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Guinea

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gaius Cornelius (talk | contribs) at 00:20, 15 January 2007 (Fix Capitalisation, Typos fixed: german → German, using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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For other uses, see Guinea (disambiguation).

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Republic of Guinea
République de Guinée
Motto: "Travail, Justice, Solidarité"  (French)
"Work, Justice, Solidarity"
Anthem: "Liberté"
Location of Guinea
Capital
and largest city
Conakry
Official languagesFrench
GovernmentRepublic
• President
Lansana Conté
vacant
Independence
• from France
2 October 1958
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• July 2005 estimate
9,402,000 (83rd)
• 1996 census
7,156,406
GDP (PPP)2005 estimate
• Total
$18.879 billion (111th)
• Per capita
$2,035 (142nd)
HDI (2004)Decrease 0.445
Error: Invalid HDI value (160th)
CurrencyGuinean franc (GNF)
Time zoneGMT
Calling code224
ISO 3166 codeGN
Internet TLD.gn

Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a nation in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea. Roughly a crooked finger pointing downward, the country could be said to begin at the Atlantic ocean, travel inland and then south. Guinea's land borders Guinea-Bissau and Senegal to the north, Mali on the north and north-east. The inland tip of that south-pointing finger borders the Côte d'Ivoire on the south-east, Liberia on the south, and Sierra Leone to the west of the finger's southern reach (see map.) Its territory encompasses the water source for the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia rivers, with a coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean. The name Guinea (geographically assigned to most of Africa's west coast, south of the Sahara desert and north of the Gulf of Guinea) originates from Berber and roughly translates into 'land of the blacks' [citation needed]. Guinea also translates to "woman/wife" in Susu, one of the most spoken languages in the country. It is sometimes called Guinea-Conakry per its capital to differentiate it from the neighboring Guinea-Bissau (whose capital is Bissau).

History

Main article: History of Guinea

The area covered by the modern state of Guinea has seen itself incorporated into a succession of empires across the centuries. The earliest of these was the "Ghana Empire" which came into being c. 900. This was followed by the Sosso kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Mali Empire came to power in the area following the Battle of Kirina in 1235. The Mali Empire prospered until internal problems weakened it, allowing its states to seize power in the 15th century. Chief among these was the Songhai state which became the Songhai Empire. This empire exceeded its predecessors in territory and wealth, but it too fell prey to internal wrangling and civil war and was eventually toppled at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. After this the area fragmented until an Islamic state was founded in the 18th century, bringing some stability to the region.

Another important event is the arrival of Fulani Muslims in the highland region of Fuuta Jalloo in the early 18th century.

Europeans first came to the area during the Portuguese Discoveries, who started the slave trade, beginning in the 15th century. Present-day Guinea was created as a colony by France in 1890 with Noël Balley being the first governor. The capital Conakry was founded on Tombo Island in 1890. In 1895 the country was incorporated into French West Africa.

File:22novemberdetail.JPG
Monument to commemorate the 1970 military victory over the Portuguese invasion

Guinea gained her independence from France in 1958 and was governed by a dictatorship headed by Ahmed Sékou Touré. Touré pursued broadly socialist economic policies and suppressed opposition and free expression with little regard for human rights. After his death in 1984 Lansana Conté took power and immediately turned away from his predecessor's economic policies but continued to keep a close grip on power. Elections were held for the first time in 1993 but their results and the results of subsequent elections were disputed. Conté faces regular criticism for the condition of the country's economy and for his heavy-handed approach to political opponents. As of 2005 Guinea still faces very real problems and according to the International Crisis Group is in danger of becoming a failed state. During 2006, there were two strikes by city workers, both quickly resolved by conceding more favorable wages to city employees, and 10 students were killed to squelch a demonstration, ending that minor uprising. Peace Corps volunteers continue to be active within this empoverished country.

