#european_contact}
### 15th--16th centuries {#th16th_centuries}
The first Europeans to reach Guinea-Bissau were the Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto in 1455, Portuguese explorer Diogo Gomes in 1456, Portuguese explorer Duarte Pacheco Pareira in the 1480s, and Flemish explorer Eustache de la Fosse in 1479--1480. The region was known to the Portuguese as the Guinea of Cape Verde, and Santiago was the administrative capital and the source of most of its white settlers.
Although Portuguese authorities initially discouraged European settlement on the mainland, the prohibition was ignored by *lançados* and *tangomãos* who assimilated its indigenous culture and customs. They were mainly from impoverished backgrounds, traders from Cape Verde or people exiled from Portugal, often of Jewish or New Christian background. They ignored Portuguese trade regulations which banned entering the region or trading without a royal licence, shipping from unauthorized ports, or assimilating into the native community. In 1520, measures against the *lançados* were eased in 1520; trade and settlements increased on the mainland, which was populated by Portuguese and native traders and Spanish, Genoese, English, French, and Dutch.
With the region\'s rivers having no natural harbors, the *lançados* and native traders navigated river-ways and creeks in small boats purchased from European ships or manufactured locally by trained *grumetes* (native African sailors, enslaved and free). The main ports were Cacheu, Bissau, and Guinala; each river had trading centers such as Toubaboudougou at their furthest navigable point, which traded with the interior for resources such as gum arabic, ivory, hides, civet, dyes, slaves, and gold. A small number of European settlers established isolated farms along the rivers. Local African rulers generally refused to allow Europeans into the interior, to ensure their control of trade routes.
Europeans were not accepted in all communities, with the Jolas, Balantas, and Bijagos initially hostile. The region\'s other groups harboured communities of *lançados* who were subject to taxation and the laws and customs of their community, including the local courts. Disputes became increasingly frequent and serious during the late 1500s as foreign traders tried to influence the host societies to their benefit. Under pressure from hostile locals, the Portuguese abandoned the settlement of Buguendo near Cacheu in 1580 and Guinala in 1583 (where they retreated to a fort). In 1590 they built a fort at Cacheu, which the local Manjaks unsuccessfully stormed shortly after its construction. The poorly-manned and provisioned forts were unable to free the *lançados* from their responsibilities to the native monarchs (their hosts), who could not expel the traders because their goods were in great demand by the upper class.
The Portuguese monopoly was being increasingly challenged. The 1580 Iberian Union unified the crowns of Portugal and Spain, leading to the attack of Portuguese possessions in Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde by Spain\'s enemies. French, Dutch, and English ships increasingly traded with the natives and the independent-minded *lançados*.
### 17th--18th centuries {#th18th_centuries}
During the early 17th century, the government unsuccessfully tried to force all Guinean trade to go through Santiago and promote trade and settlement on the mainland while restricting weapons sales to the locals. With the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, King João IV attempted to restrict the Spanish trade in Guinea which had flourished for the previous 60 years. The Afro-Portuguese in Bissau, Guinala, Geba, and Cacheu swore allegiance to the Portuguese king, but were not in a position to deny the free trade that the African kings (who now saw European products as necessities) demanded. In Cacheu, famine had wiped out the slave troops in charge of defending the fort, the water supply remained in Manjak hands and the *lançados*, their Africanized descendants and the locals were losing customers; Captain-Major Luis de Magalhães lifted the embargo.
In 1641, the Conselho Ultramarino replaced de Magalhães with Gonçalo de Gamboa de Ayala. He had some success winning over local leaders and stopping Spanish ships at Cacheu. In Bissau, however, two Spanish ships were protected by the King of Bissau. Ayala threatened violent repercussions and resettled Geba\'s Afro-European community to Farim, northeast of Cacheu. The Portuguese could not impose their monopolistic vision on the local and Afro-European traders, since the economic interests of the native leaders and Afro-European merchants never fully aligned with theirs. During this period, the power of the Mali Empire in the region was dissipating and the *farim* of Kaabu, the king of Kassa and other local rulers began to assert their independence.
In the early 1700s, the Portuguese abandoned Bissau and retreated to Cacheu after the captain-major was captured and killed by the local king. They did not return until the 1750s, and the Cacheu and Cape Verde Company shut down in 1706. For a brief period in the 1790s, the British tried to establish a foothold on Bolama.
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
## European contact {#european_contact}
### Slave trade {#slave_trade}
Guinea-Bissau was among the first regions touched by the Atlantic slave trade and, while it did not produce the same number of enslaved people as other regions, the impact was still significant. They were primarily sent to Cape Verde and the Iberian Peninsula at first, with the Madeira and the Canary Islands seeing smaller influxes. Enslaved people were instrumental in developing the plantation economy (particularly in Cape Verde), growing indigo and cotton and weaving *panos* cloth which became a standard West African currency.
Many slaves from Guinea-Bissau were destined for the Spanish West Indies from 1580 to 1640, with an average of 3,000 per year from Guinala alone. The 17th and 18th centuries saw thousands of people taken from the region every year by Portuguese, French, and British companies. The Fula jihads and wars between the Imamate of Futa Jallon and Kaabu provided many of them.
People were enslaved in four primary ways: as punishment for law-breaking, selling themselves (or relatives) during famines, kidnapped by native marauders or European raiders, or as prisoners of war. Most slaves were bought by Europeans from local rulers or traders. Every ethnicity in the region except for the Balantas and Jolas participated in the trade. Most wars were waged to capture slaves for sale to the Europeans in exchange for imported goods, resembling man-hunts more than conflicts over territory or political power. The nobles and kings benefited, and the common people bore the brunt of the raiding and insecurity. If a noble was captured, they were likely to be released; the captors would generally accept a ransom in exchange. The relationship between kings and European traders was a partnership, with the two making deals about how the trade would be conducted, who would be enslaved, and the prices of slaves. Contemporary chroniclers Fernão Guerreiro and Mateo de Anguiano questioned a number of kings on their part in the slave trade, noting that they recognized the trade as evil but participated because the Europeans would not buy other goods from them.
During the late 18th century, European countries gradually began slowing or abolishing the slave trade. The British navy and, to a half-hearted extent, the U.S. Navy attempted to intercept slavers off the coast of Guinea in the first half of the 19th century. The restriction of supply only increased prices and intensified illegal slave-trading activity. Portugal abandoned slavery in 1869 and Brazil in 1888, replacing it with a system of contract labor which was only marginally better for the workers.
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
## European contact {#european_contact}
### Colonialism
thumb\|upright=1.4\|alt=Side-by-side, colour-coded maps of Africa\|Africa in 1880 and 1913 Until the late 1800s, Portuguese control of their colony outside the forts and trading posts was illusory. African rulers held power in the countryside, and frequent attacks on, and assassinations of, the Portuguese marked the middle decades of the century. Guinea-Bissau began experiencing increased European colonial competition during the 1860s. The dispute over the status of Bolama was resolved in Portugal\'s favor with mediation by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870, but French encroachment on Portuguese claims continued. In 1886, the Casamance region of present-day Senegal was ceded to France.\\
Attempting to shore up domestic finances and strengthen the grip on the colony, Minister of Marine and Colonies António José Enes reformed tax laws and granted concessions in Guinea (mainly to foreign companies) to increase exports in 1891. The modest increase in government income, however, did not defray the cost of troops used to collect the taxes. Resistance continued throughout the area, but the reforms laid the groundwork for future military expansion.
To meet the Congress of Berlin standard for \"effective occupation\", the Portuguese colonial government began a series of largely-unsuccessful \"pacification campaigns\" until the arrival of Captain João Teixeira Pinto in 1912. Supported by a large mercenary army commanded by Senegalese fugitive Abdul Injai, he quickly and brutally crushed local resistance on the mainland. Three more bloody campaigns in 1917, 1925, and 1936 were required to \"pacify\" the Bissagos Islands. Portuguese Guinea remained a neglected backwater, with administrative expenses exceeding revenue. In 1951, responding to anti-colonial criticism in the United Nations, the Portuguese government rebranded their colonies (including Portuguese Guinea) as overseas provinces (*Províncias Ultramarines*).
### Struggle for independence {#struggle_for_independence}
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded in 1956 and led by Amílcar Cabral. Initially committed to peaceful methods, the 1959 Pidjiguiti massacre pushed the party towards more militarism and relied on the political mobilization of the peasantry. After years of planning and preparing from their base in Conakry, the PAIGC began the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence on 23 January 1963.
Unlike guerrilla movements in other Portuguese colonies, the PAIGC rapidly extended control of large areas. Aided by the jungle terrain, it had easy access to borders with neighbouring allies and large quantities of arms from Cuba, China, the Soviet Union, and left-leaning African countries. Cuba also agreed to supply artillery experts, doctors, and technicians. The PAIGC developed significant anti-aircraft capability to defend against aerial attack. It controlled many parts of Guinea by 1973, although the movement experienced a setback in January of that year when Cabral was assassinated.
After Cabral\'s death the party was led by Aristides Pereira, who later became the first president of the Republic of Cape Verde. The PAIGC National Assembly met at Boe, in the southeast, and declared the independence of Guinea-Bissau on 24 September 1973. This was recognized by a 93--7 UN General Assembly vote in November.
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# History of Guinea-Bissau
## Independence
After the April 1974 Carnation Revolution, Portugal granted independence to Guinea-Bissau on 10 September 1974. Luís Cabral, Amílcar Cabral\'s half-brother, became president. The United States recognized Guinea-Bissau\'s independence that day. In late 1980, the government was overthrown in a coup led by prime minister and former armed-forces commander João Bernardo Vieira.
## Democracy
thumb\|upright=0.9\|alt=Exterior of a two-story, pink-and-white building\|The presidential palace in Bissau (damaged during the 1998--99 civil war) in 2007 In 1994, 20 years after independence, Guinea-Bissau\'s first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising which triggered the Guinea-Bissau Civil War in 1998 displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and the president was ousted by a military junta on 7 May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000, when opposition leader Kumba Ialá took office after two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau\'s return to democracy has been complicated by an economy devastated by civil war and military interference in government.
### Presidency of Kumba Ialá {#presidency_of_kumba_ialá}
In January 2000, the second round of the 1999--2000 Guinea-Bissau general election took place. The presidential election resulted in victory for opposition leader Kumba Ialá of the Party for Social Renewal (PRS), who defeated Malam Bacai Sanhá of the ruling PAIGC. The PRS were also victorious in the National People\'s Assembly election, winning 38 of 102 seats.
### 2003 coup
In September 2003, a military coup led by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Verissimo Correia Seabra took place. Sitting president Kumba Ialá and Prime Minister Mário Pires were placed under house arrest. After several delays, a legislative election was held in March 2004. A mutiny of military factions in October of that year resulted in Seabra\'s death, causing widespread unrest.
### Second presidency of João Bernardo Vieira {#second_presidency_of_joão_bernardo_vieira}
The 2005 Guinea-Bissau presidential election was held in June for the first time since the 2003 coup. Deposed President Ialá returned as the PRS candidate, saying that he was the country\'s legitimate president. The election was won by former president João Bernardo Vieira, who was deposed in the 1999 coup and defeated Malam Bacai Sanhá in a run-off election. Sanhá initially refused to concede, saying that electoral fraud occurred in two constituencies (including the capital, Bissau). Despite reports of arms entering the country before the election and \"disturbances during campaigning\", including attacks on government offices by unidentified gunmen, foreign election monitors described the overall election as \"calm and organized\".
The PAIGC won a strong parliamentary majority (67 of 100 seats) in the November 2008 parliamentary election. President Vieira\'s official residence was attacked by members of the armed forces, killing a guard; Vieira was unharmed.
Vieira was assassinated on 2 March 2009 by (according to preliminary reports) a group of soldiers avenging the death of joint chiefs of staff head Batista Tagme Na Wai, who had been killed in an explosion the day before. Vieira\'s death did not trigger widespread violence, but the advocacy group Swisspeace noted signs of turmoil in the country. Military leaders in Guinea-Bissau pledged to respect the constitutional order of succession. National Assembly Speaker Raimundo Pereira was appointed interim president until the nationwide election on 28 June 2009. It was won by Malam Bacai Sanhá of the PAIGC over PRS candidate Kumba Ialá.
