Guinea, State of West Africa; 246,000 km2, 12.4 million residents (2019).Guinea borders in the northwest to Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, in the northeast to Mali, in the southeast to the Ivory Coast and in the south to Liberia and Sierra Leone and to the west coast to the Atlantic. The capital is Conakry (1.7 million residents, 2014).
Country facts
- Republic of Guinea / Republic of Guinea
- Country abbreviation: GN
- Area: 246 000 km2
- Population (2019): 12.4 million residents
- Capital: Conakry
- Main languages: French, Fulani
- State: Republic
- Head of State: Alpha Condé
- Head of Government: Mamady Youla
- Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 885
- GNI per capita (2018): US $ 830
- Currency: 1 franc guinea = 100 centimes
- Currency code: GNF
- Country number (telephony): 224
- Internet Domain Name: Avg
- Time difference compared to Sweden: −1
- National Day: October 2 (Independence Day, 1958)
Nature
- Land use: forest (25%), agricultural land (6%), other (69%)
- Highest mountain: Nimba (1,752 m above sea level)
Population
- Population density (2019): 50 residents per km2
- Natural population growth (2019): 2.9%; birthrate 39 ‰, deathrate 10 ‰
- Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (45%), 15-64 (51%), 65- (4%)
- Life expectancy (2019): men 58 years, women 60 years
- Infant mortality (2019): 66 per 1,000 live births
- Population forecast 2050: 28 million residents
- HDI (2017): 0.459 (place 175 of 189)
- Urbanization rate (2019): 35%
- Most populous city (2014): Conakry (1.7 million residents)
Business
- Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (20%), industry (32%), service (48%)
- Exports (2017): US $ 3,500 million
- Main export products: bauxite, aluminum, gold
- Main exporting countries: China, Ghana, United Arab Republic
- Imports (2017): US $ 4,800 million
- Main import products: oil, metals, machinery
- Main import countries: Netherlands, China, India
- Railway network (2017): 1 100 km
Guinea’s Atlantic coast is occupied by tropical rainforests, sandy fields and cultivated areas. To the east rises the savannah-clad Fouta Djallon plateau. In this area are the source flows to the Niger, Senegal and Gambia rivers. To the east of the plateau is spreading a scenic landscape that turns south-east into the highland area and the Nimba Mountains.
The executive power belongs to the president, whose term of office is five years. The legislative power comes to a single-chamber parliament, which is elected by universal suffrage every five years. In 2010, the country held its first democratic presidential election.
Despite large mineral deposits and high agricultural potential, economic development since independence in 1958 has been negative. The mining industry, which is dominated by bauxite production, is Guinea’s largest source of income; the country is the world’s second largest producer of bauxite, but a very small part of the production is processed within the country. Other sectors of the business sector are still poorly developed.
During the 2010 century, the country’s government entered into several agreements with international mining companies on mining rights, but the income from these agreements has to some extent benefited the population.