1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
246,050 km²; 3% cropland, 10% forest
Coastline
346 km
Land boundaries
3,476 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; economic zone 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
99% African (3 major tribes—Fulani, Malinke, Susu; and 15 smaller tribes)
Labor force
1.8 million, of whom less than 10% are wage earners; most of population engages in subsistence agriculture
Language
French official; each tribe has own language
Literacy
5% to 10%; French only significant written language
Nationality
noun—Guinean(s); adjective—Guinean
Organized labor
virtually 100% of wage labor force loosely affiliated with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers, which is closely tied to the PDG
Population
5,278,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.6%
Religion
75% Muslim, 25% animist, Christian, less than 1%
Government
Branches
executive branch dominant, with power concentrated in President's hands and a small group who are both ministers and members of the party's politburo; unicameral People's National Assembly (210 members) and judiciary have little independence
Capital
Conakry
Communists
no Communist party, although there are some sympathizers
Elections
approximate schedule—five years parliamentary, latest in 1980; seven years presidential, latest in 1975 Political parties and leaders: only party is Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), headed by Sekou Toure
Government leader
President Ahmed Sekou TOURE, who has been designated “The Supreme Leader of the Revolution”
Legal system
based on French civil law system, customary law, and presidential decree; constitution adopted 1958; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Independence Day, 2 October
Member of
AFDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Official name
People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea
Political subdivisions
35 administrative regions, 170 arrondissements, about 8,000 local entities at village level
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
republic; under one-party presidential regime
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops—coffee, bananas, palm products, peanuts, and pineapples; staple food crops—cassava, rice, millet, corn, sweet potatoes; livestock raised in some areas
Budget
(1979) public revenue $479.6 million, current expenditures $271.2 million, development expenditures $435.6 million
Electric power
75,000 kW capacity (1980); 500 million kWh produced (1980), 90 kWh per capita
Exports
$410 million (f.o.b., 1980); bauxite, alumina, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm kernels
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$1.5 billion (1980), $270 per capita
Imports
$380 million (f.o.b., 1980); petroleum products, metals, machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles
Major industries
bauxite mining, alumina, light manufacturing and processing industries
Major trade partners
Communist countries, Western Europe (including France), US
Monetary conversion rate
18.928 syli=US$1 floating (February 1981)
Communications
Airfields
18 total, 18 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
13 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,604 km total; 4,949 km paved, remainder unimproved earth
Inland waterways
1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports
1 major (Conakry), 2 minor
Railroads
805 km; 662 km meter gauge (1.000 m), 143 km standard gauge (1.435 m)
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,173,000; 590,000 fit for military service