### 2012 coup {#coup_1}
On 9 January 2012, President Sanhá died of complications of diabetes and Pereira was again appointed interim president. On the evening of 12 April 2012, members of the country\'s military staged a coup d\'état and arrested Pereira and a leading presidential candidate. Former vice chief of staff Mamadu Ture Kuruma took control of the country and began negotiations with opposition political parties.
### Presidencies of José Mário Vaz and Umaro Sissoco Embaló {#presidencies_of_josé_mário_vaz_and_umaro_sissoco_embaló}
José Mário Vaz was president of Guinea-Bissau from 2014 to the 2019 presidential election. At the end of his term, Vaz was the first elected president to complete his five-year mandate. He lost the 2019 election to Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who took office in February 2020. Embaló is the first president elected without PAIGC support.
A February 2022 coup attempt against Embaló failed. According to the president, the attempted coup was linked to drug trafficking. Another coup attempt in 2023 resulted in clashes between government forces and the National Guard. Embaló announced on 11 September 2024 that he would not seek a second term in the presidential election scheduled for November 2025. On 3 March 2025, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said that he would run for a second term in November, contrary to his earlier vows to step down
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# Geography of Guinea-Bissau
The **geography of Guinea-Bissau** is that of low coastal plains bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Senegal in the north and Guinea in the southeast.
## Terrain and ecology {#terrain_and_ecology}
The terrain of Guinea-Bissau is mostly low coastal plain with swamps of Guinean mangroves rising to Guinean forest-savanna mosaic in the east. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,203km² of tidal flats in Guinea-Bissau, making it the 28th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.
Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid impact occurred 400 km of the west-African coast. The 2022 discovered Nadir buried Crater has a diameter of 9 km. The impact caused an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude and created a 1 km high tsunami. The combined forces could be an explanation for the extremely scarred coastline of Guinea-Bissau.
The lowest point on Guinea-Bissau is at sea level at the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point in Guinea-Bissau is Dongol Ronde with an elevation of 277 m. *The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Africa* authored in 1992 cites Fouta Djallon at 262 m as the highest.
Natural resources found in Guinea-Bissau include fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone and unexploited deposits of petroleum. 10.67% of the land is arable and 235.6 square kilometres are irrigated.
Natural hazards include a hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze that may reduce visibility during the dry season and brush fires. Severe environmental issues include deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing and overfishing.
Near the Senegal border there have been historic sightings of the painted hunting dog, *Lycaon pictus*, but that endangered canid may now be extirpated in that locale.
## Climate
Guinea-Bissau\'s climate is tropical. This means it is generally hot and humid. It has a monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds and a dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds. Guinea-Bissau is warm all year around and there is little temperature fluctuation; it averages 26.3 C. The average rainfall for the capital city Bissau is 2024 mm although this is almost entirely accounted for during the rainy season which falls between June and September/October. From December through April, the country receives very little rainfall.
## Bissagos Islands {#bissagos_islands}
## Information from the CIA World Factbook {#information_from_the_cia_world_factbook}
Location
: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Geographic coordinates
:
Map references\
Area:
:\* Total: 36,125 km²
:\*\**country rank in the world:* 134th
:\* Land: 28,120 km²
:\* Water: 8,005 km²
Area comparative
:\* Australia comparative: slightly more than `{{sfrac|1|2}}`{=mediawiki} the size of Tasmania
:\* Canada comparative: approximately `{{sfrac|1|2}}`{=mediawiki} the size of New Brunswick
:\* United Kingdom comparative: approximately `{{sfrac|3|5}}`{=mediawiki} larger than Wales
:\* United States comparative: approximately `{{sfrac|1|8}}`{=mediawiki} larger than Maryland
:\* EU comparative: slightly more than `{{sfrac|1|2}}`{=mediawiki} the size of Ireland
Land boundaries\
\* Total: 762 km\
\* Border countries: Guinea 421 km, Senegal 341 km\
Coastline
: 350 km
Maritime claims\
\* Territorial sea: 12 nmi\
\* Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi\
Terrain
: Mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Elevation extremes:
:\* Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Natural resources
: Fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Land use:
:\* Arable land: 10.67%
:\* Permanent crops: 8.89%
:\* Other: 80.44% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land
: 223.6 km^2^ (2003)
Total renewable water resources
: 31 km^3^
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
:\* Total: 0.18 km^3^/yr (18%/6%/76%)
:\* Per capita: 135.7 m^3^/yr (2005)
Natural hazards
: Hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Environment---current issues:
: Deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
Environment---international agreements:
:\* Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
:\* Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements
## Extreme points {#extreme_points}
This is a list of the extreme points of Guinea-Bissau, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point -- the northern section of the border with Senegal\*
- Easternmost point -- unnamed location on the border with Guinea immediately south-west of the Guinean village of Sofan, Gabú Region
- Southernmost point -- unnamed headland on Ilha Cataque, Tombali Region
- Westernmost point - Cape Roxo at the point where the border with Senegal enters the Atlantic Ocean, Cacheu Region
- \**Note: Guinea-Bissau does not have a northernmost point, the border here being formed by a parallel of latitude
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# Politics of Guinea-Bissau
The **politics of Guinea-Bissau** take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system, wherein the President is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National People\'s Assembly.
Since 1994, the Bissau-Guinean party system has been dominated by the socialist African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde and the Party for Social Renewal. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Despite the democratic, constitutional framework, the military has exercised substantial power, and has interfered repeatedly in civilian leadership since multi-party elections were instituted in 1994. In the past 16 years, Guinea-Bissau has experienced two coups, a civil war, an attempted coup, and a presidential assassination by the military. Since the country\'s independence in 1974, only one president successfully completed his five-year term, José Mário Vaz.
