Guinea (2002) | Tokelau (2004) | |
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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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.8% (male 1,660,795; female 1,669,850)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 2,067,991; female 2,165,625) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 86,968; female 123,836) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 15 (2001) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 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 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 1 (2002) |
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Area | total: 245,857 sq km
land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | about 17 times the size of The Mall in 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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 39.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $395.7 million
expenditures: $472.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Conakry | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
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; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 320 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
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: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Guinean franc (GNF) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 17.24 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (1999 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rafiou Alpha Oumar BARRY
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | major border incursions from Revolutionary United Front combatants from Sierra Leone, dissident Guinean forces, Liberian Army, and mercenaries between September 2000 and March 2001 killed over 1,500 Guinean civilians and military personnel; the borders remain mostly sealed | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) (1998) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | 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. 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 has caused 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. Multilateral aid - including Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief - and single digit inflation should permit 5% growth in 2002. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 716.1 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 770 million kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 46%
hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to environmental damage | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Guinean francs per US dollar - 1,974.4 (December 2001), 1,950.6 (2001), 1,746.9 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999), 1,236.8 (1998), 1,095.3 (1997) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
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); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $694.5 million f.o.b. (2000) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Belgium, US, Ireland, Russia | New Zealand (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $15 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24%
industry: 38% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,970 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $555.2 million f.o.b. (2000) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | France, US, Belgium, Cote d'Ivoire | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (1994) (1994) | NA |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 127.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 950 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) (1999) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) | - |
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: 3.6%
permanent crops: 2.44% other: 93.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language | Tokelauan (a Polynesian 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 | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 30 June 2002; next to be held NA 2007 election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 61.6%, UPR 26.6%, other 11.8%; seats by party - PUP 85, UPR 20, other 9 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.28 years
male: 43.81 years female: 48.82 years (2002 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.9% male: 49.9% female: 21.9% (1995 est.) |
NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $137.6 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.3% (FY01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,812,131 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 915,028 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of civil war in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to approximately 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees (2002 est.) |
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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 Renewal and Progress or PRP; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; People's Party of Guinea or PPG [Pascal TOLNO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress and Renewal or UPR; note - Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP and Union for the New Republic or UNR merged into UPR [Siradiou DIALLO]; 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 7,775,065 (July 2002 est.) | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1994 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.23% (2002 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2001) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
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, of which 36 km are usable and the rest are deteriorating (2000 est.) |
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Religions | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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 (2002 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 37,000 (1998) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21,567 (1998) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 lowpowered stations (2001) | - |
Terrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 5.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) | - |