Besides the diplomatic community and a growing number of expatriate teachers and technical advisers, the number of non-Guinean residents has increased considerably since 1984. This community includes Lebanese and Syrian traders and a growing number of French engaged in agriculture, business, and technical occupations.
The ethnic makeup of the people of Guinea is diverse. The most numerous of the groups (about 35 percent of the population) are the Fulani, who are concentrated mainly in the Fouta Djallon. The other principal groups comprise people of the Mande group. They include the Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or Malinke) (about 30 percent) of northeastern Guinea and the Susu (about 20 percent), who inhabit the coastal area. According to the 1983 census, the population of Guinea was 5,781,014. The estimated population in 2001 was 7,613,870, giving an overall population density of 31 persons per sq km (80 per sq mi). Some 68 percent of the population live in rural areas. The capital is Conakry, a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. Other major cities are the railroad centers Kankan and Kindia.
Parts of northern and eastern Guinea were within the empires of Mali and Songhai, and the ruling classes among the Mandinka population were early introduced to Islam. The spread of Islam throughout Guinea was largely a result of the missionary activities of the Torobde clan of the Fulani, a pastoralist people, who established a theocratic state in highland areas of the Fouta Djallon in the early 18th century. By the mid-19th century, continual Islamic proselytizing had converted most of the population with the exception of those living in the Mossi states, who resisted and retained their animistic beliefs. In the 1880s Samory Touré, a Mandinka adventurer, used modern weapons to seize control over much of the interior.
Hunting and gathering populations occupied the area of Guinea at least 30,000 years ago, and farming has been practiced there for about 3,000 years. About 1,000 years ago Susu and Malinke (Maninka) people began to encroach on the Baga, Koniagi (Coniagui), and Nalu (Nalou) populations who had been living in the area for more than 1,000 years. The towns and villages of Upper Guinea were incorporated into the Mali empire from the mid-13th century, and by the 16th century the Fulani (Fulbe) had established domination over the Fouta Djallon. The Portuguese presence on the coast dates from the 15th century, and the slave trade continued to affect Guinea until the mid-19th century. British and French trading interests on the coast played minor roles in the historical evolution of the Guinean interior until the almamy (ruler) of Fouta Djallon placed his country under French protection in 1881. The independent Malinke state ruled by Samory Touré resisted the French military until 1898, and isolated small groups of Africans continued to resist the French until the end of World War I.
Once independent, Guinea turned to the Eastern European countries for assistance. Touré established a one-party state and imposed a strict socialist system. In 1961 Guinea joined with Ghana and Mali in the Union of African States, a loose federation that lasted only two years. After surviving several assassination attempts, Touré accused French officials of plotting his overthrow and broke off relations with France in November 1965. Guinea’s relations with Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Senegal, and Burkina Faso continued to be stormy until 1978. Touré’s self-imposed diplomatic isolation and ill-planned economic ventures bankrupted the state and forced him to begin liberalizing the government.
Until 1984 artistic and literary expressions were limited largely to African themes by the single political party and its leader. As a result Guinean intellectuals exhibit a strong sense of nationalism and a decolonialized state of mind. As greater openness of expression returns, a distinctly Guinean literature is gradually emerging.
A truly autonomous free press has yet to emerge as a major force in Guinean life. One French-language newspaper, Horoya, formerly controlled by the PDG, is published. A number of informal newsletters are also published in indigenous languages. A television service was begun in 1977, and transmissions continue on an irregular basis for short periods each day.
The telephone network is limited and obsolescent; the few telephones in service are almost all in Conakry and other major urban centres. A program to upgrade the telecommunications system was implemented in the late 1980s.
The professional National Guinean Ballet, which emerged after independence, has retained some of the dance and music of the distinct ethnic and regional groups. Creative accomplishments in modern dance and popular music have given Guinean musicians and singers an international reputation.
Handicrafts in Guinea, as elsewhere in Africa, declined sharply during the colonial era with competition from manufactured consumer goods. The lack of tourism and creative marketing since independence has limited the amount of change and innovation in local crafts, so that the leatherwork, wood carving, and jewelry produced in Guinea tend to be more genuinely ethnic than elsewhere in western Africa.
The four major geographic regions largely correspond to the areas inhabited by the major linguistic groups. In Lower Guinea the major language of Susu has gradually replaced many of the other indigenous languages and is a lingua franca for most of the coastal population. In the Fouta Djallon the major language is Pular (a dialect of Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani), while in Upper Guinea the Malinke (Maninkakan) language is the most widespread. The Forest Region contains the linguistic areas, from east to west, of Kpelle (Guerzé), Loma (Toma), and Kissi.
