Highlights 

• The Guinea-Bissau’s economy growth has slow down over the 2015-2018 period from 6.1% in 2015 to 3.4% in 2018. It increased from 1.1 percentage points in 2019 for settling in 4.5%. The activity should be contracted for 1.9% in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 and rebound in 2021.
• Like other Member States, the inflation in Guinea-Bissau remains at a relatively low level and below the community standard of 3 %. The inflation rate in the country stay inferior at 2.0% over the last five years. It stood at 0.2% in 2019 and is projected to reach 1.8% in 2020.
• Guinea-Bissau’s economy depends on the performance of agriculture and fisheries. The country is the sixth largest producer of cashew nuts in the world. This product is the country’s main source of foreign exchange and export. 
• The budget balance of Guinea-Bissau improve in 2019 with a deficit estimated at 4.2% of GDP against 4.3% of GDP in 2018. The budget deficit could reach 10.3% of GDP in 2020 due to the low level of revenue mobilization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the increasing costs, particularly for financing needs of the National Development Plan (Terra Ranka, 2015 -2020). The budget deficit should be improved in 2021 with more favorable economic outlook.
• Guinea-Bissau’s debt rate is estimated at 69.8 % in 2019, an increase of 9.7 percentage points compared to 2018. It could attain 70.9% in 2020. This trend can be explained by the deterioration in the budget balance in line with the investments made under the “Terra Ranka, 2015-2020” plan. The investment rate should thus increase from 14.5% of GDP in 2018 to 15.6% of GDP in 2019 before settling at 19.9% of GDP in 2020.
• Guinea-Bissau adopted in 2015 a new development framework whose implementation covers the 2015-2025 period: the Guinea-Bissau 2025 vision. The first phase of this program known as “Terra Ranka, 2015-2020” is implemented over the 2015-2020 period. The main goals of the “Terra Ranka” plan are as follows:
  • Maintaining political stability;
  • Implementing public administration reforms and improving public financial management;
  • Institutional capacity-building;
  • The implementation of an economic diversification policy, particularly in agriculture;
  • Strengthening infrastructure investment.