Guinea (2001) | Burundi (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.12% (male 1,637,000; female 1,645,786) 15-64 years: 54.19% (male 2,015,199; female 2,110,745) 65 years and over: 2.69% (male 84,586; female 120,554) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
46.82% (male 1,472,618; female 1,441,548) 15-64 years: 50.37% (male 1,541,131; female 1,593,743) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 71,984; female 102,873) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 15 (2000 est.) | 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
245,857 sq km land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
27,830 sq km land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Independent from France since 1958, Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Lansana CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998. Unrest in Sierra Leone has spilled over into Guinea, threatening stability and creating a humanitarian emergency. | Between 1993 and 2000, wide-spread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi created hundreds of thousands of refugees and left tens of thousands dead. Although some refugees have returned from neighboring countries, continued ethnic strife has forced many others to flee. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, have intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Birth rate | 39.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$125 million expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Conakry | Bujumbura |
Climate | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January |
Coastline | 320 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Guinea conventional short form: Guinea local long form: Republique de Guinee local short form: Guinee former: French Guinea |
conventional long form:
Republic of Burundi conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | Guinean franc (GNF) | Burundi franc (BIF) |
Death rate | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (1999 est.) | $1.12 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Charge d'Affaires Timberlake FOSTER embassy: Rue Ka 038, Conakry mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23 FAX: [224] 41 15 22 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mohamed Aly THIAM chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas NDIKUMANA chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) | $1.344 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of perhaps 250,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and one in nine adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. |
Electricity - consumption | 697.5 million kWh (1999) | 160.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 29 million kWh
note: supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999) |
Electricity - production | 750 million kWh (1999) | 141 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
46.67% hydro: 53.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
0.71% hydro: 99.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
lowest point:
Lake Tanganyika 772 m highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Guinean francs per US dollar - 1,855.0 (October 2000), 1,572.0 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999), 1,236.8 (1998), 1,095.3 (1997), 1,004.0 (1996) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 782.36 (January 2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 477.77 (1998), 352.35 (1997), 302.75 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lansana CONTE (head of military government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lamine SIDIME (since 8 March 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president; election last held 14 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003); the prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 56.1%, Mamadou Boye BA (UNR-PRP) 24.6%, Alpha CONDE (RPG) 16.6%, |
chief of state:
President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Pierre BUYOYA (interim president since 27 September 1996, officially sworn in 11 June 1998), First Vice President Frederic BAMVUGINYUMVIRA (since NA June 1998), Second Vice President Mathias SINAMENYE (since NA June 1998); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power following a coup on 25 July 1996 in which former President NTIBANTUNGANYA was overthrown |
Exports | $820 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $32 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US, Benelux, Ukraine, Ireland (1999) | Germany 17%, Belgium 14%, US 8%, France 6%, Switzerland 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
22.3% industry: 35.3% services: 42.4% (1998 est.) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 18% services: 32% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed |
Highways | total:
30,500 km paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
total:
14,480 km paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 26.6% (1992) |
Imports | $634 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $110 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France, Belgium, US, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | Belgium 20%, Zambia 11%, Kenya 8%, South Africa 5%, France 4% (1999) |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (1994) | 6.3% (1999 est.) |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 129.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 70.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 22% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 930 sq km (1993 est.) | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | 1.9 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
3,399 km border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km |
total:
974 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 59% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
44% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 3% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 June 1995 (next scheduled for 26 November 2000 postponed indefinitely due to border fighting with rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberia) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 71, RPG 19, PRP 9, UNR 9, UPG 2, PDG-AST 1, UNP 1, PDG-RDA 1, other 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (121 seats; note - new Transitional Constitution expanded the number of seats from 81 to 121 in 1998; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but suspended by presidential decree in 1996) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, various other parties 40 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.91 years male: 43.49 years female: 48.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
46.06 years male: 45.15 years female: 46.99 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.9% male: 49.9% female: 21.9% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.3% male: 49.3% female: 22.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) | Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $56 million (FY96) | $57 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY96) | 6.1% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,764,912 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,394,273 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
891,166 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
728,326 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 16 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
79,360 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean |
noun:
Burundian(s) adjective: Burundi |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: as a result of civil war in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to almost half a million Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Two national, mainstream governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Luc RUKINGAMA, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]
note: A multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZENZIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Loosely organized Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Tutsi extremist parties |
Population | 7,613,870 (July 2001 est.) | 6,223,897
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1994 est.) | 36.2% (1990 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.96% (2001 est.) | 2.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | Bujumbura |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 357,000 (1997) | 440,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
1,086 km standard gauge: 279 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
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 (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: sparse system of open wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 16,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,868 (1997) | 619 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (1997) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.16 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) | Lake Tanganyika |