GUINEA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 245,860 km2; land area: 245,860 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: 3,399 km total; Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Ivory Coast
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
Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium,
hydropower, fish
Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 12%; forest and woodland 42%; other 40%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility
during dry season; deforestation
PEOPLE
Population: 7,455,850 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)
Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 21 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 144 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 41 years male, 45 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 6.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Guinean(s); adjective--Guinean
Ethnic divisions: Fulani 35%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, small
indigenous tribes 15%
Religion: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
Language: French (official); each tribe has its own language
Literacy: 24% (male 35%, female 13%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 2,400,000 (1983); agriculture 82.0%, industry and
commerce 11.0%, services 5.4%; 88,112 civil servants (1987); 52% of
population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: virtually 100% of wage earners loosely affiliated
with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers
Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France; formerly French Guinea)
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
National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April
(1984)
Executive branch: president, Transitional Committee for National
Recovery (Comite Transitionale de Redressement National or CTRN)
replaced the Military Committee for National Recovery (Comite
Militaire de Redressement National or CMRN); Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: People's National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale Populaire) was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. Lansana CONTE (since
5 April 1984)
Political parties and leaders: none; following the 3 April 1984
coup all political activity was banned
Suffrage: none
Elections: none
Communists: no Communist party, although there are some
sympathizers
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant); Chancery at
2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-9420;
US--Ambassador Dane F. SMITH, Jr.; Embassy at 2nd Boulevard and 9th
Avenue, Conakry (mailing address is B. P. 603, Conakry); telephone (224)
44-15-20 through 24
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 many natural resources and
considerable potential for agricultural development, Guinea is one of the
poorest countries in the world. The agricultural sector contributes about
40% to GDP and employs more than 80% of the work force, while industry
accounts for 27% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of theworld's
bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for
about 70% of total exports in 1989.
GDP: $2.7 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 4.4%
(1989 est.)
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: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $227
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $1,075 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $446 million
Currency: Guinean franc (plural--francs);
1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1--24.39 (1989),
19.23 (1988), 17.54 (1987), 14.29 (1986), NA (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge
Highways: 30,100 km total; 1,145 km paved, 12,955 km gravel or
laterite (of which barely 4,500 km are currently all-weather roads),
16,000 km unimproved earth (1987)
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports: Conakry, Kamsar
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 16 total, 16 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, small
radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 10,000
telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 12,000 TV sets; 125,000 radio
receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force,
Republican Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, Surete Nationale
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,695,832; 853,593 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $27 million, 1.2% of GDP (1988)