## Political developments {#political_developments}
In 1989, the ruling African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), under the direction of President João Bernardo \"Nino\" Vieira, began to outline a political liberalization program which the People\'s National Assembly approved in 1991. Reforms that paved the way for multi-party democracy included the repeal of articles of the constitution, which had enshrined the leading role of the PAIGC. Laws were ratified to allow the formation of other political parties, a free press, and independent trade unions with the right to strike.
Guinea-Bissau\'s first multi-party elections for president and parliament were held in 1994. Following the 1998-99 civil war, presidential and legislative elections were again held, bringing opposition leader Kumba Ialá and his Party for Social Renewal to power. Ialá was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique Rosa was sworn in as president.
Former president Viera was once again elected as president in July 2005. The government of Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior was elected in March 2004 in a free and fair election, but was replaced by the government of Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, which took office in November 2005. Gomes lost a no-confidence vote and submitted his resignation in March 2007.
Martinho Ndafa Kabi was then nominated as prime minister by a coalition composed of the PAIGC, the Social Renewal Party (PRS), and the United Social Democratic Party (PUSD). On April 9, 2007, it was announced that President João Bernardo Vieira had rejected the choice of Kabi, but the coalition said that they maintained him as their choice. Later that day, Vieira appointed Kabi as the new prime minister. Kabi took office on April 13, and his government, composed of 20 ministers (including eight from the PAIGC, eight from the PRS, and two from the PUSD) was named on April 17.
### 2009 assassination
President Viera was killed on March 2, 2009, by soldiers as retaliation for the killing of the head of the joint chiefs of staff, General Tagme Na Waie, who was murdered the previous day.
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# Politics of Guinea-Bissau
## Political developments {#political_developments}
### 2010 military unrest {#military_unrest}
Prior to the 2008 election, a decision to change the electoral date and extend the parliamentary mandate resulted in major controversy when Assembly deputies snubbed the president and chose to extend their mandate. After the Supreme Court annulled that law, President Vieira dissolved the Assembly, thus allowing the standing committee to continue working, and appointed a new government composed of loyalists.
Rear Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto tried to organize a coup on August 7, 2008, but the attempt was put down. Na Tchuto managed to escape the country. The attempted coup added to instability ahead of parliamentary elections. Gambia subsequently arrested Na Tchuto. He later returned to Guinea-Bissau disguised as a fisherman, and took refuge at a UN compound. Although the UN agreed to surrender him to the government, Na Tchuto continued to reside in the compound. As a result of his return, security in the country was tightened, contributing to uncertainty and instability.
On April 1, 2010, soldiers entered UN offices and arrested Na Tchuto. The same day, more soldiers entered Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior\'s residence and detained him on the premises. Simultaneously, forty military officers, including Zamora Induta, head of Guinea-Bissau\'s armed forces, were confined at an army base. Hundreds of the PM\'s supporters demanded his release. In response, the deputy army chief, Antonio Indjai, said: \"If the people continue to go out into the streets to show their support for Carlos Gomes Junior, then I will kill Carlos Gomes Junior \... or I will send someone to kill him.\"
The following day, the prime minister was taken to meet with the president where the president said: \"I will not resign because I was democratically elected. I consider what happened on Thursday as an incident. The situation is now stable. I can assure you that institutions will return to their normal functions.\" The UN secretary general and other international powers condemned the move, while government ministers issued a statement saying \"Members of government expressed their support and their attachment to the prime minister, and firmly condemned the use of force as a means to resolve problems.\" Tensions seemingly calmed, with President Sanha saying the coup attempt was \"a confusion between soldiers that reached the government\", and the UN Secretary General spoke about the PM\'s \"detention and subsequent release.\" Nevertheless, while members of the cabinet and the international community condemned the attempted coup and talked about the PM\'s release, reports still indicated that \"renegade soldiers\" had the prime minister \"under guard.\"
### 2011 attempted coup {#attempted_coup}
After Army chief of staff General Antonio Indjai was reported arrested by the orders of navy chief Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, his troops freed him as Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior sought political asylum at the Angolan embassy. Indjai then said that his naval counterpart had been arrested. These events occurred while President Sanha had been in Paris, France for medical care.
### 2012 coup
On 12 April 2012, the military took over the central district of the capital. On 16 April, military leaders and a coalition of political parties announced the formation of a Transitional National Council, under international pressure.
### 2019 disputed election {#disputed_election}
Presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 24 November 2019.
In the first round of voting, Domingos Simões Pereira led the field, with 40.13% of the vote. Incumbent president José Mário Vaz finished fourth in the first round of voting, failing to progress to the runoff. According to the preliminary and final results published by the national commission of elections, Umaro Sissoco Embaló won the runoff vote against Simões Pereira, 54% to 46%. Simões Pereira continues to dispute the results. Although neither the supreme court of Guinea-Bissau nor the parliament had given its approval for the official swearing-in ceremony, Sissoco Embaló had organized an alternative swearing-in ceremony in a hotel in Bissau to announce himself as legal president of Guinea-Bissau. Several politicians in Guinea-Bissau, including prime minister Aristides Gomes, accused Sissoco Embaló of arranging a coup d\'état, although outgoing president Mário Vaz stepped down to allow Embaló to take power.
José Mário Vaz was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 2014 until the 2019 presidential elections. For two decades José Mário Vaz was the first elected president who finished his five-year mandate. Umaro Sissoco Embaló was the winner of the election and he took office in February 2020. However he faced a last-minute stand-off with parliament before taking office. Embaló is the first president to be elected without the backing of the PAIGC. On 11 September 2024, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló announced that he would not seek a second term in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for November 2025.
## Executive branch {#executive_branch}
\|President \|Umaro Sissoco Embaló \|Madem G15 \|27 February 2020 \|- \|Prime Minister \|Geraldo Martins \|Independent politician \|8 August 2023 \|}
The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The prime minister is appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature.
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# Politics of Guinea-Bissau
## Legislative branch {#legislative_branch}
The National People\'s Assembly (**Assembleia Nacional Popular**) has 102 members, elected for four-year terms in multi-member constituencies.
## Political parties and elections {#political_parties_and_elections}
### Presidential elections {#presidential_elections}
{{#section-h:2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election\|Results}}
### Parliamentary elections {#parliamentary_elections}
{{#section-h:2019 Guinea-Bissau legislative election\|Results}}
## Judicial branch {#judicial_branch}
The Supreme Court (**Supremo Tribunal da Justiça**) consists of nine justices, who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure. It is the final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases. Regional courts, one in each of the country\'s nine regions, are the first courts of appeal for sectoral court decisions, and hear all felony cases, as well as civil cases concerning more than \$1,000. Below these are 24 sectoral Courts, presided over by judges who are not necessarily trained in the law, which hear civil cases under \$1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases.
## Administrative divisions {#administrative_divisions}
Guinea-Bissau is divided in 9 regions (**regiões**, singular - **região**): Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, and Tombali
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# Telecommunications in Guinea-Bissau
**Telecommunications in Guinea-Bissau** include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world. This reality is reflected in the state of the country\'s telecommunications development. It is estimated that in 2012 there were only 5000 fixed telephone lines serving the country\'s 1.6 million inhabitants and that only 2.9% of the population had access to and were regular users of the Internet.
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
- Radio stations:
- One state-owned radio station (Guinea-Bissau National Radio), several private radio stations, and some community radio stations; multiple international broadcasters are available (2007);
- One AM, four FM, and no shortwave (2001).
- Radios: 49,000 (1997).`{{update after|2014|2|4}}`{=mediawiki}
- Television stations: One state-owned TV station (Guinea-Bissau Television) and a second station, Radio e Televisao de Portugal África (RTP África), operated by Portuguese public broadcaster (RTP) (2007).
Private radio stations operate alongside the state-run broadcaster. Broadcasters face many challenges, not least the lack of a reliable power supply. The media experience \"harsh treatment\" from the authorities, security forces, and individuals with connections to the military and drug traffickers. A climate of fear has led to self-censorship among the media, which particularly affects reporting on drug trafficking.
Following the 12 April 2012 coup, the junta shut down all private radio stations and the national television station. They allowed only the national broadcaster, Guinea-Bissau National Radio, to broadcast intermittent military communiqués. On 15 April, the junta allowed the stations to reopen, but on 16 April warned them not to criticize the military or the coup or report on protests. These threats continued until 25 May when the civilian government was installed.
## Telephones
- Calling code: +245
- International call prefix: 00
- Main lines:
- 5,000 lines in use, 210th in the world (2012);
- 4,600 lines in use, 214th in the world (2008).
- Mobile cellular:
- 1.1 million lines, 156th in the world (2012);
- 500,200 lines, 155th in the world (2008).
- Telephone system: small system including a combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and mobile-cellular communications; fixed-line teledensity is less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity approached 50 per 100 persons (2011).
## Internet
- Top-level domain: .gw
- Internet users:
- 47,132 users, 181st in the world; 2.9% of the population, 196th in the world (2012);
- 37,100 users, 177th in the world (2009).
- Fixed broadband: Unknown (2012).
- Wireless broadband: Unknown (2012).
- Internet hosts:
- 90 hosts, 211th in the world (2012);
- 82 hosts, 202nd in the world (2009).
- IPv4: 5,120 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 3.1 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
### Internet censorship and surveillance {#internet_censorship_and_surveillance}
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.
The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press; however, there are reports that the government does not always respect these rights. The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government does not always respect these prohibitions in practice. Police routinely ignore privacy rights and protections against unreasonable search and seizure
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# Transport in Guinea-Bissau
Transport infrastructure in Guinea-Bissau is basic, with most roads outside the capital Bissau being unpaved.
## Railways
There are no railways in Guinea-Bissau. At the Port of Bissau, there was a small cargo railway working from the late 19th century into the 1940s.
In 1998 an agreement was signed between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau for construction of a railway to Guinea, but the outbreak of the Guinea-Bissau Civil War in 1998 made these plans impossible.
## Roads
- **Total:** 4,400 km
- **Paved:** 453 km
- **Unpaved:** 3,947 km (1996 est.)
The Trans--West African Coastal Highway crosses Guinea-Bissau, connecting it to Banjul (the Gambia), Conakry (Guinea), and eventually to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
## Waterways
Several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping in Guinea-Bissau.
## Seaports and harbours {#seaports_and_harbours}
- Port of Bissau
- Buba
- Cacheu
- Farim
### Merchant Marine {#merchant_marine}
In 1999 no merchant vessels were operating.
## Airports
The main airport serving the country, and the only one with scheduled commercial service, is Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau.
- 30 (1999 est.)
**Paved runways:**
- 3 (Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, Cufar Airport, and Bubaque Airport)
*Over 3, 047 m:*
- 1
*1,524 to 2,437 m:*
- 1
*914 to 1,523 m:*
- 1
**Unpaved runways:**
- 27
*1,524 to 2,437 m:*
- 1
*914 to 1,523 m:*
- 4
*under 914 m:*
- 22 (1999 est
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# Politics of Guyana
Guyana is a parliamentary republic in which the President of Guyana is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President, advised by a cabinet. Legislative power is vested in both the President and the National Assembly of Guyana. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
## Executive branch {#executive_branch}
`{{office-table}}`{=mediawiki} \|President \|Irfaan Ali \|People\'s Progressive Party \|2 August 2020 \|- \|First vice president and prime minister \|Mark Phillips \|People\'s Progressive Party \|2 August 2020 \|} Executive authority is exercised by the president, who appoints and supervises the prime minister and other ministers. The Cabinet is tasked with aiding and advising the President as it relates to the general control and direction of the government. The president is not directly elected; each party presenting a slate of candidates for the assembly must designate in advance a leader who will become president if that party receives the largest number of votes. The president has the authority to dissolve the parliament. While the Cabinet is appointed by the President, it is also collectively responsible to National Assembly. A successful no-confidence motion against the government obligates president and cabinet to resign and trigger new elections within 3 months. The president can be removed in case of mental incapacity or gross constitutional violations.
Only the prime minister is required to be a member of the assembly. In practice, most other ministers also are members. Those who are not serve as non-elected members, which permits them to debate but not to vote. The president is not a member of the National Assembly but may Address it at any time or have his address read by any member he may designate at convenient time for the Assembly.
