Spratly Islands (2008) | Guinea (2001) | |
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:
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 15 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: less than 5 sq km
land: less than 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea |
total:
245,857 sq km land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 39.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Conakry |
Climate | tropical | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 926 km | 320 km |
Constitution | - | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands |
conventional long form:
Republic of Guinea conventional short form: Guinea local long form: Republique de Guinee local short form: Guinee former: French Guinea |
Currency | - | Guinean franc (GNF) |
Death rate | - | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.6 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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $359.2 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 697.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 750 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
46.67% hydro: 53.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region |
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 |
Ethnic groups | - | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10% |
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) |
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%, |
Exports | - | $820 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | - | US, Benelux, Ukraine, Ireland (1999) |
Fiscal 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
22.3% industry: 35.3% services: 42.4% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 38 N, 111 55 E | 11 00 N, 10 00 W |
Geography - note | strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs | - |
Heliports | 3 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
30,500 km paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
Imports | - | $634 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | - | France, Belgium, US, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) |
Independence | - | 2 October 1958 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.2% (1994) |
Industries | - | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries |
Infant mortality rate | - | 129.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6% (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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 930 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | - | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 59% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language |
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 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
45.91 years male: 43.49 years female: 48.42 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.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | NA | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $56 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY96) |
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) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season |
Natural resources | fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish |
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 |
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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states |
7,613,870 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 40% (1994 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.96% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 3 (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) |
Religions | - | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% |
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.) |
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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 20,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2,868 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 6 (1997) |
Terrain | flat | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
Waterways | - | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) |