Religion in Guinea-Bissau
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An estimated 50 percent of the population of Guinea-Bissau is Muslim, and 5 to 13 percent is Christian.[1] The remainder of the population follows traditional indigenous or animist religious practices.[1] There are few atheists.[1]
Islam is practiced most widely by the Fula and Mandinka ethnic groups, and Muslims generally live in the north and northeast.[1] Virtually all Muslims are Sunni.[1] The number of Ahmadi is extremely small and not confined to any particular geographic region.[1] When the Government in 2005 attempted to ban Ahmadi activities, many adherents returned to practicing the same form of Sunni Islam that other Muslims in the country practice.[1] Guinea-Bissau is the only Portuguese-speaking nation with a Muslim majority, wherein others are mostly Christian. Practitioners of traditional indigenous religious beliefs generally live in all but the northern parts of the country.[1] Christians belong to a number of groups, including the Roman Catholic Church (including Portuguese Guinea-Bissauans) and various Protestant denominations.[1] Christians are concentrated in Bissau and other large towns.[1]
Foreign missionaries operate in the country without restriction.[1]
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice.[1] In 2007, the US government received no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice.[1]
