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.

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 10 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 245,860 km²
Land: 245,860 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries
Total: 3,399 km
Border countries: (6) Guinea-Bissau 386 km; , Cote d'Ivoire 610 km; , Liberia 563 km; , Mali 858 km; , Senegal 330 km; , Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

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
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish

Land use
Arable land: 2%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 22%
Forests and woodland: 59%
Other: 17% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 930 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 7,405,375 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 1.1% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Guinean(s)
Adjective: Guinean

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

Languages: French (official), each tribe has its own language

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,625,046; female 1,632,953)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,928,853; female 2,019,180)
65 years and over: 3% (male 83,165; female 116,178) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.1% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 41.95 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 18.23 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -12.69 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)
Note: in prior years Guinea received several hundred thousand refugees from the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, some of whom are now returning to their own countries

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 131.5 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 45.54 years
Male: 43.15 years
Female: 47.99 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.66 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 35.9%
Male: 49.9%
Female: 21.9% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
Conventional short form: Guinea
Local long form: Republique de Guinee
Local short form: Guinee
Former: French Guinea

Government type: republic

Capital: Conakry

Administrative divisions: 33 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture) and 1 national capital* (capitale d'etat); Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou
Note: the 33 prefectures may have been subsumed by four new first-order administrative divisions called administrative regions (regions administrative, singular - region administrative) named Guinee-Forestiere, Guinee-Maritime, Haute-Guinee, and Moyenne-Guinee

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Lansana CONTE (head of military government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993);
Head of government: Prime Minister Sidia TOURE (since July 1996)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president; election last held 19 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998); the prime minister was appointed by President CONTE
Election results: Lansana CONTE' elected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE' (PUP) 51.7%, Alpha CONDE' (RPG) 19.55%, Mamadou Boye BA' (UNR) 13.37%, Siradiou DIALLO (PRP) 11.86%; note - the country's first-ever multi-party elections for president

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)
Elections: last held 11 June 1995 (next to be held NA 2000)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 71, RPG 19, PRP 9, UNR 9, UPG 2, PDG 1, UNP 1, PDG/RDA 1, other 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

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, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Aly THIAM
In the us chancery: 2,112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-9,420
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 483-8,688
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Tibor P. NAGY, Jr. (5 July 1996)
From the us embassy: Rue KA 038, Conakry
From the us mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry
From the us telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23
From the us FAX: [224] 41 15 22

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

Economy overview: Although possessing major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, Guinea remains one of the poorest countries in the world. 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 1995. Long run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. Except in the mining industry, foreign investment remains minimal.

Real gdp growth rate: 6% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $950 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 24%
Industry: 31%
Services: 45% (1995 est.)

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
Total: 2.4 million (1983)
By occupation agriculture: 80.0%
By occupation industry and commerce: 11.0%
By occupation services: 5.4%
By occupation civilservice: 3.6%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $519 million
Expenditures: $947 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1995 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $725 million (1995 est.)
Commodities: bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold, coffee, fish, agricultural products
Partners: Belgium-Luxembourg 27%, US 15%, Ireland 10%, Spain 10% (1994)

Imports
Total value: $775 million (1995 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs
Partners: France 20%, Cote d'Ivoire 16%, US 7%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7%, Hong Kong 6%, Germany 4% (1994)

Debt external: $3 billion (1996 est.)

Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 1,004.0 (January 1997), 1,006.8 (November 1996), 991.4 (1995), 976.6 (1994), 955.5 (1993), 902.0 (1992)
Note: the official exchange rate of the Guinean franc was set and quoted weekly against the US dollar until end-October 1993; since 1 November 1994, the exchange rate is determined in the interbank market for foreign exchange

Electricity
Capacity: 113,000 kW (1995)
Production: 300 million kWh (1995)
Consumption per capita: 40 kWh (1991 est.)

Telephones: 18,000 (1994 est.)

Telephone system: 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)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $50 million (1994)
Percent of gdp: 1.6% (1994)

Airports: 14 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 6
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4 (1996 est.)

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)

Waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft

Merchant marine: none

Disputes international: none