Guinea-Bissau : Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth

Guinea-Bissau is fighting a battle against poverty, low growth, and political fragility. Each of these areas presents both a formidable challenge as well as an opportunity for serious, long-lasting and much-needed change. Poverty is entrenched, inequality is high and other human development outcomes are weak with many of the key indicators worsening over time. Fragility is intrinsically linked to low growth and lack of inclusiveness. Nonetheless, the country has potential for unlocking income-generating opportunities for growth. The diagnostics framework of this Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) is based on three interrelated themes: (i) inclusiveness of growth; (ii) overall economic growth and macro context; and (iii) sustainability risks, including the overarching issue of fragility