Map of Guinea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: Independent from France since 1958 Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Lansana CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president in disputed balloting. Security clampdowns continue although not as severe as in earlier decades. Reelected in 1998 the president faced growing criticism in 1999 for his jailing of a major opposition leader and widespread economic malaise. Unrest in Sierra Leone also continued to threaten Guinea's stability.


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Location: Western Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N 10 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime claims

Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain: generally flat coastal plain hilly to mountainous interior

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite iron ore diamonds gold uranium hydropower fish

Land use

Irrigated land: 930 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hot dry dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

Geography


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Population: 7,466,200 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 1.95% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Peuhl 40% Malinke 30% Soussou 20% smaller ethnic groups 10%

Languages: French (official) each ethnic group has its own language

Religions: Muslim 85% Christian 8% indigenous beliefs 7%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.95% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 40.08 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 17.86 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.68 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing overpopulation in forest region

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 130.98 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 5.46 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: republic

Capital: Conakry

Administrative divisions: 4 administrative regions (regions administrative singular - region administrative) and 1 special zone (zone speciale)*; Conakry* Guinee Guinee-Forestiere Haute-Guinee Moyen-Guinee

Dependent areas

Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic 3 April (1984)

Constitution: 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Legal system: based on French civil law system customary law and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Guinea or PDG-AST [Marcel CROS]; Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP [Siradiou DIALLO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE secretary-general]; Union for the New Republic or UNR [Mamadou Boye BA]

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB CCC ECA ECOWAS FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO (correspondent) ITU MINURSO NAM OAU OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side) yellow and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Guinea possesses major mineral hydropower and agricultural resources yet remains a poor underdeveloped nation. The agricultural sector employs 80% of the work force. Guinea possesses over 25% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1998. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements literacy and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. The government made encouraging progress in budget management in 1997-99. Even with a recovery in prices for some of Guinea's main commodity exports annual GDP is unlikely to increase by more than 5% in 2000-2000.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.7% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: rice coffee pineapples palm kernels cassava (tapioca) bananas sweet potatoes; cattle sheep goats; timber

Industries: bauxite gold diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (1994)

Labor force: 2.4 million (1983)
By occupation agriculture: 80%
By occupation industry and services: 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $NA
Expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices: 4.5% (1999 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $820 million (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: bauxite alumina gold diamonds coffee fish agricultural products
Partners: US Benelux Ukraine Ireland (1999)

Imports: $634 million (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products metals machinery transport equipment textiles grain and other foodstuffs
Partners: France Belgium US Cote d'Ivoire (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $3.6 billion (1999 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Guinean francs per US dollar - 1855.0 (October 2000) 1572.0 (2000) 1387.4 (1999) 1236.8 (1998) 1095.3 (1997) 1004.0 (1996)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 750 million kWh (1999)
By source fossil fuel: 46.67%
By source hydro: 53.33%
By source nuclear: 0%
By source other: 0% (1999)

Electricity consumption: 697.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular: 2,868 (1997)

Telephone system
General assessment: poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay system
Domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication
International: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet country code: .gn

Internet users: 5,000 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $56 million (FY96)
Percent of gdp: 1.4% (FY96)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 15 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 5
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 10
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 5
Over 3047 m: 1
2438 to 3047 m: 1
15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 10
15-24 to 2437 m: 6
914 to 1523 m: 3
Under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 1,086 km
Standard gauge: 279 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry)

Roadways

Waterways: 1295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft)

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs