Guinea

Guinea (/ˈɡɪni/ ( listen)), officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a
west-coastal country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (French: Guinée
française), the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from
other countries with "Guinea" in the name and the eponymous region, such as Guinea-Bissau and
Equatorial Guinea.[7][8][9][10] Guinea has a population of 12.4 million and an area of 245,857
square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).[11]
 Republic of Guinea
Renndaandi Gine (Fulfulde)
(Fulfulde)

République de Guinée (French)

Flag Seal

Motto: "Travail, Justice, Solidarité" (French)

"Work, Justice, Solidarity"

Anthem: Liberté  (French)
Freedom

0:00 / 0:00

Location of Guinea (dark blue)

– in Africa (light blue & dark grey)
– in the African Union (light blue)
Capital Conakry
and largest city 9°31′N 13°42′W

Official languages French

Vernacular Fulani
languages
Mandinka

Susu

Ethnic groups (2014[1]) 43.% Fulbe people

24.9% Mandinka

17.7% Susu

4.5% Koniaka

4.1% Kissi

4.0% Kpelle

10.2% others

Demonym(s) Guinean

Government Unitary presidential republic

• President Alpha Condé

• Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana

Legislature National Assembly

Independence

• from France 2 October 1958

Area

• Total 245,857 km2 (94,926 sq mi) (77th)

• Water (%) negligible

Population

• 2018 estimate 12,414,293[2][3] (81st)

 • 2014 census 11,628,972
• Density 40.9/km2 (105.9/sq mi) (164th)

GDP (PPP) 2020 estimate

• Total $26.451 billion[4]

• Per capita $2,390[4]

GDP (nominal) 2020 estimate

• Total $9.183 billion[4]

• Per capita $818[4]

Gini (2012) 33.7[5]
medium

HDI (2018)  0.466[6]
low · 174th

Currency Guinean franc (GNF)

Time zone UTC (GMT)

Driving side right

Calling code +224

ISO 3166 code GN

Internet TLD .gn

The sovereign state of Guinea is a republic with a president who is directly elected by the people;
this position is both head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National
Assembly is the legislative body of the country, and its members are also directly elected by the
people. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest and final court of
appeal in the country.[12]

Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the

population.[7][13][14] Guinea's people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the official
language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government
administration, and the media, but more than twenty-four indigenous languages are also spoken.

Guinea's economy is largely dependent on agriculture and mineral production.[15] It is the world's
second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds and gold.[16] The country
was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue.
In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, and abuse of
women and children (e.g. female genital mutilation) were ongoing abuses of human rights.[17]

Name

Guinea is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that
lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at
the Sahel. The English term Guinea comes directly from the Portuguese word Guiné, which
emerged in the mid-15th century to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guineus, a generic term for
the black African peoples south of the Senegal River, in contrast to the "tawny" Zenaga Berbers
above it, whom they called Azenegues or Moors.

History

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The land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in
the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from
France on 2 October 1958. From independence until the presidential election of 2010, Guinea
was governed by a number of autocratic rulers.[18][19][20]

For the origin of the name "Guinea" see Guinea (region) § Etymology.

West African empires and Kingdoms in Guinea

What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires. The earliest, the
Ghana Empire, grew on trade but ultimately fell after repeated incursions of the Almoravids. It
was in this period that Islam first arrived in the region by way of North African traders.

The Sosso kingdom (12th to 13th centuries) briefly flourished in the resulting void but the Mali
Empire came to prominence when Soundiata Kéïta defeated the Sosso ruler Soumangourou
Kanté at the Battle of Kirina in c. 1235. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa (Emperors), the
most famous being Kankou Moussa, who made a famous hajj to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his
reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the
15th century.

The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about
1460 and eventually surpassed the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. It continued to
prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The
weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi just three years later. The
Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small
kingdoms.

Samori Toure was the founder of the

Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state in
present-day Guinea that resisted
French colonial rule in West Africa
from 1882 until Touré's capture in
1898.

After the fall of the major West African empires, various kingdoms existed in what is now Guinea.
Fulani Muslims migrated to Futa Jallon in Central Guinea and established an Islamic state from
1727 to 1896 with a written constitution and alternate rulers. The Wassoulou or Wassulu empire
was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire, led by Samori Toure in the predominantly Malinké area of
what is now upper Guinea and southwestern Mali (Wassoulou). It moved to Ivory Coast before
being conquered by the French.

Colonial era

The slave trade came to the coastal region of Guinea with European traders in the 16th century.
Slaves were exported to work elsewhere in the triangular trade.

Guinea's colonial period began with French military penetration into the area in the mid-19th
century. French domination was assured by the defeat in 1898 of the armies of Samori Touré,
Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and leader of Malinké descent, which gave France
control of what today is Guinea and adjacent areas.

France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the
British for Sierra Leone, the Portuguese for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau), and Liberia.
Under the French, the country formed the Territory of Guinea within French West Africa,
administered by a governor general resident in Dakar. Lieutenant governors administered the
individual colonies, including Guinea.
Independence and post-colonial rule (1958–2008)

In 1958, the French Fourth Republic collapsed due to political instability and its failures in dealing
with its colonies, especially Indochina and Algeria. The founding of a Fifth Republic was
supported by the French people, while French President Charles de Gaulle made it clear on 8
August 1958 that France's colonies were to be given a stark choice between more autonomy in a
new French Community or immediate independence in the referendum to be held on 28
September 1958. The other colonies chose the former but Guinea—under the leadership of
Ahmed Sékou Touré whose Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally (PDG) had won
56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections – voted overwhelmingly for independence. The French
withdrew quickly, and on 2 October 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent
republic, with Sékou Touré as president.

