Guinea (2004) | West Bank (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 | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,075,652; female 2,032,936)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 2,417,440; female 2,428,085) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 127,654; female 164,695) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 16 (2003 est.) | 3 (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 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 245,857 sq km
land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Delaware |
Background | Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984, when the military seized the government after the death of the first president Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003. Unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia has spilled over into Guinea on several occasions over the past decade, threatening stability and creating humanitarian emergencies. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. |
Birth rate | 42.26 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $410.7 million
expenditures: $708.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
Capital | Conakry | - |
Climate | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 320 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) | - |
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: West Bank |
Currency | Guinean franc (GNF) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 15.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.25 billion (2001 est.) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rafiou Alpha Oumar BARRY
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 986-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 478-3010 |
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Disputes - international | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups in Guinea, domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts skirmishes, deaths, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over the town of Yenga | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) |
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. Fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have caused major economic disruptions, including a loss in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff, while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local markets. Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth should strengthen in 2004, however, because of a slowly improving security situation and increased investor confidence. | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. |
Electricity - consumption | 735.2 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 790.6 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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 | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
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% | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | Guinean francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 1,975.84 (2002), 1,950.56 (2001), 1,746.87 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 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 Cellou Dalein DIALLO (since 9 December 2004) 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 21 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2008); the prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 95.3%, Mamadou Boye BARRY (UPR) 4.6% |
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Exports | NA (2001) | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | South Korea 14.8%, Spain 10.7%, US 10.1%, France 9.2%, Russia 9%, Ireland 7.9%, Belgium 6.4%, Germany 5.6%, Ukraine 5.3% (2003) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.02 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24.9%
industry: 38.2% services: 36.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | -7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Highways | total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1999 est.) |
total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | France 16.8%, China 9.3%, Belgium 7.1%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, UK 5.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.8%, US 4.5% (2003) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (1994) | NA% |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | total: 91.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 86.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.8% (2003 est.) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 8 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 950 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | - |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
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:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.63%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 93.79% (2001) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
Languages | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; 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 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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.7 years
male: 48.45 years female: 50.99 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 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:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,344 GRT/5,003 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Iraq 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, General Directorate of National Police | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $58.5 million (2003) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,108,948 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,064,965 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | - |
Nationality | noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season | droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish | arable land |
Net migration rate | -3.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of conflict in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to approximately 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees (2004 est.) |
3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or UPN [Mamadou Bhoye BARRY]; 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 [Siradiou DIALLO]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 9,246,462 (July 2004 est.) | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.37% (2004 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Radios | - | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
Railways | total: 837 km
standard gauge: 175 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 662 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 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: country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,200 (2003) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 111,500 (2003) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 6 low-power stations (2001) | NA |
Terrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 5.87 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2002 est.) | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2003) | none |