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Lying on Africa's west coast, impoverished Guinea-Bissau is a former Portuguese territory. Apart from savanna highlands in the northeast, the country is low-lying. The PAIGC initiated a process of transition to multiparty democracy in 1990, and elections were held in 1994. Since then, the democratic process has been interrupted by a series of army rebellions and military coups, the latest in 2003. Guinea-Bissau remains one of the world's poorest countries.