Guinea (2001) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
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: 28% (male 5,586/female 5,330)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 12,424/female 12,403) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 1,328/female 1,887) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 15 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 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.) |
- |
Area | total:
245,857 sq km land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts. |
Birth rate | 39.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Conakry | Basseterre |
Climate | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 320 km | 135 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) | 19 September 1983 |
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: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | Guinean franc (GNF) | - |
Death rate | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (1999 est.) | $171 million (2001) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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 Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) | $8 million (2001) |
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. | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange. The opening of a 470-room resort in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue. |
Electricity - consumption | 697.5 million kWh (1999) | 98.44 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 750 million kWh (1999) | 105.8 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
46.67% hydro: 53.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region | NA |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10% | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $820 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | US, Benelux, Ukraine, Ireland (1999) | US 57.5%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.7% (2004) |
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 diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
22.3% industry: 35.3% services: 42.4% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | -1.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Geography - note | - | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
Highways | total:
30,500 km paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
total: 320 km
paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $634 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | France, Belgium, US, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | Ukraine 44.7%, US 22.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.8%, UK 6.2% (2004) |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (1994) | NA% |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 129.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.49 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2001 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 930 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | 18,170 (June 1995) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 59% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language | English |
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 English common law |
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 (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.91 years male: 43.49 years female: 48.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.15 years
male: 69.31 years female: 75.16 years (2005 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 has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $56 million (FY96) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY96) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,764,912 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
891,166 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season | hurricanes (July to October) |
Natural resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish | arable land |
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 |
-5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 7,613,870 (July 2001 est.) | 38,958 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1994 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.96% (2001 est.) | 0.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | Basseterre, Charlestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 357,000 (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) |
total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: good interisland and international connections
domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 23,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,868 (1997) | 5,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (1997) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 5.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.33 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.5% (1997) |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) | - |