Guinea-Bissau vs Switzerland
Switzerland is 14% larger than Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea-BissauSwitzerlandGuinea-Bissau moved onto Switzerland · Equal-area projection
0.87×
Guinea-Bissau is 0.87× the area of Switzerland. Put the other way, Switzerland is 1.14× the size of Guinea-Bissau.
 Guinea-Bissau |  Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSwitzerland: 1.14× the area | 36,125 km²#135 of 194 | 41,291 km²#132 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSwitzerland: 4.04× the population | 2,249,515#145 of 194 · 2025 | 9,092,436#99 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySwitzerland: 3.54× the density | 62 / km²#123 of 194 | 220 / km²#46 of 194 |
| Urban populationSwitzerland: 1.84× the urban share | 47%#134 of 192 · 2025 | 86%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateGuinea-Bissau: 2.91× the births per woman | 3.76 per woman#34 of 192 · 2024 | 1.29 per woman#170 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthGuinea-Bissau: 1.20 points higher | +2.16%#40 of 192 · 2025 | +0.96%#99 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateGuinea-Bissau: 3.4× the birth rate | 29.6 per 1,000#33 of 192 · 2024 | 8.7 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSwitzerland: 1.14× the death rate | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Guinea-Bissau: 23.4 points higher | 38.3%#31 of 192 · 2025 | 14.9%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Switzerland: 17.2 points higher | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 20.4%#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSwitzerland: 4.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.6 per 1,000#109 of 192 · 2025 | +4.1 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.80 per 1,000#65 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySwitzerland: 20.1 years longer | 64.3 years#167 of 192 · 2024 | 84.4 years#4 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityGuinea-Bissau: 12.4× the infant mortality | 42.1 per 1,000 births#25 of 191 · 2024 | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSwitzerland: 17.9× the doctors per person | 0.25 per 1,000#142 of 178 · 2022 | 4.48 per 1,000#18 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 73.5%#41 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSwitzerland: 0.456 higher | 0.514#171 of 190 · 2023 | 0.970#2 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSwitzerland: 101× the income per person | $1,090#169 of 185 · 2025 | $110,330#1 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSwitzerland: 413× the economy | $2.53B2025 | $1.04T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Switzerland: 31.1× the output per person | $3,293#168 of 184 · 2025 | $102,513#6 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthGuinea-Bissau: 4.5 points higher | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationGuinea-Bissau: 0.7 points higher | +0.9%#144 of 176 · 2025 | +0.2%#160 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSwitzerland: 1.81× the unemployment | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 | 4.9%#96 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyGuinea-Bissau: 399× the share in extreme poverty | 39.9%#19 of 149 · 2021 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Switzerland: 0.1 higher | 33.4#90 of 149 · 2021 | 33.5#87 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureGuinea-Bissau: 58.9 points higher | 61.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySwitzerland: 9.9 points higher | 9.7% of jobs#158 of 178 · 2025 | 19.6% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSwitzerland: 49.0 points higher | 29.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 78.2% of jobs#21 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentGuinea-Bissau: 1.3 points higher | 1.3% of GDP#117 of 184 · 2025 | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSwitzerland: 64.2 points higher | 13.9% of GDP#152 of 168 · 2025 | 78.1% of GDP#17 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingGuinea-Bissau: 1.17× the military spending | 0.9% of GDP#121 of 155 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#131 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSwitzerland: 3.27× the share online | 30%#166 of 184 · 2024 | 97%#15 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsGuinea-Bissau: 1.14× the mobile subscriptions | 147 per 100#29 of 191 · 2024 | 129 per 100#54 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaGuinea-Bissau: 2.34× the forest share | 75% of land#10 of 192 · 2024 | 32% of land#98 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSwitzerland: 23.4× the CO₂ per person | 0.16 t a year#172 of 185 · 2024 | 3.75 t a year#68 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyGuinea-Bissau: 59.7 points higher | 87.4%#8 of 190 · 2022 | 27.7%#86 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySwitzerland: 56.3 points higher | 43.7%#179 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Guinea-Bissau: 3.89× the air pollution | 32.3 µg/m³#41 of 191 · 2023 | 8.3 µg/m³#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landGuinea-Bissau: 13.7 points higher | 26.2% of land#51 of 191 · 2025 | 12.5% of land#135 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landGuinea-Bissau: 6.0 points higher | 16.1% of land#68 of 190 · 2024 | 10.1% of land#101 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSwitzerland: 4.33× the water stress | 1.5%#154 of 176 · 2022 | 6.5%#108 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationAbout the same rain and snow | 1,577 mm#53 of 180 · 2022 | 1,537 mm#55 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySwitzerland: 1.65 higher | −0.53#143 of 193 · 2025 | +1.12#28 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSwitzerland: 3.38 higher | −1.40#179 of 193 · 2025 | +1.98#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateGuinea-Bissau: 1.83× the homicide rate | 1.1 per 100,000#99 of 146 · 2017 | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | Parliamentary republicfederal republic (formally a confederation) |
| Member of | — | Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Bissau | Bern |
| Currency | West African CFA franc (XOF) | Swiss franc (CHF) |
| Official languages | Portuguese | German, French, Italian, Romansh |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +245 | +41 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | Western Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Guinea-Bissau sits at about 12° N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; Switzerland at 47° N is stretched to 2.13×. That difference is why Switzerland looks so much bigger than it is next to Guinea-Bissau. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Guinea-Bissau bigger than Switzerland?
- No. Guinea-Bissau is 13% smaller than Switzerland. Guinea-Bissau covers 36,125 km² and Switzerland covers 41,291 km².
- How many times does Guinea-Bissau fit into Switzerland?
- About 1.1 times: Switzerland has 1.14× the area of Guinea-Bissau.
- Why do Guinea-Bissau and Switzerland look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Guinea-Bissau is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and Switzerland about 2.13×. That is why Switzerland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Guinea-Bissau. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Guinea-Bissau or Switzerland?
- Switzerland: 9,092,436 people against 2,249,515. Density: Guinea-Bissau 62 per km², Switzerland 220 per km².
- Which is richer, Guinea-Bissau or Switzerland?
- By gross national income per person, Switzerland: $110,330 against $1,090 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 101× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Guinea-Bissau or Switzerland?
- In Switzerland: life expectancy at birth is 84.4 years, against 64.3 — 20.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Guinea-Bissau and Switzerland have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Guinea-Bissau: semi-presidential republic; Switzerland: parliamentary republic.