The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa that borders Senegal to the north and Guinea to the southeast.
Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu and the Mali empire. Parts of the Kingdom of Kaabu persisted until the 18th century, with the whole region being colonized by the Portuguese in the 19th century. Once known as Portuguese Guinea, the country declared independence in 1973 and was recognized in 1974. To avoid confusion with Guinea, the name of its capital was added to the country name.
Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on agriculture. Fish, cashew nuts, and ground nuts are its major exports.
Upon independence, Guinea-Bissau replaced the escudo with the peso at par. The peso was subdivided into 100 centavos. The only standard circulation coin issued was the 50-centavo coin. It was made of aluminum-bronze and featured the national arms and a palm tree.
In 1997, Guinea-Bissau joined the Western CFA franc monetary system. It is one of the two non-former French colony to enter the CFA franc system.
