Current Environmental Issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to environmental damage

Geography

(Source: CIA)

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Geographic Coordinates: 11 00 N, 10 00 W

Area:

total: 245,857 sq km
land: 245,857 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Land Boundaries:

total: 3,399 km
border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime Claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural Hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

Terrain

Generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior

Elevation Extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Climate

Generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Government

Government Type: Republic

Capital: Conakry

Independence Date: 2 October 1958 (from France)

Legal System: based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People and Society

Population: 10,211,437 (July 2008 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 44.3% (male 2,282,453/female 2,239,611)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 2,684,444/female 2,680,472)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 142,327/female 182,130) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.612% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate: 41.31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 15.19 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: -3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 49.8 years
male: 48.66 years
female: 50.97 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 5.71 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Languages: French (official); note - each ethnic group has its own language

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 29.5%
male: 42.6%
female: 18.1% (2003 est.)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 226 cu km (1987)

Freshwater Withdrawal:

total: 1.51 cu km/yr (8%/2%/90%)
per capita: 161 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

Irrigated Land: 950 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt

Land Use:

arable land: 4.47%
permanent crops: 2.64%
other: 92.89% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence of HIV/AIDs in Adults: 3.2% (2003 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in neighboring states have spilled over into Guinea, resulting in domestic instability; Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied since 1998

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 21,856 (Liberia); 5,259 (Sierra Leone); 3,900 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 19,000 (cross-border incursions from Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone) (2007)

Trafficking in Persons:

current situation: Guinea is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; the majority of victims are children, and internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking; within the country, girls are trafficked primarily for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, while boys are trafficked for forced agricultural labor, and as forced beggars, street vendors, shoe shiners, and laborers in gold and diamond mines; some Guinean men are also trafficked for agricultural labor within Guinea; transnationally, girls are trafficked into Guinea for domestic servitude and likely also for sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking over 2006; Guinea demonstrated minimal law enforcement efforts for a second year in a row, while protection efforts diminished over efforts in 2006; the government did not report any trafficking convictions in 2007; due to a lack of resources, the government does not provide shelter services for trafficking victims; the government took no measures to reduce the demand for commercial sexual exploitation (2008)

Economy

Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country has almost half of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second-largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounts for over 70% of exports. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. Investor confidence has been sapped by rampant corruption, a lack of electricity and other infrastructure, a lack of skilled workers, and the political uncertainty due to the failing health of President Lansana CONTE. Guinea is trying to reengage with the IMF and World Bank, which cut off most assistance in 2003, and is working closely with technical advisors from the U.S. Treasury Department, the World Bank and IMF, seeking to return to a fully funded program. Growth rose slightly in 2006-07, primarily due to increases in global demand and commodity prices on world markets, but the standard of living fell. The Guinea franc depreciated sharply as the prices for basic necessities like food and fuel rose beyond the reach of most Guineans. Dissatisfaction with economic conditions prompted nationwide strikes in February and June 2006.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $10.69 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $4.714 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 1.5% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,100 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 22%
industry: 40.5%
services: 37.6% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 47% (2006 est.)

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 41% (2006)

Industries: bauxite, gold, diamonds, iron; alumina refining; light manufacturing, and agricultural processing

Exports: bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products

Export Partners: [[Russia[[ 11%, Ukraine 9.6%, South Korea 8.8%, Spain 8.8%, US 7.5%, Germany 7.4%, France 7%, Ireland 5.4% (2006)

Imports: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs

Import Partners: China 9.5%, France 7%, Netherlands 6.3% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipients: $182.1 million (2005)

Currency: Guinean franc (GNF)

Communications

Telephones- main line in use: 26,300 (2005)

Telephones- mobile/cellular: 189,000 (2005)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 0, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2006)

Television Broadcast Stations: 6 (2001)

Internet Hosts: 173 (2007)

Internet Users: 50,000 (2006)

Transportation

Airports: 16 (2007)

Railways:

total: 837 km
standard gauge: 175 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 662 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 44,348 km
paved: 4,342 km
unpaved: 40,006 km (2003)

Ports and Terminals: Conakry, Kamsar