Guinea

Location

• Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
• the Niger and its important tributary, the Milo River, have their sources in the Guinean highlands

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Conakry	1,928,389	Capital
Camayenne	1,871,242
Nzérékoré	226,426
Kankan	221,428
Manéah	194,297
Dubréka	182,296
Kindia	161,024
Siguiri	148,018
Kissidougou	116,019
Kamsar	113,350

Size

• 94,925 square miles
• 245,857 square kilometers
• slightly smaller than Oregon; slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania

History

Guinea's deep Muslim heritage arrived via the neighboring Almoravid Empire in the 11th century. Following Almoravid decline, Guinea existed on the fringe of several African kingdoms, all competing for regional dominance. In the 13th century, the Mali Empire took control of Guinea and encouraged its already growing Muslim faith. After the fall of the West African empires, various smaller kingdoms controlled Guinea. In the 18th century, Fulani Muslims established an Islamic state in central Guinea that provided one of the earliest examples of a written constitution and alternating leadership. European traders first arrived in the 16th century, and the French secured colonial rule in the 19th century. In 1958, Guinea achieved independence from France. Sekou TOURE became Guinea’s first post-independence president; he established a dictatorial regime and ruled until his death in 1984, after which General Lansana CONTE staged a coup and seized the government. He too established an authoritarian regime and manipulated presidential elections until his death in 2008, when Captain Moussa Dadis CAMARA led a military coup, seized power, and suspended the constitution. In 2009, CAMARA was wounded in an assassination attempt and was exiled to Burkina Faso. In 2010 and 2013 respectively, the country held its first free and fair presidential and legislative elections. Alpha CONDE won the 2010 and 2015 presidential elections, and his first cabinet was the first all-civilian government in Guinean history. CONDE won a third term in 2020 after a constitutional change to term limits. In 2021, Col Mamady DOUMBOUYA led another successful military coup, establishing the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD), suspending the constitution, and dissolving the government and the legislature. DOUMBOUYA was sworn in as transition president and appointed Mohamed BEAVOGUI as transition prime minister. The National Transition Council (CNT), which acts as the legislative body for the transition, was formed in 2022 and consists of appointed members representing a broad swath of Guinean society.

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

Languages

French (official), Pular, Maninka, Susu, other native languagesnote: about 40 languages are spoken; each ethnic group has its own language

Religions

Muslim 85.2%, Christian 13.4%, animist 0.2%, none 1.2% (2018 est.)

Government

presidential republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1958, 1990; 2010 and a referendum in 2020, which was suspended on 5 September 2021 via a coup d'état; on 27 September, the Transitional Charter was released, which supersedes the constitution until a new constitution is promulgated
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: civil law system based on the French model
• Executive Branch: chief of state: Interim President Col. Mamady DOUMBOUYA (since 1 October 2021)head of government: Prime Minister Amadou Oury BAH (since 27 February 2024)cabinet: formerly the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidentelection/appointment process: formerly, the president was directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term), and the prime minister was appointed by the presidentmost recent election date: 18 October 2020election results: 2020: Alpha CONDE reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Alpha CONDE (RPG) 59.5%, Cellou Dalein DIALLO (UFDG) 33.5%, other 7%2015: Alpha CONDE reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Alpha CONDE (RPG) 57.8%, Cellou Dalein DIALLO (UFDG) 31.4%, other 10.8%note 1: in 2021, the military arrested and detained the president, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the government and legislaturenote 2: the transitional government has not announced a new election timetable
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Suprême (organized into Administrative Chamber and Civil, Penal, and Social Chamber; court consists of the first president, 2 chamber presidents, 10 councilors, the solicitor general, and NA deputies); Constitutional Court - suspended on 5 September 2021judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court first president appointed by the national president after consultation with the National Assembly; other members appointed by presidential decree; members serve 9-year terms until age 65subordinate courts: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; High Court of Justice or Cour d'Assises; Court of Account (Court of Auditors); Courts of First Instance (Tribunal de Première Instance); labor court; military tribunal; justices of the peace; specialized courts
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Transitional National Council (Conseil national de transition)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 81 (all appointed)electoral system: mixed systemscope of elections: full renewalmost recent election date: 1/22/2022percentage of women in chamber: 29.6%expected date of next election: December 2025note: on 5 September 2021, Col. Mamady DOUMBOUYA led a military coup in which President CONDE was arrested and detained, the constitution suspended, and the government and People's National Assembly dissolved; in January 2022, an 81-member Transitional National Council was installed; in February 2024, Guinea's military leaders dissolved the government

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• growing but primarily agrarian West African economy; major mining sector; improving fiscal and debt balances prior to COVID-19; economy increasingly vulnerable to climate change; slow infrastructure improvements; gender wealth and human capital gaps
• Budget: revenues: $1.949 billion (2019 est.)expenditures: $2.014 billion (2019 est.)
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt
• Industries: bauxite, gold, diamonds, iron ore; light manufacturing, agricultural processing
• Agricultural Products: rice, cassava, maize, groundnuts, oil palm fruit, plantains, potatoes, fonio, yams, sweet potatoes (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 70% (2022 est.)arable land: 20.7% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 5.8% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 43.5% (2022 est.)forest: 24.9% (2022 est.)other: 5.2% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, rice, garments, construction vehicles, cars (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 39%, India 9%, Netherlands 7%, Belgium 6%, UAE 4% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: gold, aluminum ore, cocoa beans, crude petroleum, coconuts/brazil nuts/cashews (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: UAE 50%, China 36%, India 8%, Switzerland 1%, Spain 1% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports