Features

Guinea-Bissau

1974–present CE

West-African republic independent from Portugal in 1974; the Kaabu kingdom here was a successor province of the Mali empire, and Islam — carried by Mandinka and Fula — is the faith of a large share of the population, predominantly Sunni.

☾ The Coming of Islam

The Kaabu kingdom and Mandinka-Fula Islam

The Kaabu kingdom on this territory was a western successor province of the Mali empire, and Islam spread here with Mandinka and Fula Muslims along the Sahelian trade and religious networks, deepening in the 18th and 19th centuries.

☾ Religious Composition

A large Muslim community among diverse faiths

A large share of the population — predominantly Sunni Muslim, mainly among the Fula and Mandinka — lives alongside substantial traditional-religion and Christian communities, one of West Africa's more religiously mixed societies.

Demographic shares are approximate.

At a glance

TypeState
Dynasty
RegionW. Africa (Upper Guinea)
CapitalBissau
Founded1974
Endedextant
State religionSecular (large Muslim community)