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Guinea Country Guide
Explore Guinea in Africa
The landscape offers generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior. The average density of population is approximately 42 per km². The notable climate conditions in Guinea can be described as generally hot and humid with monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds and dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds. Potential threats by nature are hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season.
To reach someone in Guinea dial +224 prior to a number. There are 22,000 installed telephones. And there are 5,607,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".gn". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.
About the flag and history of Guinea
Three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; red represents the people's sacrifice for liberation and work; yellow stands for the sun, for the riches of the earth, and for justice; green symbolizes the country's vegetation and unity note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the reverse of those on the flags of neighboring Mali and Senegal.
Guinea has had a history of authoritarian rule since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003, though all the polls were marred by irregularities. History repeated itself in December 2008 when following President CONTE's death, Capt. Moussa Dadis CAMARA led a military coup, seizing power and suspending the constitution. His unwillingness to yield to domestic and international pressure to step down led to heightened political tensions that culminated in September 2009 when presidential guards opened fire on an opposition rally killing more than 150 people, and in early December 2009 when CAMARA was wounded in an assassination attempt and evacuated to Morocco and subsequently to Burkina Faso. A transitional government led by Gen. Sekouba KONATE held democratic elections in 2010 and Alpha CONDE was elected president in the country''s first free and fair elections since independence. CONDE in July 2011 survived an attack on his residence allegedly perpetrated by the military. In October 2012, he announced a cabinet reshuffle that removed three members of the military from their positions, making the current administration Guinea''s first all-civilian government.
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: Africa Neighbours: Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali Capital: Conakry |
| Size | 245,857 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 94,925 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly smaller than Oregon |
| Population | 10,211,000 |
| Currency | Name Franc, Currency Code:GNF |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .gn |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +224 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 5,607,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 22,000 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 245,857 (sq km) | 79 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 11,176,026 | 75 |
| Population growth rate | 2.64 (%) | 23 |
| Birth rate | 36.30 (births/1,000 population) | 20 |
| Death rate | 9.94 (deaths/1,000 population) | 53 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 610.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 12 |
| Infant mortality rate | 57.11 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 33 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 59.11 (years) | 195 |
| Total fertility rate | 4.99 (children born/woman) | 19 |
| Health expenditures | 4.90 (% of GDP) | 145 |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 1.30 (%) | 38 |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 79,000 | 45 |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 4,700 | 39 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 4.40 (%) | 165 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 20.80 (%) | 29 |
| Education expenditures | 3.10 (% of GDP) | 140 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 12,370,000,000 | 148 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.90 (%) | 85 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 1,100 | 215 |
| Labor force | 4,778,000 | 82 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 39.40 | 64 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 20.10 (% of GDP) | 93 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 21.90 (% of GDP) | 148 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -6.70 (% of GDP) | 186 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15.00 (%) | 212 |
| Central bank discount rate | 22.25 (%) | 6 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 28.00 (%) | 8 |
| Stock of narrow money | 1,657,000,000 | 133 |
| Stock of broad money | 1,915,000,000 | 152 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 1,515,000,000 | 144 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.00 (%) | 89 |
| Current account balance | -1,754,000,000 | 133 |
| Exports | 1,785,000,000 | 145 |
| Imports | 2,708,000,000 | 152 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 535,500,000 | 147 |
| Debt - external | 2,652,000,000 | 137 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 955,000,000 (kWh) | 148 |
| Electricity - consumption | 888,200,000 (kWh) | 153 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 393,000 (kW) | 144 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 68.70 (% of total installed capacity) | 111 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 31.30 (% of total installed capacity) | 72 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 8,671 (bbl/day) | 157 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 8,970 (bbl/day) | 134 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 1,392,000 (Mt) | 158 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 18,000 | 194 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,500,000 | 111 |
| Internet hosts | 15 | 224 |
| Internet users | 95,000 | 161 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 16 | 144 |
| Railways | 1,185 (km) | 87 |
| Roadways | 44,348 (km) | 82 |
| Waterways | 1,300 (km) | 56 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 3.40 (% of GDP) | 35 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases