Transport in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau has about 2,746 kilometres of roads, including approximately 770 kilometres of paved roads and 1,976 kilometres of unpaved roads. More than 75% of national and regional roads are in poor condition. Cars and shared road transport provide most mainland mobility; a four-wheel-drive vehicle is often useful on unpaved rural roads, especially during the rainy season. From June to October, damaged roads and bridges can make walking the only practical way to reach markets, schools or health facilities in some rural areas. Bissau has a mixed formal and informal public transport system. A toca-toca is a minibus or other shared paratransit vehicle, while a taxi colectivo is a shared taxi. A candonga provides shared interregional transport. These services commonly have high occupancy, concentrated coverage and no nationwide timetable or unified booking system. Safety, accessibility and reliability vary. Current fares are not centrally published. A 2018 guide gave an indicative toca-toca fare of 150 XOF per trip and a city taxi fare of about 250 to 1,000 XOF; confirm the current price locally before travelling. Road travel between regions follows the main mainland corridors, including the 115-kilometre Safim-Mpack corridor toward Senegal. Connections with Guinea and Senegal remain weak or poor in places, and journey times can change substantially with weather and surface conditions. The ports of Bissau, Buba and Cacheu support maritime and river transport. Bijagós islands and other riverine settlements depend on boats, including ferry and fast-boat services between Bissau, Enxudé, Bubaque and other Bijagós destinations. Private providers sell tickets at offices or port counters, not through a reliable online reservation system. Tickets can generally be bought up to 60 days before departure, counters usually open two days before departure, and cards are not accepted; fares should be checked directly with the provider. Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau is the country's main air gateway. AACGB is responsible for civil aviation, APGB for port administration and IMP for maritime affairs. The Ministério dos Transportes e Comunicações provides national transport responsibility. An airport modernisation programme was scheduled for January 2024 to June 2026, but its completion has not been independently evidenced. There is no active national passenger or freight railway evidenced for Guinea-Bissau, so rail should not be assumed when planning domestic travel. No formal nationwide cycling network, public cycling policy or reliable cycling share data has been evidenced. Road use is governed by the Código da Estrada under Decreto-Lei 23/2016. The national maximum speed is 50 km/h in urban areas, 80 km/h on rural roads and 100 km/h on motorways. The blood-alcohol limit is 0.05 g/dL, and using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is prohibited. Motorcycle helmets are required for drivers and passengers on all roads. A motorcycle passenger must be at least six years old. Seat-belt rules do not cover every seating position, while child-restraint requirements use a threshold of 12 years or 135 centimetres. Third-party liability insurance is legally required for road use. WHO reported no validated periodic vehicle-inspection law in 2023, so vehicle condition deserves particular attention when choosing a car or shared service. The Polícia da Ordem Pública is among the bodies involved in public-order enforcement, but enforcement coverage and transport data remain incomplete. Road safety is a serious concern. WHO estimated 629 road deaths in 2021, equal to about 30.5 deaths per 100,000 people, while the reported number was 100; the difference shows the limits of available national data. A national road safety agency has been identified, but a 2023 assessment did not find a fully functional authority or a funded national road-safety strategy. A World Bank project indicator set a May 2028 target for authority functionality. Flooding, coastal erosion, extreme heat, drought and irregular rainfall damage roads, isolate communities and increase vehicle costs. Transport disruption also affects cashew and rice supply chains, with road and surface-transport shortcomings estimated to cause about USD 22 million in annual losses. Planned responses include climate-resilient road standards, maintenance and nature-based measures, while no national strategy promoting powered-vehicle alternatives has been evidenced.