President Ahmed Sékou Touré was

supported by the Communist bloc
states and in 1961 visited Yugoslavia.

In response to the vote for independence, the French settlers in Guinea were quite dramatic in
severing ties with Guinea. The Washington Post observes how brutal the French were in tearing
down all what they thought was their contributions to Guinea: "In reaction, and as a warning to
other French-speaking territories, the French pulled out of Guinea over a two-month period, taking
everything they could with them. They unscrewed lightbulbs, removed plans for sewage pipelines
in Conakry, the capital, and even burned medicines rather than leave them for the Guineans."[21]

Guinea subsequently quickly aligned itself with the Soviet Union and adopted socialist policies.
This alliance was short-lived, however, as Guinea moved towards a Chinese model of socialism.
Despite this, however, the country continued to receive investment from capitalist countries such
as the United States. By 1960, Touré had declared the PDG the country's only legal political party
and for the next 24 years, the government and the PDG were one. Touré was reelected
unopposed to four seven-year terms as president, and every five years voters were presented
with a single list of PDG candidates for the National Assembly. Advocating a hybrid African
Socialism domestically and Pan-Africanism abroad, Touré quickly became a polarising leader,
and his government became intolerant of dissent, imprisoning thousands and stifling the press.

Throughout the 1960s the Guinean government nationalised land, removed French-appointed and
traditional chiefs from power, and had strained ties with the French government and French
companies. Touré's government relied on the Soviet Union and China for infrastructure aid and
development but much of this was used for political and not economic purposes (such as the
building of large stadiums to hold political rallies). Meanwhile, the country's roads, railways and
other infrastructure languished and the economy stagnated.

Monument to commemorate the 1970

military victory over the Portuguese
raid. The only objective not
accomplished by the Portuguese raid
was the capture of Ahmed Sékou
Touré.

On 22 November 1970, Portuguese forces from neighboring Portuguese Guinea staged

Operation Green Sea, a raid on Conakry by several hundred exiled Guinean opposition forces.
Among their goals, the Portuguese military wanted to kill or capture Sekou Toure due his support
of the PAIGC, an independence movement and rebel group that carried out attacks inside
Portuguese Guinea from their bases in Guinea.[22] After fierce fighting, the Portuguese-backed
forces retreated, having freed several dozen Portuguese prisoners of war that were being held by
the PAIGC in Conakry but without having ousted Touré. In the years after the raid, massive purges
were carried out by the Touré government and at least 50,000 people (1% of Guinea's entire
population) were killed. Countless others were imprisoned, faced torture, or, often in the case of
foreigners, were forced to leave the country (sometimes after having had their Guinean spouse
arrested and their children placed into state custody).

A declining economy, mass killings, a stifling political atmosphere, and a ban on all private
economic transactions led in 1977 to the "Market Women's Revolt", anti-government riots that
were started by women working in Conakry's Madina Market. This caused Touré to make major
reforms. Touré vacillated from supporting the Soviet Union to supporting the United States. The
late 1970s and early 1980s saw some economic reforms but Touré's centralized control of the
state remained. Even the relationship with France improved; after the election of Valéry Giscard
d'Estaing as French president, trade increased and the two countries exchanged diplomatic
visits.

Sékou Touré died on 26 March 1984 after a heart operation in the United States, and was
replaced by Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui, who was to serve as interim president
pending new elections. The PDG was due to elect a new leader on 3 April 1984. Under the
constitution, that person would have been the only candidate for president. However, hours
before that meeting, Colonels Lansana Conté and Diarra Traoré seized power in a bloodless
coup. Conté assumed the role of president, with Traoré serving as prime minister until December.

Conté immediately denounced the previous regime's record on human rights, released 250
political prisoners and encouraged approximately 200,000 more to return from exile. He also
made explicit the turn away from socialism. This did little to alleviate poverty and the country
showed no immediate signs of moving towards democracy.

In 1992, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with a presidential poll in 1993 followed by
elections to parliament in 1995 (in which his party—the Party of Unity and Progress—won 71 of
114 seats.) Despite his stated commitment to democracy, Conté's grip on power remained tight.
In September 2001, the opposition leader Alpha Condé was imprisoned for endangering state
security, though he was pardoned 8 months later. He subsequently spent a period of exile in
France.

In 2001, Conté organized and won a referendum to lengthen the presidential term and in 2003
began his third term after elections were boycotted by the opposition. In January 2005, Conté
survived a suspected assassination attempt while making a rare public appearance in the capital
Conakry. His opponents claimed that he was a "tired dictator"[23] whose departure was inevitable,
whereas his supporters believed that he was winning a battle with dissidents. Guinea still faces
very real problems and according to Foreign Policy is in danger of becoming a failed state.[24]

In 2000, Guinea became embroiled in the instability which had long blighted the rest of West
Africa as rebels crossed the borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone and it seemed for a time that
the country was headed for civil war.[25] Conté blamed neighbouring leaders for coveting Guinea's
natural resources, though these claims were strenuously denied.[26] In 2003, Guinea agreed to
plans with her neighbours to tackle the insurgents. In 2007, there were large protests against the
government, resulting in the appointment of a new prime minister.[27]

Recent history

Conté remained in power until his death on 23 December 2008[28] and several hours following his
death, Moussa Dadis Camara seized control in a coup, declaring himself head of a military
junta.[29] Protests against the coup became violent and 157 people were killed when, on 28
September 2009, the junta ordered its soldiers to attack people who had gathered to protest
against Camara's attempt to become president.[30] The soldiers went on a rampage of rape,
mutilation, and murder which caused many foreign governments to withdraw their support for
the new regime.[31]

On 3 December 2009, an aide shot Camara during a dispute over the rampage in September.
Camara went to Morocco for medical care.[31][32] Vice-President (and defense minister) Sékouba
Konaté flew back from Lebanon to run the country in Camara's absence.[33] After meeting in
Ouagadougou on 13 and 14 January 2010, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré, President of
Burkina Faso, produced a formal statement of twelve principles promising a return of Guinea to
civilian rule within six months.[34]

The presidential election was held on 27 June,[35][36] with a second election held on 7 November
due to allegations of electoral fraud.[37] Voter turnout was high, and the elections went relatively
smoothly.[38] Alpha Condé, leader of the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RGP), won
the election promising to reform the security sector and review mining contracts.[39]

In late February 2013, political violence erupted in Guinea after protesters took to the streets to
voice their concerns over the transparency of the upcoming May 2013 elections. The
demonstrations were fueled by the opposition coalition's decision to step down from the
electoral process in protest at the lack of transparency in the preparations for elections.[40] Nine
people were killed during the protests, and around 220 were injured. Many of the deaths and
injuries were caused by security forces using live ammunition on protesters.[41][42]

The political violence also led to inter-ethnic clashes between the Fula and Malinke, the base of
support for President Condé. The former mainly supported the opposition.[43]

On 26 March 2013, the opposition party backed out of the negotiations with the government over
the upcoming 12 May election. The opposition said that the government had not respected them,
and had not kept any promises they agreed to.[44]

On 25 March 2014, the World Health Organization said that Guinea's Ministry of Health had
reported an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Guinea. This initial outbreak had a total of 86
cases, including 59 deaths. By 28 May, there were 281 cases, with 186 deaths.[45] It is believed
that the first case was Emile Ouamouno, a 2-year-old boy who lived in the village of Meliandou.
He fell ill on 2 December 2013 and died on 6 December.[46][47] On 18 September 2014, eight
members of an Ebola education health care team were murdered by villagers in the town of
Womey.[48] As of 1 November 2015, there have been 3,810 cases and 2,536 deaths in Guinea.[49]

Government and politics

  

Alpha Condé, the current President of

Guinea

The country is a republic. The president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and
head of government. The unicameral National Assembly is the legislative body of the country,
and its members are directly elected by the people. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea
Supreme Court, the highest and final court of appeal in the country.[12]

Guinea is a member of many international organizations including the African Union, Agency for
the French-Speaking Community, African Development Bank, Economic Community of West
African States, World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, IMF, and the United Nations.

Political culture

President Alpha Condé derives support from Guinea's second-largest ethnic group, the
Malinke.[50] Guinea's opposition is backed by the Fula ethnic group,[51] who account for around 32
percent of the population.[50]

Executive branch

The president of Guinea is normally elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the winning
candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president. The president
governs Guinea, assisted by a council of 25 civilian ministers appointed by him. The government
administers the country through eight regions, 33 prefectures, over 100 subprefectures, and
many districts (known as communes in Conakry and other large cities and villages or "quartiers"
in the interior). District-level leaders are elected; the president appoints officials to all other levels
of the highly centralized administration.

Since the 2010 presidential elections, the head of state has been Alpha Condé.
Legislative branch

The National Assembly of Guinea, the country's legislative body, did not meet from 2008 to 2013
when it was dissolved after the military coup in December. Elections have been postponed many
times since 2007. In April 2012, President Condé postponed the elections indefinitely, citing the
need to ensure that they were "transparent and democratic".[52]

The 2013 Guinean legislative election were held on 24 September 2013.[53] President Alpha
Condé's party, the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), won a plurality of seats in the National
Assembly of Guinea, with 53 out of 114 seats. The opposition parties won a total of 53 seats,
and opposition leaders denounced the official results as fraudulent.

Foreign relations

President Alpha Condé with Russian

President Vladimir Putin on 28
September 2017

Guinea's foreign relations, including those with its West African neighbors, have improved
steadily since 1985.[54]

Military

Guinea's armed forces are divided into five branches – army, navy, air force, the paramilitary
National Gendarmerie and the Republican Guard – whose chiefs report to the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is subordinate to the Minister of Defense. In addition, regime security
forces include the National Police Force (Sûreté National). The Gendarmerie, responsible for
internal security, has a strength of several thousand.

The army, with about 15,000 personnel, is by far the largest branch of the armed forces. It is
mainly responsible for protecting the state borders, the security of administered territories, and
defending Guinea's national interests. Air force personnel total about 700. The force's equipment
includes several Russian-supplied fighter planes and transports. The navy has about 900
personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges.

Geography
  

A map showing Guinea's cities and administrative divisions

Guinea map of Köppen climate classification

Guinea shares a border with Guinea-Bissau to the north-west, Senegal to the north, Mali to the
north-east, Ivory Coast to the east, Sierra Leone to the south-west and Liberia to the south. The
nation forms a crescent as it curves from its southeast region to the north and west, to its
northwest border with Guinea-Bissau and southwestern coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The
sources of the Niger River, Gambia River, and Senegal River are all found in the Guinea
Highlands.[55][56][57]

At 245,857 km2 (94,926 sq mi), Guinea is roughly the size of the United Kingdom. There are
320 km (200 mi) of coastline and a total land border of 3,400 km (2,100 mi). It lies mostly
between latitudes 7° and 13°N, and longitudes 7° and 15°W (a small area is west of 15°).

Guinea is divided into four main regions: Maritime Guinea, also known as Lower Guinea or the
Basse-Coté lowlands, populated mainly by the Susu ethnic group; the cooler, mountainous Fouta
Djallon that run roughly north-south through the middle of the country, populated by Fulas, the
Sahelian Haute-Guinea to the northeast, populated by Malinké, and the forested jungle regions in
the southeast, with several ethnic groups. Guinea's mountains are the source for the Niger, the
Gambia, and Senegal Rivers, as well as the numerous rivers flowing to the sea on the west side
of the range in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.

The highest point in Guinea is Mount Nimba at 1,752 m (5,748 ft). Although the Guinean and
Ivorian sides of the Nimba Massif are a UNESCO Strict Nature Reserve, the portion of the so-
called Guinean Backbone continues into Liberia, where it has been mined for decades; the
damage is quite evident in the Nzérékoré Region at 7°32′17″N 8°29′50″W.

Regions and prefectures

Regions of Guinea

The Republic of Guinea covers 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi) of West Africa, about
10 degrees north of the equator. Guinea is divided into four natural regions with distinct human,
geographic, and climatic characteristics:

Maritime Guinea (La Guinée Maritime) covers 18% of the country.

Middle Guinea (La Moyenne-Guinée) covers 20% of the country.

Upper Guinea (La Haute-Guinée) covers 38% of the country.

Forested Guinea (Guinée forestière) covers 23% of the country, and is both forested and
mountainous.

Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures.
Conakry is Guinea's capital, largest city, and economic centre. Nzérékoré, located in the Guinée
forestière region in Southern Guinea, is the second largest city.

Other major cities in the country with a population above 100,000 include Kankan, Kindia, Labe,
Guéckédou, Boke, Mamou and Kissidougou.

The capital Conakry with a population of 1,667,864 ranks as a special zone.

 Population
Region Capital
(2014 census)

Conakry Region Conakry 1,667,864

Nzérékoré Region Nzérékoré 1,663,582

Kankan Region Kankan 1,986,329

Kindia Region Kindia 1,559,185

Boké Region Boké 1,081,445

Labé Region Labé 995,717

Faranah Region Faranah 942,733

Mamou Region Mamou 732,117

Wildlife

The wildlife of Guinea is very diverse due to the wide variety of different habitats. The southern
part of the country lies within Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity hotspot, while the
north-east is characterized by dry savanna woodlands. Unfortunately, declining populations of
large animals are restricted to uninhabited distant parts of parks and reserves.

Taxonomy

Species found in Guinea include the following:

Amphibians : Hemisus guineensis, Phrynobatrachus guineensis

Reptiles : Acanthodactylus guineensis, Mochlus guineensis

Arachnids: Malloneta guineensis, Dictyna guineensis

Insects : Zorotypus guineensis, Euchromia guineensis

Birds: Melaniparus guineensis

Economy
  

A proportional depiction of Guinea's export products

Malinke fisher women on the Niger River,

Niandankoro, Kankan Region, in eastern
Guinea

Kissidougou market

Natural resources

Guinea has abundant natural resources including 25% or more of the world's known bauxite
reserves. Guinea also has diamonds, gold, and other metals. The country has great potential for
hydroelectric power. Bauxite and alumina are currently the only major exports. Other industries
include processing plants for beer, juices, soft drinks and tobacco. Agriculture employs 80% of
the nation's labor force. Under French rule, and at the beginning of independence, Guinea was a
major exporter of bananas, pineapples, coffee, peanuts, and palm oil. Guinea has considerable
potential for growth in the agricultural and fishing sectors. Soil, water, and climatic conditions
provide opportunities for large-scale irrigated farming and agro industry.
Mining

Guinea possesses over 25 billion tonnes (metric tons) of bauxite – and perhaps up to one-half of
the world's reserves. In addition, Guinea's mineral wealth includes more than 4-billion tonnes of
high-grade iron ore, significant diamond and gold deposits, and undetermined quantities of
uranium. Possibilities for investment and commercial activities exist in all these areas, but
Guinea's poorly developed infrastructure and rampant corruption continue to present obstacles
to large-scale investment projects.[58]

Joint venture bauxite mining and alumina operations in northwest Guinea historically provide
about 80% of Guinea's foreign exchange. Bauxite is refined into alumina, which is later smelted
into aluminium. The Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinea (CBG), which exports about 14 million
tonnes of high-grade bauxite annually, is the main player in the bauxite industry. CBG is a joint
venture, 49% owned by the Guinean government and 51% by an international consortium known
as Halco Mining Inc., itself a joint venture controlled by aluminium producer Alcoa (AA), global
miner Rio Tinto Group and Dadco Investments.[59] CBG has exclusive rights to bauxite reserves
and resources in north-western Guinea through 2038.[60] In 2008 protesters upset about poor
electrical services blocked the tracks CBG uses. Guineau often includes a proviso in its
agreements with international oil companies requiring its partners to generate power for nearby
communities.[61]

The Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia (CBK), a joint venture between the government of Guinea
and RUSAL, produces some 2.5 million tonnes annually, nearly all of which is exported to Russia
and Eastern Europe. Dian Dian, a Guinean/Ukrainian joint bauxite venture, has a projected
production rate of 1,000,000 t (1,102,311 short tons; 984,207 long tons) per year, but is not
expected to begin operation for several years. The Alumina Compagnie de Guinée (ACG), which
took over the former Friguia Consortium, produced about 2.4 million tonnes in 2004 as raw
material for its alumina refinery. The refinery exports about 750,000 tonnes of alumina. Both
Global Alumina and Alcoa-Alcan have signed conventions with the government of Guinea to build
large alumina refineries with a combined capacity of about 4 million tonnes per year.

Diamonds and gold also are mined and exported on a large scale. The bulk of diamonds are
mined artisanally. The largest gold mining operation in Guinea is a joint venture between the
government and Ashanti Goldfields of Ghana. AREDOR, a joint diamond-mining venture between
the Guinean Government (50%) and an Australian, British, and Swiss consortium, began
production in 1984 and mined diamonds that were 90% gem quality. Production stopped from
1993 until 1996, when First City Mining of Canada purchased the international portion of the
consortium. Société Minière de Dinguiraye (SMD) also has a large gold mining facility in Lero,
near the Malian border.

Oil
Guinea signed a production sharing agreement with Hyperdynamics Corporation of Houston in
2006 to explore a large offshore tract, and was recently in partnership with Dana Petroleum PLC
(Aberdeen, United Kingdom). The initial well, the Sabu-1, was scheduled to begin drilling in
October 2011 at a site in approximately 700 meters of water. The Sabu-1 targeted a four-way
anticline prospect with upper Cretaceous sands and was anticipated to be drilled to a total depth
of 3,600 meters.[62]

Following the completion of exploratory drilling in 2012, the Sabu-1 well was not deemed
commercially viable.[63] In November 2012, Hyperdynamics subsidiary SCS reached an
agreement for a sale of 40% of the concession to Tullow Oil, bringing ownership shares in the
Guinea offshore tract to 37% Hyperdynamics, 40% Tullow Oil, and 23% Dana Petroleum.[64]
Hyperdynamics will have until September 2016 under the current agreement to begin drilling its
next selected site, the Fatala Cenomanian turbidite fan prospect.[65][66]

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.

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Agriculture

The majority of Guineans work in the agriculture sector, which employs approximately 75% of the
country. The rice is cultivated in the flooded zones between streams and rivers. However, the
local production of rice is not sufficient to feed the country, so rice is imported from Asia. The
agriculture sector of Guinea cultivates coffee beans, pineapples, peaches, nectarines, mangoes,
oranges, bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper, and many other types of produce.
Guinea is one of the emerging regional producers of apples and pears. There are many
plantations of grapes, pomegranates, and recent years have seen the development of strawberry
plantations based on the vertical hydroponic system.

Tourism

Le "Voile" de la mariée à Kindia

Due to its diverse geography, Guinea presents some interesting tourist sites. Among the top
attractions are the waterfalls found mostly in the Basse Guinee (Lower Guinea) and Moyenne
Guinee (Middle Guinea) regions. The Soumba cascade at the foot of Mount Kakoulima in Kindia,
Voile de la Mariée (bride's veil) in Dubreka, the Kinkon cascades that are about 80 m (260 ft) high
on the Kokoula River in the prefecture of Pita, the Kambadaga falls that can reach 100 m (330 ft)
during the rainy season on the same river, the Ditinn & Mitty waterfalls in Dalaba, and the Fetoré
waterfalls and the stone bridge in the region of Labe are among the most well-known water-
related tourist sites.

Problems and reforms

In 2002, the IMF suspended Guinea's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) because the
government failed to meet key performance criteria. In reviews of the PRGF, the World Bank
noted that Guinea had met its spending goals in targeted social priority sectors. However,
spending in other areas, primarily defense, contributed to a significant fiscal deficit. The loss of
IMF funds forced the government to finance its debts through Central Bank advances. The
pursuit of unsound economic policies has resulted in imbalances that are proving hard to
correct.

Under then-Prime Minister Diallo, the government began a rigorous reform agenda in December
2004 designed to return Guinea to a PRGF with the IMF. Exchange rates have been allowed to
float, price controls on gasoline have been loosened, and government spending has been
reduced while tax collection has been improved. These reforms have not reduced inflation, which
hit 27% in 2004 and 30% in 2005. Currency depreciation is also a concern. The Guinea franc was
trading at 2550 to the dollar in January 2005. It hit 5554 to the dollar by October 2006. In August
2016 that number had reached 9089.

Despite the opening in 2005 of a new road connecting Guinea and Mali, most major roadways
remain in poor repair, slowing the delivery of goods to local markets. Electricity and water
shortages are frequent and sustained, and many businesses are forced to use expensive power
generators and fuel to stay open.

