1992 Edition

Climate

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

Coastline

320 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Oregon

Disputes

none

Environment

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; deforestation

Exclusive economic zone

200 nm

Land area

245,860 km2

Land boundaries

3,399 km; Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Ivory Coast 610 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Land use

arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 12%; forest and woodland 42%; other 40%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Natural resources

bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish

Terrain

generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

245,860 km2

Birth rate

46 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

21 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Fulani 35%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, small indigenous tribes 15%

Infant mortality rate

143 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

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)

Languages

French (official); each tribe has its own language

Life expectancy at birth

41 years male, 45 years female (1992)

Literacy

24% (male 35%, female 13%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Guinean(s); adjective - Guinean

Net migration rate

-40 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

virtually 100% of wage earners loosely affiliated with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers

Population

7,783,926 (July 1992), growth rate - 1.5% (1992)

Religions

Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Total fertility rate

6.0 children born/woman (1992)

Administrative divisions

33 administrative regions (regions administratives, singular - region administrative); Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou

Capital

Conakry

Chief of State and Head of Government

Gen. Lansana CONTE (since 5 April 1984)

Constitution

23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Ansoumane CAMARA; 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

Elections

none

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)

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

Independence

2 October 1958 (from France; formerly French Guinea)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)

Legal system

based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire) was dissolved

established in December 1991 (will have 114 seats)

after the 3 April 1984 coup; note

framework for a new National Assembly

Long-form name

Republic of Guinea

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984)

Political parties and leaders

none; following the 3 April 1984 coup, all political activity was banned

Suffrage

none

Type

republic

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

Budget

revenues $449 million; expenditures $708 million, including capital expenditures of $361 million (1990 est.)

Currency

Guinean franc (plural - francs); 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $227 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1,465 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $446 million

Electricity

113,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 675 (1990), 618 (1989), 515 (1988), 440 (1987), 383 (1986)

Exports

$788 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: alumina, bauxite, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm kernels partners: US 33%, EC 33%, USSR and Eastern Europe 20%, Canada

External debt

$2.6 billion (1990 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $3.0 billion, per capita $410; real growth rate 4.3% (1990 est.)

Imports

$692 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.) commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, and other grain partners: US 16%, France, Brazil

Industrial production

growth rate NA%; accounts for 27% of GDP

Industries

bauxite mining, alumina, gold, diamond mining, light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

19.6% (1990 est.)

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 the world's bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for about 70% of total exports in 1989.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Airports

15 total, 15 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

10 major transport aircraft

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

Railroads

1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter standard gauge

Telecommunications

poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 AM 1 FM, 1 TV; 65,000 TV sets; 200,000 radio receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force, Republican Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $29 million, 1.2% of GDP (1988)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,759,811; 888,968 fit for military service (1989)