Guinea

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

total:

1.51 cu km/yr (8%/2%/90%)

per capita:

161 cu m/yr (2000)

• deforestation;
• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• desertification;
• soil contamination and erosion;
• overfishing, overpopulation in forest region;
• poor mining practices have led to environmental damage

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Guinean(s)

adjective:

Guinean

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and yellow fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

aerosolized dust or soil contact disease:

Lassa fever

animal contact disease:

rabies (2009)

conventional long form:

Republic of Guinea

conventional short form:

Guinea

local long form:

Republique de Guinee

local short form:

Guinee

former:

French Guinea

name:

Conakry

geographic coordinates:

9 33 N, 13 42 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 33 prefectures and 1 special zone (zone special)*;
• Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, 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

chief of state:

President Alpha CONDE (since 21 December 2010)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mohamed Said FOFANA (since 24 December 2010)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president;
• election last held on 27 June 2010 with a runoff election held on 7 November 2010

election results:

Alpha CONDE elected president in a runoff election; percent of vote Alpha CONDE 52.5%, Cellou Dalein DIALLO 47.5%

• Constitutional Court;
• Court of First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance;
• Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel;
• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

• Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE];
• Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea or UFDG [Cellou Dalein DIALLO];
• Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE]

note: Listed are the three most popular parties in first round voting for president in 2010; overall, there are more than 130 registered parties

• National Confederation of Guinean Workers-Labor Union of Guinean Workers or CNTG-USTG Alliance (includes National Confederation of Guinean Workers or CNTG and Labor Union of Guinean Workers or USTG);
• Syndicate of Guinean Teachers and Researchers or SLECG

chief of mission:

Ambassador Blaise CHERIF

chancery:

2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-4300

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-8688

chief of mission:

Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER

embassy:

Koloma, Conakry, east of Hamdallaye Circle

mailing address:

B. P. 603, Transversale No. 2, Centre Administratif de Koloma, Commune de Ratoma, Conakry

telephone:

[224] 65-10-40-00

FAX:

[224] 65-10-42-97

• 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

name:

"Liberte" (Liberty)

lyrics/music:

unknown/Fodeba KEITA

note: adopted 1958

agriculture:

76%

industry and services:

24% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

30.3% (2007)

• rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes;
• cattle, sheep, goats;
• timber

• bauxite, gold, diamonds, iron;
• alumina refining;
• light manufacturing, and agricultural processing

general assessment:

inadequate system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay system

domestic:

• Conakry reasonably well served;
• coverage elsewhere remains inadequate and large companies tend to rely on their own systems for nationwide links;
• fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular subscribership is expanding and exceeded 50 per 100 persons in 2009

international:

country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

• government maintains marginal control over broadcast media;
• single state-run TV station;
• state-run radio broadcast station also operates several stations in rural areas;
• a steadily increasing number of privately-owned radio stations, nearly all in Conakry, and about a dozen community radio stations;
• foreign television programming available via satellite and cable subscription services (2011)

total:

1,185 km

country comparison to the world: 86

standard gauge:

238 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

947 km 1.000-m gauge (2009)

total:

44,348 km

country comparison to the world: 83

paved:

4,342 km

unpaved:

40,006 km (2003)

males age 16-49:

2,359,203

females age 16-49:

2,329,784 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,493,991

females age 16-49:

1,535,418 (2010 est.)

male:

118,443

female:

115,901 (2010 est.)

• conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in neighboring states have spilled over into Guinea resulting in domestic instability;
• Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied since 1998

refugees (country of origin):

• 21,856 (Liberia);
• 5,259 (Sierra Leone);
• 3,900 (Cote d'Ivoire)

IDPs:

19,000 (cross-border incursions from Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone) (2007)

current situation:

• Guinea is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation;
• the majority of victims are children, and internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking;
• within the country, girls are trafficked primarily for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, while boys are trafficked for forced agricultural labor, and as forced beggars, street vendors, shoe shiners, and laborers in gold and diamond mines;
• some Guinean men are also trafficked for agricultural labor within Guinea;
• transnationally, girls are trafficked into Guinea for domestic servitude, forced labor, and likely also for sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increased efforts to eliminate trafficking;
• although the government acknowledges that trafficking in persons is a problem in Guinea, it is unclear if the new government, which took power in December 2010, will demonstrate an increase over the previous regime's minimal efforts to combat trafficking;
• the government failed to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses;
• no new prosecutions or convictions were reported, 12 cases from the previous reporting period remain pending in the courts, and 18 additional cases have disappeared from the court system;
• no protection to trafficking victims was provided, and although the government conducted an anti-trafficking awareness campaign on radio and television, overall prevention efforts remain weak (2011)