Even though there are many problems plaguing Guinea's economy, not all foreign investors are
reluctant to come to Guinea. Global Alumina's proposed alumina refinery has a price tag above
$2 billion. Alcoa and Alcan are proposing a slightly smaller refinery worth about $1.5 billion.
Taken together, they represent the largest private investment in sub-Saharan Africa since the
Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline. Also, Hyperdynamics Corporation, an American oil company, signed
an agreement in 2006 to develop Guinea's offshore Senegal Basin oil deposits in a concession of
31,000 square miles (80,000 km2); it is pursuing seismic exploration.[67]
On 13 October 2009, Guinean Mines Minister Mahmoud Thiam announced that the China
International Fund would invest more than $7bn (£4.5bn) in infrastructure. In return, he said the
firm would be a "strategic partner" in all mining projects in the mineral-rich nation. He said the
firm would help build ports, railway lines, power plants, low-cost housing and even a new
administrative centre in the capital, Conakry.[68] In September 2011, Mohamed Lamine Fofana,
the Mines Minister following the 2010 election, said that the government had overturned the
agreement by the ex-military junta.[69]

Youth unemployment remains a large problem. Guinea needs an adequate policy to address the
concerns of urban youth. One problem is the disparity between their life and what they see on
television. For youth who cannot find jobs, seeing the economic power and consumerism of
richer countries only serves to frustrate them further.[70]

Mining controversies

Guinea has large reserves of the steel-making raw material, iron ore. Rio Tinto Group was the
majority owner of the $6 billion Simandou iron ore project, which it had called the world's best
unexploited resource. This project is said to be of the same magnitude as the Pilbara in Western
Australia.[71]

In 2017, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group pled guilty to a multi-year bribery scheme, after an
investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led to a trial in the United States
and a fine of $412 million.[72] Following this, the SEC also filed a lawsuit in the US against head of
Och-Ziff European operations, Michael Cohen,[73][74] for his role in a bribery scheme in the
region.[75][76]

In 2009 the government of Guinea gave the northern half of Simandou to BSGR[77] for an
$165 million investment in the project and a pledge to spend $1 billion on railways, saying that
Rio Tinto wasn't moving into production fast enough. The US Justice Department investigated
allegations that BSGR had bribed President Conté's wife to get him the concession,[78] and so did
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the next elected President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, and an
assortment of other national and international entities.

In April 2014 the Guinean government cancelled the company's mining rights in Simandou. BSGR
has denied any wrongdoing, and in May 2014 sought arbitration over the government of Guinea's
decision to expropriate its mining rights.[79] In February 2019, BSGR and Guinean President Alpha
Condé agreed to drop all allegations of wrongdoing as well as the pending arbitration case.[80]
Under the agreement, BSGR would relinquish rights to Simandou while being allowed to maintain
an interest in the smaller Zogota deposit that would be developed by Niron Metals head Mick
Davis.[81][82]
In 2010 Rio Tinto signed a binding agreement with Aluminum Corporation of China Limited to
establish a joint venture for the Simandou iron ore project.[83] In November 2016, Rio Tinto
admitted paying $10.5 million to a close adviser of President Alpha Condé to obtain rights on
Simandou.[84] Conde said he knew nothing about the bribe and denied any wrongdoing. However,
according to recordings obtained by FRANCE 24, Guinean authorities were aware of the
Simandou briberies.[85]

In July 2017, the UK-based anti-fraud regulator, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Australian
Federal Police[86] launched an investigation into Rio Tinto's business practices in Guinea.[87][88]

Further, In November 2016, the former mining minister of Guinea, Mahmoud Thiam, accused
head of Rio Tinto's Guinea operation department of offering him a bribe in 2010 to regain Rio
Tinto's control over half of the undeveloped Simandou project.

In September 2011, Guinea adopted a new mining code. The law set up a commission to review
government deals struck during the chaotic days between the end of dictatorship in 2008 and
Condé coming to power.[89]

In September 2015, the French Financial Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into
President Alpha Conde's son, Mohamed Alpha Condé.[90] He was charged with embezzlement of
public funds and receiving financial and other benefits from French companies that were
interested in the Guinean mining industry.[91][92]

In August 2016, son of a former Prime Minister of Gabon, who worked for Och-Ziff's Africa
Management Ltd, a subsidiary of the U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff, was arrested in the US and
charged with bribing officials in Guinea, Chad and Niger on behalf of the company to secure
mining concessions[93] and gain access to relevant confidential information.[94] The investigation
also revealed that he was involved in rewriting Guinea's mining law during President Conde's
rule.[95] In December 2016, the US Department of Justice announced that the man pleaded guilty
to conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials in Africa.[94]

According to a Global Witness report, Sable Mining sought iron ore explorations rights to Mount
Nimba in Guinea by getting close to Conde towards the 2010 elections, backing his campaign for
presidency and bribing his son.[96] These allegations have not been verified yet but in March 2016
Guinean authorities ordered an investigation into the matter.[97]

The Conde government investigated two other contracts as well, one which left Hyperdynamic
with a third of Guinea's offshore lease allocations as well as Rusal's purchase of the Friguia
Aluminum refinery, in which it said that Rusal greatly underpaid.[98]

Minority and women's rights

Homosexuality is illegal in Guinea.[99] Same sex relations are considered a strong taboo, and the
prime minister declared in 2010 that he doesn't consider sexual orientation a legitimate human
right.[17]

