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Guinea-Bissau

Updated: Oct 1, 2022

Home> Countries> Africa> Guinea-Bissau




Country Name

Guinea-Bissau, or officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

Location

Guinea-Bissau is located in Western Africa. Guinea-Bissau is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the east.


Capital

Bissau.



The reason for naming the country

In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognized in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea).

Flag

The Guinea-Bissau flag was adopted on September 24, 1973, the day the country declared independence from Portugal.

The flag of Guinea-Bissau consists of two equal-sized horizontal stripes the top stripe is yellow, and the bottom one is green, On the left side of the flag is a red vertical stripe with a black five-pointed star in the center of it.

The yellow color represents the sun and labor; and the green stands for the lush vegetation, agriculture, and hope of Guinea-Bissau.

The black star symbolizes freedom and the African people; the red stripe represents the blood spilled for the country's liberty and for the nation's suffering during colonial rule.

It is believed the Pan-African colors of the Guinea-Bissau flag originated from the flag of Ethiopia, the oldest independent nation in Africa.