GUINEA
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
GUINEA
@Guinea:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
Map references: Africa
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GUINEA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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CONAKRY 705,000 9.31N, 13.43W 224-4 GMT
Kankan 89,000 10.23N, 9.18W 224- GMT
Labe 65,000 11.19N, 12.17W 224-51 GMT
Nzerekore 23,000 7.45N, 8.49W 224- GMT
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Area:
total area: 245,860 sq km
land area: 245,860 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total 3,399 km, 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
International disputes: none
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
Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium,
hydropower, fish
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 12%
forest and woodland: 42%
other: 40%
Irrigated land: 240 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water;
desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing
natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility
during dry season
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Desertification
@Guinea:People
Population: 6,549,336 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (female 1,450,501; male 1,448,164)
15-64 years: 53% (female 1,784,420; male 1,691,502)
65 years and over: 3% (female 102,735; male 72,014) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.43% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.43 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 19.13 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: Guinea has received about 400,000 refugees from the civil wars
in Liberia and Sierra Leone; the continued fighting in Sierra Leone
will likely drive more refugees into Guinea in 1995; on the other
hand, peace may be achieved in Liberia and permit Liberian refugees to
return home
Infant mortality rate: 136.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 44.6 years
male: 42.31 years
female: 46.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.79 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean
Ethnic divisions: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller tribes
10%
Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
Languages: French (official); each tribe has its own language
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 24%
male: 35%
female: 13%
Labor force: 2.4 million (1983)
by occupation: agriculture 80.0%, industry and commerce 11.0%,
services 5.4%, civil servants 3.6%
@Guinea:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
conventional short form: Guinea
local long form: Republique de Guinee
local short form: Guinee
former: French Guinea
Digraph: GV
Type: republic
Capital: Conakry
Administrative divisions: 33 administrative regions (regions
administratives, singular - region administrative); Beyla, Boffa,
Boke, Conakry, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, 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
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 and head of government: President Lansana CONTE,
elected in the first multi-party election 19 December 1993; prior to
the election he had ruled as head of military government since 5 April
1984
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire): the
People's National Assembly was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup;
framework established in December 1991 for a new National Assembly
with 114 seats; legislative elections, tentatively scheduled for 1994,
were not held and are now rescheduled for 11 June 1995
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)
Political parties and leaders: political parties were legalized on 1
April 1992
pro-government: Party for Unity and Progress (PUP)
other: Rally for the Guinean People (RPG), Alpha CONDE; Union for a
New Republic (UNR), Mamadou BAH; Party for Renewal and Progress (PRP),
Siradiou DIALLO; Movement of Patriotic Democrats (MDP), Ahmed Tidiane
CISSE
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO (observer), ECA, ECOWAS, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, 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, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Elhadj Boubacar BARRY
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420
FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. SALOOM III
embassy: 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue, Conakry
mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry
telephone: [224] 44 15 20 through 44 15 23
FAX: [224] 44 15 22
Flag: 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 and hydropower resources
and considerable potential for agricultural development, Guinea
remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The agricultural
sector contributes about 40% to GDP and employs 80% of the work force,
while industry accounts for 27% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of
the world's bauxite reserves. The mining sector accounted for 85% of
exports in 1991. Long-run improvements in literacy, financial
institutions, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to
move out of poverty. Except in the bauxite industry, foreign
investment remains minimal.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.3 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $980 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.6% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $449 million
expenditures: $708 million, including capital expenditures of $361
million (1990 est.)
Exports: $622 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities: bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold, coffee, pineapples,
bananas, palm kernels
partners: US 23%, Belgium 12%, Ireland 12%, Spain 12%
Imports: $768 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport
equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, and other grain
partners: France 26%, Cote d'Ivoire 12%, Hong Kong 6%, Germany 6%
External debt: 2.5 billion (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 27% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 180,000 kW
production: 520 million kWh
consumption per capita: 77 kWh (1993)
Industries: mining - bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light
manufacturing and agricultural processing industries
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (includes fishing and forestry);
mostly subsistence farming; principal products - rice, coffee,
pineapples, palm kernels, cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, timber;
livestock - cattle, sheep and goats; not self-sufficient in food
grains
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $227 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $1.465 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $446 million
Currency: 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 810.94 (1 July 1993),
922.9 (30 September 1992), 675 (1990), 618 (1989), 515 (1988), 440
(1987), 383 (1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Guinea:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 1,048 km
standard gauge: 241 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways:
total: 30,100 km
paved: 1,145 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 12,955 km (of which barely 4,500 are
currently all-weather roads); unimproved earth 16,000 km (1987)
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports: Boke, Conakry, Kamsar
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 15
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 7
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Guinea:Communications
Telephone system: 15,000 telephones; poor to fair system of open-wire
lines, small radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system
local: NA
intercity: microwave radio relay and radio communication stations
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios: 200,000
Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: 65,000
@Guinea:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force,
Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National
Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,478,653; males fit for
military service 745,990 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $50 million, 1.6% of
GDP (1994)
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