There are four geographic regions: Lower Guinea, the Fouta Djallon, Upper Guinea, and the Forest Region. Lower Guinea includes the coast and coastal plain. The coast has undergone recent marine submergence and is marked by rias, or drowned river valleys, that form inlets and tidal estuaries. Numerous offshore islands are remnants of former hills.
Immediately inland the gently rolling coastal plain rises to the east, being broken by rocky spurs of the Fouta Djallon highlands in the north at Cape Verga and in the south at the Kaloum Peninsula. Between 30 and 50 miles (48 and 80 kilometres) wide, the plain is wider in the south than the north. Its base rocks of granite and gneiss (coarse-grained rock containing bands of minerals) are covered with laterite (red soil with a high content of iron oxides and aluminum hydroxide) and sandstone gravel.
The vegetation of Guinea varies considerably. Dense mangrove forests abound along the coast and the riverbanks. The Fouta Djallon, which has been subject to extensive burning, is covered with sedge. The higher plateau areas have dense forests. Upper Guinea is characterized by savanna woodland. Trees include the shea and the tamarind. The Guinea highlands are characterized by dense rain forests.
Animal life is abundant and varied. Snakes and crocodiles are common, and numerous species of tropical birds abound, including parrots and touracos. Mammals include leopard, hippopotamus, wild boar, antelope, and civet.
The chief economic activity of Guinea is agriculture; some 87 percent of the people are dependent on subsistence farming, forestry, and fishing. The principal food crops and their production in 2000 were rice (750,000 metric tons); root crops such as cassava (1.06 million metric tons); fruits such as plantains and citrus (996,078 metric tons); and vegetables (476,000). Chief export crops are typically pineapples, peanuts, palm kernels, and coffee. Livestock in 2000 included 2.4 million cattle, 687,000 sheep, 864,000 goats, and 8.9 million poultry.
Guinea has from one-third to one-half of the world's known reserves of bauxite, plus significant reserves of high-grade iron ore at Mount Nimba and the Simandou Mountains. Alluvial gold is taken from the Niger and its tributaries, and diamond production is substantial and largely of gem-quality stones. The southeastern rain forest has some valuable species of tropical hardwoods, and both river and ocean fisheries yield large catches of food fish. Hydroelectric potential is considerable because of the high rainfall and deep gorges of the Fouta Djallon but has been only partially developed, largely to meet the demands of the alumina sector.
Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains a poor underdeveloped nation. The country possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1999. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. The government made encouraging progress in budget management in 1997-99, and reform progress was praised in the World Bank/IMF October 2000 assessment. However, escalating fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders will cause major economic disruptions. In addition to direct defense costs, the violence has led to a sharp decline in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff, while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local markets. Real GDP growth is expected to fall to 2% in 2001.
Poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay system
domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
About 85 percent of the population of Guinea is Muslim; the remainder is split between those who adhere to traditional beliefs and Christians. French is the official language. The country has eight national languages: Mandinka (also known as Mandingo and Malinke), Susu, Fulfulde, Kissi, Basari, Loma, Koniagi, and Kpelle.
Democratic Party of Guinea or PDG-AST [Marcel CROS]; Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or UNP [Paul Louis FABER]; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP [Siradiou DIALLO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union for the New Republic or UNR [Mamadou Boye BA]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE].
Under the 1982 constitution, a president, elected by universal suffrage to a seven-year term, was chief of state, the government, and the armed forces. The unicameral National Assembly, consisting of 210 members, was chosen by popular vote from a single slate of candidates from the country’s sole political party, the Democratic Party of Guinea. After a military coup in April 1984, this party was outlawed, the constitution suspended, and the parliament dissolved. Guinea was then ruled by a president as head of the 17-member Military Committee for National Rectification. In 1990 a new constitution was approved in a national referendum. It authorized a transitional government to oversee the change to a two-party, civilian system with a unicameral legislature of 114 seats and universal adult suffrage. In 1992 amendments authorized an unlimited number of political parties. Presidential elections were held late in 1993; legislative elections, after being postponed several times, took place in 1995.
International organization Member
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Education is free and officially compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 13, but in 1997 only 54 percent of eligible children actually attended primary school; the enrollment ratio dropped to 14 percent for secondary schools. The adult literacy rate is 41 percent. Private schools were nationalized by 1962. Higher education is provided by universities at Conakry and Kankan and by 21 other institutions.
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary
National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,764,912 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 891,166 (2001 est.)
Border incursions by Revolutionary United Front combatants from Sierra Leone; civil war in that country has engendered a massive flow of refugees to southern Guinea and Liberia.
