Guinea-Bissau Population
Guinea-Bissau had an estimated population of 2,249,515 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 147th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.03% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.16% a year.
Guinea-Bissau at a glance
How Guinea-Bissau's population is changing
Guinea-Bissau's population is growing fast: +2.16% a year, which works out to about +48,686 people per year, or +133 a day. Births (29.6 per 1,000) and deaths (7.0 per 1,000) alone would give +2.26% a year; net migration removes about 1,373 people a year (−0.06%). Roughly one in every 3,652 people on Earth lives in Guinea-Bissau.
Population of Guinea-Bissau since 1960
In 1960, Guinea-Bissau had 577,633 people. By 2025 that was 2,249,515 — 3.9× larger. The fastest growth came between 1973 and 1983, when the population rose by 47%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 577,633 | — |
| 1970 | 584,403 | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 829,303 | +41.9% |
| 1990 | 973,669 | +17.4% |
| 2000 | 1,234,741 | +26.8% |
| 2010 | 1,566,347 | +26.9% |
| 2020 | 2,013,255 | +28.5% |
| 2025 | 2,249,515 | +11.7% |
Guinea-Bissau from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Guinea-Bissau at about 218,167 people in 1800; the UN estimates 2,249,521 in 2025 (10× 1800) and projects 4,665,487 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 107% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 218,167 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 211,038 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 295,214 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 543,632 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 1,234,747 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 2,249,521 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 3,438,608 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 4,310,606 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 4,665,487 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Guinea-Bissau
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 2,249,515. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bissau | 612,643 | UN urban centre | 27.23% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Gabú | 49,371 | GeoNames settlement | 2.19% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Contumo | 45,482 | GeoNames settlement | 2.02% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Reino de Bandim | 44,718 | GeoNames settlement | 1.99% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Bafatá | 33,502 | GeoNames settlement | 1.49% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Reino de Antula | 30,778 | GeoNames settlement | 1.37% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Quelele | 28,898 | GeoNames settlement | 1.28% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Plaque | 27,633 | GeoNames settlement | 1.23% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Xitole | 19,424 | GeoNames settlement | 0.86% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Pefiné | 14,808 | GeoNames settlement | 0.66% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Guinea-Bissau compares
Guinea-Bissau has almost the same population as Albania (2,349,580).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Guinea-Bissau | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #145 |  Moldova | 2,360,527 | +5% | compare → |
| #146 |  Albania | 2,349,580 | +4% | compare → |
| #148 |  Slovenia | 2,130,986 | −5% | compare → |
| #149 |  Equatorial Guinea | 1,938,431 | −14% | compare → |
Compare Guinea-Bissau with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Guinea-Bissau
Land neighbours (2)
Senegal 18,931,966 · 8.4× the population · compare
Guinea 15,099,727 · 6.7× the population · compare
Guinea-Bissau's 2 neighbours together hold 34,031,693 people — 15.1× Guinea-Bissau's population. The most populous is Senegal (18,931,966).
In its region
Guinea-Bissau is the 41st most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 0.2% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Bissau, Gabú, Contumo, Reino de Bandim, Bafatá, Reino de Antula, Quelele, Plaque — all Guinea-Bissau's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Guinea-Bissau when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.