## Legislative branch {#legislative_branch}
Legislative power of Guyana rests in a unicameral National Assembly. In 2001 the makeup of the National Assembly was reformed. Now 25 members are elected via proportional representation from 10 Geographic Constituencies. Additionally 40 members are chosen also on the basis of proportional representation from National lists named by the political parties. The president may dissolve the assembly and call new elections at any time, but no later than 5 years from its first sitting.
## Political parties {#political_parties}
## Elections
Guyana was ranked 6th least electoral democracy in the Americas according to V-Dem Democracy indices for year 2024.
## Judicial branch {#judicial_branch}
The highest judicial body is the Court of Appeal, headed by a chancellor of the judiciary. The second level is the High Court, presided over by Chief Justice of Guyana. The chancellor and the chief justice are appointed by the president. The [Audit Office of Guyana (AOG)](http://www.audit.org.gy) is the country\'s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).
## Administrative divisions {#administrative_divisions}
For administrative purposes, Guyana is divided into 10 regions, each headed by a chairman who presides over a regional democratic council. Local communities are administered by village or city councils. The regions are Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice and Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo.
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# Politics of Guyana
## Political conditions {#political_conditions}
Race and ideology have been the dominant political influences in Guyana. Since the split of the multiracial People\'s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1955, politics has been based more on ethnicity than on ideology. From 1964 to 1992, the pro-African People\'s National Congress (PNC) party dominated Guyana\'s politics.
The overwhelming majority of Guyanese of East Indian extraction traditionally have backed the People\'s Progressive Party, headed by the Jagans. Rice farmers and sugar workers in the rural areas form the bulk of PPP\'s support, but Indo-Guyanese who dominate the country\'s urban business community also have provided important support.
Following independence, and with the help of substantial foreign aid, social benefits were provided to a broader section of the population, specifically in health, education, housing, road and bridge building, agriculture, and rural development. However, during Forbes Burnham\'s last years, the government\'s attempts to build a socialist society caused a massive emigration of skilled workers, and, along with other economic factors, led to a significant decline in the overall quality of life in Guyana.
After Burnham\'s death in 1985, President Hoyte took steps to stem the economic decline, including strengthening financial controls over the parastatal corporations and supporting the private sector. In August 1987, at a PNC Congress, Hoyte announced that the PNC rejected orthodox communism and the one-party state.
As the elections scheduled for 1990 approached, Hoyte, under increasing pressure from inside and outside Guyana, gradually opened the political system. After a visit to Guyana by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1990, Hoyte made changes in the electoral rules, appointed a new chairman of the Elections Commission, and endorsed putting together new voters\' lists, thus delaying the election. The elections, which finally took place in 1992, were witnessed by 100 international observers, including a group headed by Carter and another from the Commonwealth of Nations. Both groups issued reports saying that the elections had been free and fair, despite violent attacks on the Elections Commission building on election day and other irregularities.
Cheddi Jagan served as Premier (1957--1964) and then minority leader in Parliament until his election as president in 1992. One of the Caribbean\'s most charismatic and famous leaders, Jagan was a founder of the PPP which led Guyana\'s struggle for independence. Over the years, he moderated his Marxist-Leninist ideology. After his election as president, Jagan demonstrated a commitment to democracy, followed a pro-Western foreign policy, adopted free market policies, and pursued sustainable development for Guyana\'s environment. Nonetheless, he continued to press for debt relief and a new global human order in which developed countries would increase assistance to less developed nations. Jagan died on 6 March 1997, and was succeeded by Sam Hinds, whom he had appointed Prime Minister. President Hinds then appointed Janet Jagan, widow of the late President, to serve as Prime Minister.
In national elections on 15 December 1997, Janet Jagan was elected president, and her PPP party won a 55% majority of seats in Parliament. She was sworn in on 19 December. Jagan was a founding member of the PPP and was very active in party politics. She was Guyana\'s first female prime minister and vice president, two roles she performed concurrently before being elected to the presidency. She was also unique in being white, Jewish and a naturalized citizen (born in the United States).
The PNC, which won just under 40% of the vote, disputed the results of the 1997 elections, alleging electoral fraud. Public demonstrations and some violence followed, until a CARICOM team came to Georgetown to broker an accord between the two parties, calling for an international audit of the election results, a redrafting of the constitution, and elections under the constitution within 3 years. Jagan resigned in August 1999 due to ill health and was succeeded by Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo, who had been named Prime Minister a day earlier. National elections were held on March 19, 2001, three months later than planned as the election committees said they were unprepared. Fears that the violence that marred the previous election led to monitoring by foreign bodies, including Jimmy Carter. In March incumbent President Jagdeo won the election with a voter turnout of over 90%. Over 150 international observers representing six international missions witnessed the polling. The observers pronounced the elections fair and open although marred by some administrative problems.
Meanwhile, tensions with Suriname were seriously strained by a dispute over their shared maritime border after Guyana had allowed oil-prospectors licence to explore the areas.
In December 2002, Hoyte died, with Robert Corbin replacing him as leader of the PNC. He agreed to engage in \'constructive engagement\' with Jagdeo and the PPP.
Severe flooding following torrential rainfall wreaked havoc in Guyana beginning in January 2005. The downpour, which lasted about six weeks, inundated the coastal belt, caused the deaths of 34 people, and destroyed large parts of the rice and sugarcane crops. The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimated in March that the country would need \$415 million for recovery and rehabilitation. About 275,000 people---37% of the population---were affected in some way by the floods. In 2013, the Hope Canal was completed to address the flooding.
In May 2008, President Bharrat Jagdeo was a signatory to The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. On 12 February 2010, Guyana ratified its membership in the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
In December 2011, President Bharrat Jagdeo was succeeded by Donald Ramotar of the governing People\'s Progressive Party (PPP/C). However, the ruling party, mainly supported by Guyana\'s ethnic-Indians, lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 19 years.
In May 2015, David Granger of A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) narrowly won the elections. He represented the alliance of Afro-Guyanese parties. In May 2015, David Granger was sworn is as the new President of Guyana.
