Guinea-Bissau

 
Pronunciation: /ˌgɪnɪbɪˈsaʊ/
  • a country on the west coast of Africa, between Senegal and Guinea; population 1,534,000 (est. 2009); languages, Portuguese (official), West African languages, Creoles; capital, Bissau.

The area was explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century and was a centre of the slave trade. Formerly called Portuguese Guinea, it became a colony in 1879, and the independent republic of Guinea-Bissau in 1974