Country: Guinea - Geography Total area: 245,860 km2; land area: 245,860 km2 Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon Land boundaries: 3,399 km total; Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Ivory Coast 610 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km Coastline: 320 km Maritime claims: Extended economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds Terrain: generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish Land use: 6% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 42% forest and woodland; 40% other; includes NEGL% irrigated Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; deforestation - People Population: 7,269,240 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990) Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1990) Death rate: 22 deaths/1,000 population (1990) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990) Infant mortality rate: 147 deaths/1,000 live births (1990) Life expectancy at birth: 40 years male, 44 years female (1990) Total fertility rate: 6.1 children born/woman (1990) Nationality: noun--Guinean(s); adjective--Guinean Ethnic divisions: Fulani, Malinke, Sousou, 15 smaller tribes Religion: 85% Muslim, 5% indigenous beliefs, 1.5% Christian Language: French (official); each tribe has its own language Literacy: 20% in French; 48% in local languages Labor force: 2,400,000 (1983); 82.0% agriculture, 11.0% industry and commerce, 5.4% services; 88,112 civil servants (1987); 52% of population of working age (1985) Organized labor: virtually 100% of wage earners loosely affiliated with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers - Government Long-form name: Republic of Guinea Type: republic Capital: Conakry Administrative divisions: 29 administrative regions (regions administratives, singular--region administrative); Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France; formerly French Guinea) Constitution: 14 May 1982, suspended after coup of 3 April 1984 Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984) Executive branch: president, Military Committee for National Recovery (Comite Militaire de Redressement National or CMRN), Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire) was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel) Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. Lansana CONTE (since 5 April 1984) Political parties and leaders: none; following the 3 April 1984 coup all political activity was banned Suffrage: none Elections: none Communists: no Communist party, although there are some sympathizers Member of: ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, Mano River Union, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Kekoura CAMARA; Chancery at 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-9420; US--Ambassador Samuel E. LUPO; Embassy at 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue, Conakry (mailing address is B. P. 603, Conakry); telephone 44-15-20 through 24 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 - Economy 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 about 25% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of the world's bauxite reserves; exports of bauxite and alumina accounted for more than 80% of total exports in 1986. GDP: $2.5 billion, per capita $350; real growth rate 5.0% (1988) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27.0% (1988) Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $357 million; expenditures $480 million, including capital expenditures of $229 million (1988 est.) Exports: $553 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--alumina, bauxite, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm kernels; partners--US 33%, EC 33%, USSR and Eastern Europe 20%, Canada Imports: $509 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles and other grain; partners--US 16%, France, Brazil External debt: $1.6 billion (December 1988) Industrial production: growth rate NA% Electricity: 113,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: bauxite mining, alumina, diamond mining, light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries 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 Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $203 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $882 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $446 million Currency: Guinean franc (plural--francs); 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1--505.00 (October 1988), 440.00 (January 1988), 440.00 (1987), 235.63 (1986), 22.47 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year - Communications Railroads: 1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter standard gauge 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 Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft Airports: 16 total, 16 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: fair system of open-wire lines, small radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system; 10,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 12,000 TV sets; 125,000 radio receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station - Defense Forces Branches: Army (ground forces), Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force, paramilitary National Gendarmerie Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,657,787; 834,777 fit for military service Defense expenditures: 3.1% of GDP (1984)