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Travel to Guinea — Unbiased reviews and
great deals from TripAdvisorGuinea
| Republic of Guinea National
name: République de Guinée President: Moussa Camara (2008) Prime Minister: Kabiné Komara
(2008)
Current government officials
Total area: 94,927 sq mi (245,861 sq
km) Population (2008 est.): 10,211,437
(growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 41.3/1000; infant mortality rate:
87.1/1000; life expectancy: 49.8; density per sq km: 41
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Conakry, 1,767,200 Monetary unit: Guinean franc
Languages:
French (official), native tongues
(Malinké, Susu, Fulani)
Ethnicity/race:
Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Susu 20%, smaller tribes
10%
Religions:
Islam 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous 7%
National Holiday:
Independence Day, October 2 Literacy rate: 29.5% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$10.69 billion; per capita $1,100. Real growth rate: 1.5%.
Inflation: 22.9%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land:
4%. Agriculture: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels,
cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats;
timber. Labor force: 3.7 million (2006); agriculture 76%,
industry and services 24% (2006 est.). Industries: bauxite,
gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural
processing industries. Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore,
diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish. Exports: $998
million f.o.b. (2007 est.): bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee,
fish, agricultural products. Imports: $838 million f.o.b. (2007
est.): petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
textiles, grain and other foodstuffs. Major trading partners:
Russia, Spain, France, Belgium, South Korea, US, Germany, Ireland, UK,
Switzerland, Ukraine, China, Netherlands (2006). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 26,300 (2005); mobile cellular: 189,000 (2005). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2006). Television
broadcast stations: 6 low-power stations (2001). Internet
hosts: 173 (2007). Internet users: 50,000 (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 837 km
(2006). Highways: total: 44,348 km; paved: 4,342 km; unpaved:
40,006 km (2003). Waterways: 1,300 km (navigable by
shallow-draft native craft) (2005). Ports and harbors: Kamsar.
Airports: 16 (2007). International
disputes: conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs
in neighboring states has spilled over into Guinea, resulting in
domestic instability; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its
forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Guinea, in West Africa on the Atlantic, is also
bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia,
and Sierra Leone. Slightly smaller than Oregon, the country consists of a
coastal plain, a mountainous region, a savanna interior, and a forest area
in the Guinea Highlands. The highest peak is Mount Nimba at 5,748 ft
(1,752 m).
Government
Republic.
History
Beginning in 900, the Susu migrated from the
north and began settling in the area that is now Guinea. The Susu
civilization reached its height in the 13th century. Today the Susu make
up about 20% of Guinea's population. From the 16th to the 19th century,
the Fulani empire dominated the region. In 1849, the French claimed it as
a protectorate. First called Rivières du Sud, the protectorate was
rechristened French Guinea; finally, in 1895, it became part of French
West Africa.
Guinea achieved independence on Oct. 2, 1958,
and became an independent state with Sékou Touré as
president. Under Touré, the country was the first avowedly Marxist
state in Africa. Diplomatic relations with France were suspended in 1965,
with the Soviet Union replacing France as the country's chief source of
economic and technical assistance.
Prosperity came in 1960 after the start of
exploitation of bauxite deposits. Touré was reelected to a
seven-year term in 1974 and again in 1981. He died after 26 years as
president in March 1984. A week later, a military regime headed by Col.
Lansana Conté took power.
In 1989, President Conté announced that
Guinea would move to a multiparty democracy, and in 1991, voters approved
a new constitution. In Dec. 1993 elections, the president's Unity and
Progress Party took almost 51% of the vote. In 2001, a government
referendum was passed that eliminated presidential term limits, thus
allowing Conté to run for a third term in 2003. Despite the
trappings of multiparty rule, Conté has ruled the country with an
iron fist.
Guinea has had ongoing difficulties with its
neighbor Liberia, which was embroiled in a long civil war during the 1990s
and again in 2000–2003. Guinea had taken sides against rebel leader
Charles Taylor in Liberia's civil war and was part of the Nigerian-led
ECOMOG forces that intervened in the crisis. As a consequence, President
Conté's relations with Taylor remained sour after Taylor became
Liberia's president in 1997. The fighting in Liberia spilled over the
border into Guinea on several occasions. Sierra Leone's recent civil war
also caused problems for neighboring Guinea. Already burdened by an
inadequate infrastructure and a weak economy, an influx of nearly 300,000
refugees from Sierra Leone has overwhelmed the country.
In Dec. 2003 President Conté was
reelected to a third term. In April 2004, after two months on the job,
Prime Minister Lonseny Fall resigned and went into exile, claiming that
the president would not allow him to govern effectively. President
Conté is in poor health, and many fear a power struggle should he
die or be deposed. Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in
January and February 2007, demanding that Conté step down. In
addition, labor unions went on strike, paralyzing the country.
Conté, who has been criticized as being corrupt, responded by
declaring martial law. The strike ended in late February when President
Conté agreed to name diplomat Lansana Kouyaté as prime
minister. More than 100 people died in battles with security officials
during the strike.
Kouyaté was sacked in May 2008 and
replaced by Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, a member of President
Conté's Party of Unity and Progress. Conte died in December 2008
after 24 years in power. Junior army leaders launched a bloodless coup
shortly after his death. Many citizens, fed up with years of authoritarian
rule, backed the coup. Army captain Moussa Camara took over as "president
of the republic." The junta established a 32-member National Council for
Democracy and Development (CNDD) that replaced the government. The council
said its priorities would be to wipe out corruption and improve the
quality of life in Guinea.
See also Encyclopedia: Guinea.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Guinea
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
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