Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Guinea-Bissau?
In 2026, Guinea-Bissau scores 21 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is 196th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 180th to 198th allowing for scoring error, in the Poor band (0 to 24). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. No right is above the typical country. The closest is your say over research use (43 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). The furthest behind is protection from sale and ads (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Guinea-Bissau has no data protection law and keeps clinical records on paper, so patients have almost no legal or practical hold on their health data.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Poor band, 0 to 24
21/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 180th to 198th, allowing for scoring error
Low confidence. Thin evidence on 4 of the 8 rights: your copy, privacy, doctors see it and research. The evidence grade rates all our sources together; confidence looks at each right. Neither changes the score.
Questions people ask
Can I see my health record in Guinea-Bissau?
In 2026, getting your full record scores 20 out of 100 in Guinea-Bissau; the typical country scores 40 to 45. No law gives patients a right to see or copy their medical record, and Guinea-Bissau has no data protection law. Clinical records in every health centre and hospital are kept on paper, so there is nothing to view online. Source: Constitute Project, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Guinea-Bissau?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Guinea-Bissau. Control over who sees it scores 20 out of 100 in Guinea-Bissau; the typical country scores 30. There is no data law, so patients have no legal consent, objection or access-log rights over health data. Records sit on paper in each facility, and providers and programmes decide how data moves. Source: statewatch.org, February 16, 2010, and the other sources below.
How does Guinea-Bissau compare?
In 2026, Guinea-Bissau scores 21 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Eritrea (22 out of 100), Sudan (22 out of 100) and Libya (23 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Eritrea, Sudan, Libya and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
20
18 · 22 · 20
Control over who sees it20%
20
22 · 22 · 22
Privacy and security15%
22
25 · 20 · 25
One record across your care15%
20
20 · 18 · 18
Protection from sale and ads10%
20
25 · 20 · 25
Doctors see it when treating you10%
15
15 · 15 · 17
Your say over research use5%
43
43 · 46 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
15
18 · 25 · 25
Black dot: Guinea-Bissau. Hollow dots: Eritrea, Sudan, Libya (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Guinea-Bissau 21 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Guinea-Bissau need to change to score higher?
Guinea-Bissau sits in Poor (0 to 24); Weak starts at 25. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (20 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and privacy and security (22 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Privacy and security: A health data regulator that is independent and actually acts: it decides cases about health records, breaches must be reported, and fines are applied.
Which laws give health record rights in Guinea-Bissau?
Constitution of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (1984, revised 1996), Article 44: Protects intimate privacy and family life; no specific right over health records.
Penal Code, Decree-Law 4/93, Articles 142 and 143 (1993): Revealing a professional secret: up to one year or a fine, on complaint. Bans publicising private life.
ECOWAS Supplementary Act A/SA.1/01/10 on Personal Data Protection (2010): Health data is sensitive; states must adopt a law and a regulator. Not yet done nationally.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
2.5 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
9.3 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
61.6% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Guinea-Bissau scored 21 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, 196th of 198 countries and territories (could be 180th to 198th), in the Poor band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/guinea-bissau/
The 17 sources for Guinea-Bissau
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Constitution of Guinea-Bissau 1984 (rev. 1996), English text”
Constitute Project (law or regulation) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Decreto n.º 10/2025, approving the Estratégia Nacional para a Transformação Digital (ENTD.GW) 2025-2030, Boletim Oficial n.º 12, 4.º Suplemento” [Decree No. 10/2025, approving the National Strategy for Digital Transformation (ENTD.GW) 2025-2030, Official Bulletin No. 12, 4th Supplement] our machine translation
FAOLEX (law or regulation) · Title in Portuguese
Dated March 28, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Protection from sale and ads; Rules for AI in your care
“Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento Sanitário III (PNDS III) 2023-2028” [National Health Development Plan III (PNDS III) 2023-2028] our machine translation
MINSAP (government guidance) · Title in Portuguese
Dated June 2023 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you; Rules for AI in your care
“Guia Sanitário do Setor Autónomo de Bissau, with the Decálogo dos Direitos e Deveres dos Utentes” [Health Guide of the Autonomous Sector of Bissau, with the Decalogue of the Rights and Duties of Users] our machine translation
Gabinete do Utente and Liga Guineense dos Direitos Humanos [User Office and Guinea-Bissau League for Human Rights] (other) · Title in Portuguese
Dated November 2017 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it
“Guiné-Bissau anuncia início do Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação para Junho” [Guinea-Bissau announces start of the General Population and Housing Census for June] our machine translation
Forbes África Lusófona (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated May 8, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Guiné-Bissau: CNT aprova lei contra 'fake news' em ambiente de restrição política” [Guinea-Bissau: CNT approves law against 'fake news' amid political restriction] our machine translation
e-Global (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated May 22, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Inaugurado Centro de Telemedicina e Saúde no Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes” [Telemedicine and Health Centre inaugurated at the Simão Mendes National Hospital] our machine translation
ANG (news) · Title in Portuguese
Dated August 13, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Missão da OMS de apoio técnico aos programas de Saúde Digital do Ministério da Saúde Pública” [WHO technical support mission to the Digital Health programmes of the Ministry of Public Health] our machine translation
WHO AFRO (international body) · Title in Portuguese
Dated March 31, 2022 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/guinea-bissau/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
