Guinea. Economic analysis

GUINEA, The Republic of Guinea (Republique de Guinee), a country in Western Africa. Area - 245860 sq.km. Population - 7,806,000: Peuhl, Malinke, Soussou and other. Urban population - 29,6%. Capital - Conakry (706 000). Administrative division: 8 regions (Zerekore, Kankan, Faranah, Labe, Mamou, Kindia, Boke, Conakry), 33 prefectures, 38 city communes, 302 rural communes. Population - 7,8 mln people - comprises various nationalities: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 15%. 70% of the population is rural. Highest point - Mont Nimba 1,752 m. Official language - French. 85% are Sunnite Muslims, 5% are Catholic. Indigenous beliefs still exist. Currency - Guinean franc. The main exported commodities are bauxite, alumina, fruits, diamonds, coffee. Government type - multi-party republic.

"It's better to be free poor-men than rich slaves", said Sekou Toure, the first President of the independent Guinea (1958). Guinea still remains a poor country, although huge layers of bauxite and diamonds give hope for the country's soon revival. The bigger part of the population are engaged in agriculture. The most numerous ethnic group, the Peuhl, occupy a dry plateau in the centre of the country. Most of the Malinke live in the prairies of the Upper Guinea. The Soussou inhabit the marshy Atlantic coast. On the South-West there are mountains grown over with forests. It was in pre-historic times that first people stepped on this land. In the Middle Ages Guinea found itself overpowered by different African empires. Not much time passed until the first Europeans started to arrive here, and in the XVII century many local inhabitants were forcefully carried over to the South America and to the North America to serve as slaves. In the time period between 1891 and 1958 Guinea was a French colony. Despite all efforts, President Sekou Toure never managed to raise Guinea's life standarts, and after his death in 1984 a military government with colonel (nowadays a general) Lansana Conte as its leader came to power. The first multi-party elections took place in 1993, and colonel Conte once again became head of state.

The western part of Guinea is a coastal lowland which in the north-west shapes into Futa Jallon plateau. In the south-east of the country there are the North-Guinean heights (Mont Nimba reaches the point of 1752 m), the north-east is a plain. Equatorial monsoon climate. The average month's temperature is18-26 °Ñ, with the exception of the coastal territories where month's average goes up to 30°Ñ. Precipitation - from 1200 to 4000 mm per year. The main rivers are Gambia, Bafing, Niger, Konkure. Savannas, wet tropical forests. Nimba reserve.

Guinea is an agricultural country with a relatively well developed mining industry. GDP ratio (est. 1998, in %): agriculture - 24, industry - 24 (incl. mining - 19). Among main agricultural goods are: coffee, bananas, pineapples, African oil palm. Stock-breeding. Fishing. Bauxite, diamonds and gold extraction. Electricity production - 843 mln kilowatt-hour (est. 2001) Agricultural enterprises; saw-mills, textile mills and bicycle-assembling factories. Overall railway extent - 962 km (est. 2000), total roads' length - 38,3 thousand sq.km. Main seaports - Conakry, Kamsar. Export: bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold, agricultural goods. Main trade partners - USA, France, Germany, Spain.