Guinea has one of the world's highest rates of female genital mutilation According to Anastasia
Gage, an associate professor at Tulane University, and Ronan van Rossem, an associate
professor at Ghent University,[100] female genital mutilation in Guinea had been performed on
more than 98% of women as of 2009.[101] In Guinea almost all cultures, religions, and ethnicities
practice female genital mutilation.[101] The 2005 Demographic and Health Survey reported that
96% of women have gone through the operation. Prosecutions of its practitioners are
nonexistent.[17]

Transport infrastructure

The railway from Conakry to Kankan ceased operating in the mid-1980s.[102] Domestic air
services are intermittent. Most vehicles in Guinea are 20+ years old, and cabs are any four-door
vehicle which the owner has designated as being for hire. Locals, nearly entirely without vehicles
of their own, rely upon these taxis (which charge per seat) and small buses to take them around
town and across the country. There is some river traffic on the Niger and Milo rivers. Horses and
donkeys pull carts, primarily to transport construction materials.

Mining operations are expected to start at Simandou before the end of 2015. Rio Tinto Limited
plans to build a 650 km railway to transport iron ore from the mine to the coast, near Matakong,
for export.[103] Much of the Simandou iron ore is expected to be shipped to China for steel
production.[104]

Conakry International Airport is the largest airport in the country, with flights to other cities in
Africa as well as to Europe.

Major roads

The major roads of Guinea are the following:

N1 connects Conakry, Coyah, Kindia, Mamou, Dabola, Kouroussa, and Kankan.

N2 connects Mamou, Faranah, Kissidougou, Guékédou, Macenta, Nzérékoré, and Lola.

N4 connects Coyah, Forécariah, and, Farmoreya.

N5 connects Mamou, Dalaba, Pita, and Labé.

N6 connects Kissidougou, Kankan, and Siguiri.

N20 connects Kamsar, Kolaboui, and Boké.

Demography

Population in Guinea[2][3]

Year Million

1950 3.0

2000 8.8

2018 12.4

The population of Guinea is estimated at 12.4 million. Conakry, the capital and largest city, is the
hub of Guinea's economy, commerce, education, and culture. In 2014, the total fertility rate (TFR)
of Guinea was estimated at 4.93 children born per woman.[105]

Urbanization

Languages

Guinean women

The official language of Guinea is French. Other significant languages spoken are Pular (Fulfulde
or Fulani), Maninka (Malinke), Susu, Kissi, Kpelle, and Loma.

Ethnic groups

The population of Guinea comprises about 24 ethnic groups. The Mandinka, also known as
Mandingo or Malinké, comprise 24.8%[107] of the population and are mostly found in eastern
Guinea concentrated around the Kankan and Kissidougou prefectures.[11] The Fulas or Fulani,[51]
comprise 40.1%[107] of the population and are mostly found in the Futa Djallon region.
The Soussou, comprising 15.8% of the population, are predominantly in western areas around the
capital Conakry, Forécariah, and Kindia. Smaller ethnic groups make up the remaining 18.3%[107]
of the population, including Kpelle, Kissi, Zialo, Toma and others.[11] Approximately 10,000 non-
Africans live in Guinea, predominantly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans.[108]

Religion

Guinea religious sects[109]

Religion Percent
Islam   85%
Christianity   8%
Traditional African religion   7%

The Conakry Grand Mosque in

Guinea, one of the largest
mosques in West Africa

The population of Guinea is approximately 85 percent Muslim and 8 percent Christian, with 7
percent adhering to indigenous religious beliefs.[109] Much of the population, both Muslim and
Christian, also incorporate indigenous African beliefs into their outlook.[109]

The vast majority of Guinean Muslims are adherent to the Sunni tradition of Islam, of Maliki
school of jurisprudence, influenced with Salafism.[110] There are relatively few Shi'a in Guinea.

Christian groups include Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and
Evangelical groups. Jehovah's Witnesses are active in the country and recognized by the
Government. There is a small Baha'i community. There are small numbers of Hindus, Buddhists,
and traditional Chinese religious groups among the expatriate community.[111]

There were three days of ethno-religious fighting in the city of Nzerekore in July 2013.[50][112]
Fighting between ethnic Kpelle, who are Christian or animist, and ethnic Konianke, who are
Muslims and close to the larger Malinke ethnic group, left at least 54 dead.[112] The dead
included people who were killed with machetes and burned alive.[112] The violence ended after
the Guinea military imposed a curfew, and President Conde made a televised appeal for calm.[112]

Education

Schoolgirls in Conakry, Guinea

The literacy rate of Guinea is one of the lowest in the world: in 2010 it was estimated that only
41% of adults were literate (52% of males and 30% of females).[113] Primary education is
compulsory for 6 years,[114] but most children do not attend for so long, and many do not go to
school at all. In 1999, primary school attendance was 40 percent. Children, particularly girls, are
kept out of school to assist their parents with domestic work or agriculture,[115] or to be married:
Guinea has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world.[116]

Health

Ebola

In 2014, there was an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Guinea. In response, the health ministry
banned the sale and consumption of bats, thought to be carriers of the disease. Despite this
measure, the virus eventually spread from rural areas to Conakry,[117] and by late June 2014 had
spread to neighboring countries Sierra Leone and Liberia. In early August 2014 Guinea closed its
borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia to help contain the spreading of the virus, as more new cases
of the disease were being reported in those countries than in Guinea.