In August 2020, the 75-year-old incumbent David Granger lost narrowly and he did not accept the result. Irfaan Ali of the People\'s Progressive Party/Civic was sworn in as the new president five months after the election because of allegations of fraud and irregularities.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Guyana as \"flawed democracy\" in 2016. Guyana\'s ratings on the democracy on the Democracy Index have fluctuated over the years, it continues to be rated as a \"flawed democracy\".
## Territorial disputes {#territorial_disputes}
All of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed by Venezuela, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago\'s maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Corentyne; the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters has been resolved by UNCLOS with Guyana awarded 93% of the disputed territory.
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# Politics of Guyana
## International organization participation {#international_organization_participation}
Guyana is a full and participating founder-member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the headquarters of which is located in Georgetown. The CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) will, by necessity, bring Caribbean-wide [legislation](https://web.archive.org/web/20070609083722/http://www.caricomlaw.org/) into force and a [Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)](http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/). International affiliations include: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
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# Transport in Guyana
The **transport** sector comprises the physical infrastructure, docks and vehicle, terminals, fleets, ancillary equipment and service delivery of all the various modes of transport operating in **Guyana**. The transport services, transport agencies providing these services, the organizations and people who plan, build, maintain, and operate the system, and the policies that mold its development.
## City transportation {#city_transportation}
Public transport around Guyana\'s capital Georgetown is provided by privately owned mini buses which operate in allocated zones for which there is a well-regulated fare structure. This arrangement extends to all mini bus routes throughout the country. There are designated bus stops for mini buses for most routes but some buses still pick up passengers at virtually any point on their routes. This practice often poses a serious inconvenience to other vehicles by disrupting the normal flow of traffic.
Taxis have freer movement around the city and into rural areas. Their fare, while generally standard, is less regulated. Starting in 2010, all taxis must be painted yellow, a regulation designed to protect consumers and to distinguish the vehicles from others that are often used in committing crimes. All taxis are registered under the term \"Hackney Carriage\" and carry the letter H at the beginning of their number plates. There are scores of taxi services operating in Georgetown but its equally easy to \"flag a ride\" in the central business district.
The network of routes has a number of identifiable starting points which are concentrated in the Stabroek area and along the Avenue of the Republic between Croal and Robb Streets.
Road conditions vary immensely, and maintenance is sometimes deficient. In 2006 there was one operational set of traffic lights but in July 2007, a modern system was installed by Indian firm CMS Traffic Systems Limited, through a US\$2.1 million line of credit to the government from India\'s EXIM Bank, providing signals for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic at all major intersections in Georgetown.
### Minibuses in Guyana {#minibuses_in_guyana}
As of February 2016, there were 19 minibus routes in Guyana and most of them begin or are fully contained in Georgetown, Guyana.
Route Number Service Area
-------------- ------------------------
21 Charity/Supernaam
31 Patentia
32 Parika
33 Leguan
40 Kitty/Campbellville
41 South Ruimveldt
42 Timehri
43 Linden
44 Mahaica
45 Central Georgetown
46 Lodge
47 East & West Ruimveldt
48 Sophia
50 New Amsterdam
56 Rosignol/New Amsterdam
63 Corentyne
72 Mahdia
73 Bartica
94 Lethem
: Minibus routes in Guyana
In 2015, the Ministry of Public Works estimated that 60 percent of Guyana\'s productive labour force used public transportation daily, which is widely available and fairly reliable. They also stated that the eight major bus routes, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45, accounted for 67 percent of the total public bus fleet in Guyana. Their survey found that 41% of commuters on the major routes were satisfied.
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# Transport in Guyana
## Long distance transportation {#long_distance_transportation}
### Roads
In 2004, Guyana\'s road network was approximately 3,995 km long, 24 percent or 940 kilometers of which comprised primary roads in the coastal and riverine areas serving the agricultural sector, while the road to Linden serves the mining and forestry sectors. 21 percent (820 kilometers) is made up of feeder roads that link the agricultural areas along the coast to the primary road network. The remaining 56 percent (2,235 kilometers) is composed of interior roads and trails. Most access roads are in poor condition. However, the Central Government has targeted several roads for complete rehabilitation, and already many have been rehabilitated.
The main coastal roads are, from west to east, the Essequibo Coast Road, the Parika to Vreed en Hoop Road, the East Coast Demerara and West Coast Berbice Roads, and the Corentyne Highway from New Amsterdam to Moleson Creek (86 kilometers). All these roads are paved and their speed limit vary between 50 and 100 km/h.
South of Georgetown the primary road is the East Bank Demerara Road, a four-lane road from Rumiveldt to Providence and two-lane from Providence to Timehri Georgetown to Timehri, where the Cheddi Jagan International Airport - Timehri (CJIAT) is located.
Between 1966 and 1968, Soesdyke, located on the East Bank Demerara Road, was connected to Mackenzie by a modern two lane highway, called the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. This road was constructed as a section of a highway connecting Georgetown with Lethem. In 1968 a bridge was built across the Demerara River at Linden, and, in 1974, it was decided that the route to Lethem would cross the Demerara River at Linden and go south, along the watershed of the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers, through Mabura, to Kurupukari. From Kurupukari it would run parallel to the old cattle trail to Annai, and from Annai it would follow an already existing road to Lethem.
In the early 1970s a two-lane road with modern geometry and surfaced with laterite was built between Linden and Rockstone. This road was later connected to Mabura and Kurupukari. In 1990-91 a two-lane laterite road was constructed between Kurupukari and Annai and a vehicle ferry installed at Kurupukari. Since there was already an existing road between Mabura and Kurupukari, and between Annai and Lethem, it was now possible for vehicles to travel between Georgetown and Lethem.
