8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Guinea-Bissau

About 1 in 2,042 people born in 2023 started life in Guinea-Bissau. A boy can expect to live 62 years and a girl 66, up from 34 and 37 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 62% have basic drinking water.

1 in 2,042
odds of being born here
64,700 births · Ranked 123rd of 230
62 / 66
years of life, boys / girls
Was 34 / 37 in 1950
$1,659
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 183rd of 203 · extrapolated
46%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 28 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 349 in every 1,000 births to 69.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth61.7 years for boys, 66.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 569.4 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year15,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.3World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles72%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV2.3%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year178 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year98 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 5.9 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.8.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.84UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.5 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 42 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
8%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
22%Fourth
42%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,659 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth42% / 8% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.6% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises7.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming62% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed75% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment34% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Bissau, with 439,704 people.

46%
live in cities
41%
have electricity at home
62%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Bissau439,704
Gabú49,371
Contumo45,482
Reino de Bandim44,718
Bafatá33,502
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Portuguese100%
French15%
Portuguese is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Bissau617,213
Bafatá52,926
Gabú49,371

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 4.7% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Portugal, Senegal, Gambia.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Portugal36,682
Senegal31,321
Gambia15,119
Residents born abroad0.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 4.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostPortugal (36,682), Senegal (31,321), Gambia (15,119)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $217.2 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

15% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

15%
of older people receive a pension (2020)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024177Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence704 between 1998 and 1999UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Guinea-Bissau, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Guinea-Bissau

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences