Guinea

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

agricultural land:

58.1%;

• arable land 11.8%;
• permanent crops 2.8%;
• permanent pasture 43.5%

forest:

26.5%

other:

15.4% (2011 est.)

total:

0.55 cu km/yr (39%/10%/51%)

per capita:

64.3 cu m/yr (2005)

• deforestation;
• inadequate 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

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

aerosolized dust or soil contact disease:

Lassa fever

animal contact disease:

rabies (2013)

total number:

571,774

percentage:

25% (2003 est.)

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 30 N, 13 42 W

time difference:

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

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

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 27 June 2010 with a runoff on 7 November 2010 (next scheduled for 11 October 2015);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Alpha CONDE elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Alpha CONDE (RPG) 52.5%, Cellou Dalein DIALLO (UFDG) 47.5%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into Administrative Chamber and Civil, Penal, and Social Chamber; court consists of the first president, 2 chamber presidents, at least 4 councillors, the solicitor general and NA deputies);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court first president appointed by the national president after consultation with the National Assembly;
• other members appointed by presidential decree;
• member tenure NA;
• Constitutional Court member appointments - 2 by the National Assembly and the president of the republic, 3 experienced judges designated by their peers, 1 experienced lawyer, 1 university professor with expertise in public law designated by peers, and 2 experienced representatives of the Independent National Institution of Human Rights;
• members serve single 9-year terms

subordinate courts:

• includes Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel;
• courts of first instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance;
• High Court of Justice or Cour d'Assises;
• labor court;
• military tribunal;
• justices of the peace;
• specialized courts

• National Party for Hope and Development or PEDN [Lansana KOUYATE]
• Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE] (ruling party)
• Union for the Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean Marie DORE]
• Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea or UFDG [Cellou Dalein DIALLO]
• Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE]

note: listed are the five most popular parties as of January 2014; overall, there are more than 140 registered parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mamady CONDE (since 14 July 2014)

chancery:

2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-4300

FAX:

[1] (202) 986-3800

chief of mission:

Ambassador Alexander Mark LASKARIS (since 28 September 2012)

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] 655-10-40-00

FAX:

[224] 655-10-42-97

• 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

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

agriculture:

76%

industry and services:

24% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7%

highest 10%:

30.3% (2007)

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 exceeds 40 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

• 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 TV programming available via satellite and cable subscription services (2011)

total:

662 km

narrow gauge:

662 km 1.000-m gauge (20014)

country comparison to the world: 87

total:

44,348 km

paved:

4,342 km

unpaved:

40,006 km (2003)

country comparison to the world: 79

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

current situation:

• Guinea is a source, transit, and, to a lesser extent a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• the majority of trafficking victims are Guinean children;
• Guinean girls are subjected to domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation, while boys are forced to beg or to work as street vendors, shoe shiners, or miners;
• some Guinean children are forced to mine in Senegal, Mali, and possibly other West African countries;
• Guinean women and girls are subjected to domestic servitude and sex trafficking in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Western Europe, the US, and the Middle East, while Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese women are forced into prostitution in Guinea

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government conducted six trafficking investigations in 2013 and prosecuted and convicted only one trafficking offender, which was an increase over the previous year;
• the government failed to provide victims with protective services and did not support NGOs that assisted victims but continued to refer child victims to NGOs on an ad hoc basis;
• Guinean law does not prohibit all forms of trafficking, excluding, for example, debt bondage (2014)