In the period 1974 to 1978, an attempt was made to build a road between Rockstone and Kurupung to facilitate the construction of a large hydroelectric station. From Rockstone it headed north to Suribanna, where a pontoon ferry was installed across the Essequibo River to Sherima. From Sherima the road went westward, intersecting the Bartica - Mahdia Road at Allsopp Point 19 mi from Bartica. From Allsopp Point the road followed the existing road towards Bartica and branched off 5 mi from Bartica going to Teperu in the lower reaches on the Mazaruni River. At Teperu a pontoon ferry was installed across the Mazaruni River to Itaballi. From Itaballi the road went westward to Peter\'s Mine on the Puruni River. From Peter\'s Mine the road continued as a penetration road to Kurupung. This road is referred to as the UMDA Road.
There is in addition a hinterland east--west main road system that extends from Kwakwani in the east, through Ituni, Linden, Rockstone, Sherima to Bartica in the west. Linden is therefore one of the main hubs for road transportation in the hinterland.
Outside the existing main roads there are several other interior roads or trails that comprise approximately 1,570 kilometers. Most of those roads are unpaved, and will deteriorate if maintenance remains inadequate. They are found mostly in the hinterland and riverain areas and provide linkages with a number of important mining and forestry activities thus facilitating transportation between the mining and forestry communities and the more developed coastal areas. Parts of this road/trail network can be developed into an arterial road system linking the hinterland communities with each other and to the main road network. It is estimated that roads carry 80 percent of Guyana\'s passenger traffic and about 33 percent of its freight.
Commuters to West Demerara have a choice of road transport via the Demerara Harbour Bridge or by the Demerara River ferry from the Stabroek Stelling to Vreed en Hoop, which is obliquely opposite. The highway that begins on the West Coast of Demerara is heavily trafficked since it provides a link to Parika on the East Bank of the Essequibo River, which has become an important center of economic activity in the Essequibo region.
It is now possible to travel overland to Suriname by taking the ferry on the Guyana side at Moleson Creek and crossing the Corentyne River over to Suriname at South Drain. While travel to Brazil is via the old cattle trail it has been upgraded into a fair weather track that passes through the bauxite-producing town of Linden and ending at Lethem.
### Bridges
The coastal main road system is not continuous. There are gaps whenever it intersects the Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice Rivers. People and goods move across these gaps by ferry systems as well as the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) and the Berbice Bridge.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a two-lane floating toll bridge, 1.2 mi long, near the mouth of the Demerara River. It is primarily a low-level bridge which possesses an elevated span with a vertical clearance of 26 ft in the middle of the river to permit small craft to pass. In addition, across the shipping channel, there are two spans which retract to permit the passage of ocean-going vessels. From mid-1998 toll revenue has been credited to the account of the DHB and not to the Government of Guyana, as it was until then. This is a step towards the establishment of the DHB as an autonomous statutory authority. At present the toll revenue does not meet the operational and maintenance costs of the bridge; the government of Guyana provides considerable subsidy for its upkeep. The bridge has been in existence since 1978 and currently notwithstanding the rigorous maintenance regime, sits at the end of its useful life.
In 2007, construction resumed on the Takutu River Bridge to link Guyana and Brazil in the southwest region of Guyana near Lethem. The bridge was officially opened on September 14, 2009, enabling economic interests in northern Brazil to link by road to the port at Georgetown. Unprecedented construction and population growth in Lethem since the bridge\'s opening reflects the significantly increased traffic and movement of goods facilitated by the bridge. The Takutu Bridge is seen as the first of several joint projects between Guyana and Brazil intended to facilitate cargo traffic: Brazil is expected to subsidize the paving of the Lethem-to-Georgetown road, a development that would have profound impacts on the area\'s economy and environment. Dredging of the Georgetown port to accommodate deeper-draft cargo vessels is also being planned.
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# Transport in Guyana
## Long distance transportation {#long_distance_transportation}
### Rail transport {#rail_transport}
Commercial railway services for both passengers and cargo were operated until 1974. Two lines operated - the Demerara-Essequibo Railway, from Vreed en Hoop to Parika (18.5 mi) and the Demerara-Berbice Railway, from Georgetown to Rosignol (65 mi). With the upgrading of the West Coast Demerara/East Bank Essequibo and the East Coast Demerara/West Coast Berbice roadways, the Government decided in the mid-1970s to cease operating the railway services, which were being run at a loss. In the Matthew\'s Ridge area, there is a 32 mi railway service.
A railway service was once operated in Linden for the movement of bauxite ore. However trucks are now used to transport the bauxite ore.
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# Transport in Guyana
## Water transport {#water_transport}
It is generally agreed that, for the movement of bulky low-value goods over great distances, water transport is cheapest. This is especially true in Guyana, where the road infrastructure is poorly advanced. Moreover, with the widespread decentralization of economic activity that is being proposed by the government, and with the corresponding development of the interior regions of the country, the demand for water transport might, perhaps paradoxically, increase rather than diminish.
The infrastructure that supports water transport in Guyana is located along the banks of the navigable rivers, namely, the Essequibo River, Demerara River and Berbice River. In addition to the wharves and stellings that provide coastal and inland linkages, there are facilities that handle both the country\'s overseas and local shipping requirements.
Virtually all exports and imports are transported by sea. The main port of Georgetown, located at the mouth of the Demerara River, comprises several wharves, most of which are privately owned. In addition, three berths are available for oceangoing vessels at Linden.
Draught constraints limit the size of vessels using Georgetown\'s harbour to `{{DWT|15,000|metric|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki}. However, recent improvements in the channel in the Berbice River have made it possible for ships of up to `{{DWT|55,000}}`{=mediawiki} to dock there.
Guyana\'s foreign trade is handled by foreign shipping companies. The largest bulk exports are bauxite and sugar, and the largest volume imports are petroleum and wheat flour. Other important break-bulk exports include rice and timber.
Containers are used but because they are not part of the internal transport system, they are loaded and unloaded at the ports.
Internal barge transport is important for bauxite, sugar, rice and aggregates. In the case of sugar, for example, 98 percent of exports is delivered by barge to the port of Georgetown for export. Rivers are used for moving logs and account also for a significant share of those persons who travel to the interior.
It is estimated that about 1,000 kilometers of waterways in Guyana are utilized for commerce in Guyana. In addition, drainage canals are important transport channels for collecting sugar on the estates and for personal travel.
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