Politics

During 2006, there were two strikes by city workers, both quickly resolved by conceding more favorable wages to city employees, and 10 students were killed to squelch a demonstration, ending that minor uprising. U.S. Peace Corps volunteers continue to be active within this empoverished country. Template:Morepolitics

Guinea has had only two presidents. Lansana CONTE took control of the country in 1984 after the death of Sekou TOURE. Conte was officially elected in 1993, then reelected in 1998 and 2003. There is some speculation as to the validity of the elections, owing to that Conte has been notably jealous in guarding his position and intolerant of potential adversaries.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Regions of Guinea and Prefectures of Guinea

Guinea is divided into seven administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. The national capital, Conakry, ranks as a special zone. The regions are: Boké, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labé, Mamou, Nzérékoré and Conakry.

Geography

Map of Guinea
Map of Guinea
Main article: Geography of Guinea
Satellite image of Guinea

The highest point in Guinea is Mont Nimba at 5,748 feet (1,752 m).

At 94,919 square miles (245,857 km²), the country of Guinea is roughly the size of the United Kingdom and slightly smaller than the US state of Michigan or Oregon. There are 200 miles (320 km) of coastline. The total land border is 2,112 miles (3,399 km). The countries bordering Guinea include:

Sports

Guinea's main sport is soccer and although they have never made the World Cup Finals they have appeared at eight African Nations Cup finals; being runners up in 1976 and being in the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2006. The current national coach is Spaniard Quique Setien (a former player for Casablanca, Perines, Atletico de Madrid, Logrones, and Racing de Santander). Swimming is popular near the capital, Conakry, and hiking is possible in the Fouta Djallon region.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Guinea

Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an 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. Fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have caused major economic disruptions, aggravating a loss in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff. Panic buying has created food shortages and inflation and caused riots in local markets.

Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth rose slightly in 2004, primarily due to increases in global demand and commodity prices on world markets.

In September 2006, the government signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with an American micro-cap exploration company to explore for offshore petroleum resources. Further exploration of the virgin exploration acerage is in it's very early planning stages. No exploration activity has been carried out since late 2003.

In November 2006, Transparency International, a German NGO ranked Guinea as the most perceived corrupt nation in Africa and one of the most corrupt country in the world, ranking only before Myanmar, Iraq and Haiti. In an anticorruption conference in Guatemala, Guinean minister of justice Réné Alsény Gomez declared that Guinea has engaged in judicial actions against misuse of public funds. Former Central Bank governor Fodé Soumah has been indicted on charges of corruption on November 16, 2006. At the Guatemala conference, Transparency International president Huguette Labelle has applauded the measures.

Transportation

The railway which used to operate from Conakry to Bamako in Mali has been abandoned. As of 2006, all travel is now by plane or automobile. Most vehicles in Guinea are some 20 years old, and cabs are most any 4-door vehicle which the owner has designated as 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. Horses and donkeys are also found pulling carts, though this is primarily used to transport construction materials.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Guinea
  • Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%
  • Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Health issues

Guinea has been reorganizing its health system since the Bamako Initiative of 1987 formally promoted a community-based methods of increasing accessibily of drugs and health care services to the population, in part by implementing user fees.[1] The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.[2]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Guinea

Like other West African countries, Guinea has a rich musical tradition. The group Bembeya Jazz became popular in the 1960s after Guinean independence. The Vancouver-based guitarist Alpha Yaya Diallo hails from Guinea and incorporates its traditional rhythms and melodies into his original compositions, for which he has won two Juno Awards.

Miscellaneous topics

Language

Notables

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates
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mobile suited 		Start template Column divider End template
Float "col-float" Yes Yes {{col-float}} {{col-float-break}} {{col-float-end}}
"columns-start" Yes Yes {{columns-start}} {{column}} {{columns-end}}
Columns "div col" Yes Yes {{div col}} – {{div col end}}
"columns-list" No Yes {{columns-list}} (wraps div col) – –
Flexbox "flex columns" No Yes {{flex columns}} – –
Table "col" Yes No {{col-begin}},
{{col-begin-fixed}} or
{{col-begin-small}} 		{{col-break}} or
{{col-2}} .. {{col-5}} 		{{col-end}}

† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

Notes

  1. ^ "User fees for health: a background". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
  2. ^ "Implementation of the Bamako Initiative: strategies in Benin and Guinea". Retrieved 2006-12-28.
Look up Guinea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Language
  • Wolof Language Educational site on Wolof, a language of Senegal and Guinea.
Government
News Online
Overviews
Music
Literature
Directories
Tourism

Template:Countries of West Africa

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