Its population is only 1.2 million people. Most of these people are subsistence farmers. For their staple crop they grow mostly rice, cassava, and maize. For export, peanuts and cashew nuts are the most dominant. Cattle ranching is very common in the interior of Guinea-Bissau.
Manufacturing is limited to the processing of raw materials and production of basic goods.
The official language is Portuguese, but Creole, a mixture of Portuguese and African, is most common. Senegal lies west of Guinea-Bissau. Senegal's development is due to the cash crops coffee and cocoa. Its economy is dependent on the export of peanuts and phosphates and on its fishing industry. The overall population is 9.5 million people with a natural increase of 2.8 percent.