The outbreak began in early December, in a village called Meliandou, southeastern Guinea, not far
from the borders with both Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first known case was a two-year-old
child who died, after fever and vomiting and passing black stool, on 6 December. The child's
mother died a week later, then a sister and a grandmother, all with symptoms that included fever,
vomiting, and diarrhea. Then, by way of caregiving visits or attendance at funerals, the outbreak
spread to other villages.
Unsafe burials remained one of the primary sources of the transmission of the disease. The
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the inability to engage with local communities
hindered the ability of health workers to trace the origins and strains of the virus.[118]

While WHO terminated the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 29
March 2016,[119] the Ebola Situation Report released on 30 March confirmed 5 more cases in the
preceding two weeks, with viral sequencing relating one of the cases to the November 2014
outbreak.[120]

The epidemic also affected the treatment of other diseases in Guinea. There was a decline in
healthcare visits by the population due to fear of being infected and mistrust in the health care
system, and a decrease in the system's ability to provide routine health care and HIV/AIDS
treatments due to the Ebola outbreak.[121]

Maternal and child healthcare

The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Guinea is 680. This is compared with
859.9 in 2008 and 964.7 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 146 and the
neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 29. In Guinea the number of
midwives per 1,000 live births is 1 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in
26.[122] Guinea has the second highest prevalence of female genital mutilation in the
world.[123][124]

HIV/AIDS

An estimated 170,000 adults and children were infected at the end of 2004.[125][126] Surveillance
surveys conducted in 2001 and 2002 show higher rates of HIV in urban areas than in rural areas.
Prevalence was highest in Conakry (5%) and in the cities of the Forest Guinea region (7%)
bordering Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.[127]

HIV is spread primarily through multiple-partner heterosexual intercourse. Men and women are at
nearly equal risk for HIV, with young people aged 15 to 24 most vulnerable. Surveillance figures
from 2001 to 2002 show high rates among commercial sex workers (42%), active military
personnel (6.6%), truck drivers and bush taxi drivers (7.3%), miners (4.7%), and adults with
tuberculosis (8.6%).[127]

Several factors are fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Guinea. They include unprotected sex,
multiple sexual partners, illiteracy, endemic poverty, unstable borders, refugee migration, lack of
civic responsibility, and scarce medical care and public services.[127]

Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a serious problem for Guinea. A 2012 study reported high chronic malnutrition
rates, with levels ranging from 34% to 40% by region, as well as acute malnutrition rates above
10% in Upper Guinea's mining zones. The survey showed that 139,200 children suffer from acute
malnutrition, 609,696 from chronic malnutrition and further 1,592,892 suffer from anemia.
Degradation of care practices, limited access to medical services, inadequate hygiene practices
and a lack of food diversity explain these levels.[128]

Malaria

Malaria is prevalent in Guinea. It is transmitted year-round, with peak transmission from July
through October.[129] Malaria is one of the top causes of disability in Guinea.[130]

Culture

A market stall selling vegetables in Dinguiraye

Prefecture, Guinea

Sports

Football is the most popular sport in the country of Guinea.[131] It is run by the Guinean Football
Federation.[132] The association administers the national football team, as well as the national
league.[131] It was founded in 1960 and affiliated with FIFA since 1962[133] and with the
Confederation of African Football since 1963.[134]

The Guinea national football team, nicknamed Syli nationale (National Elephants), have played
international football since 1962.[131] Their first opponent was East Germany.[131] They have yet
to reach World Cup finals, but they were runners-up to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations in
1976.[131]

Guinée Championnat National is the top division of Guinean football. Since it was established in
1965, three teams have dominated in winning the Guinée Coupe Nationale.[135] Horoya AC leads
with 16 titles and is the current (2017–2018) champion. Hafia FC (known as Conakry II in 1960s)
is second with 15 titles having dominated in 1960s and 70s, but the last coming in 1985. Third
with 13 is AS Kaloum Star, known as Conakry I in the 1960s. All three teams are based in the
capital, Conakry. No other team has more than five titles.

The 1970s were a golden decade for Guinean football. Hafia FC won the African Cup of
Champions Clubs three times, in 1972, 1975 and 1977, while Horoya AC won the 1978 African
Cup Winners' Cup.[136]

Polygamy

Polygamy is generally prohibited by law in Guinea, but there are exceptions.[137] UNICEF reports
that 53.4% of Guinean women aged 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.[138]

Music

Like other West African countries, Guinea has a rich musical tradition. The group Bembeya Jazz
became popular in the 1960s after Guinean independence.

Cuisine

Guinean cuisine varies by region with rice as the most common staple. Cassava is also widely
consumed.[139] Part of West African cuisine, the foods of Guinea include jollof rice, maafe, and
tapalapa bread. In rural areas, food is eaten from a large serving dish and eaten by hand outside
of homes.[140]

See also

Outline of Guinea

Index of Guinea-related articles

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External links

Guinea
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Scholia has a country profile for Guinea.

Official website (in French)

"Guinea" . The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.

Guinea from UCB Libraries GovPubs

Guinea at Curlie

Guinea profile from the BBC News

  Wikimedia Atlas of Guinea

  Geographic data related to Guinea at OpenStreetMap

Guinea 2008 Summary Trade Statistics