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  Guinea-Bissau  

Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 1998

Capital: Bissau
Population (2011): 1.5 million
Area: 36,125 km sq
Languages: Portuguese
Currency: Communauté financière africaine franc (XOF)
GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 1,186
HDI Rank (2011): 176 of 187
Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 51 million
Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -0.6 migrants /1,000 population
Immigrants (2010): 1.2%
Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 50.0%
Population under 15 (2011): 41.2%
Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): 2%

Sources and Definitions

Latest News

Overview

IOM Migration Activities

Basic indicators point to Guinea Bissau as a major centre of recruitment for child trafficking in the West African Region. An IOM-commissioned report (2007) showed that children are trafficked chiefly from the eastern regions, and mostly destined to forced begging in neighboring Senegal. IOM has worked with government, and NGOs to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate these children with their families and into their communities.

IOM is also supporting efforts in the implementation of reintegration activities for Bissau-Guineans assisted to return back and reintegrate into their communities of origin. The mission has so far received returnees from Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Guinea Bissau has also received many evacuees from the Libya rescue operations conducted with the assistance of IOM.

Regulating Migration

Donor

  • US Department of State, Office to Monitor Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP)

Many are the challenges linked to the management of irregular migration in Guinea Bissau, which is a major departing point for child victims of trafficking and also a transit point for smuggled migrants heading to Europe and/or to the rest of the region. IOM is working closely with the authorities to tackle these two dimensions of irregular migration and provide both capacity building and direct assistance activities.

Projects

  • Building a Support Network for Children Victims of Trafficking in Guinea Bissau
  • On-going AVRR projects managed by IOM offices in destination countries

Last updated:
Main text: May 2011
Facts and figures: May 2012