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Although Guinea's mineral wealth makes it potentially one of Africa's richest countries, its people are among the poorest in West Africa.
Ruled by strong-arm leaders since independence, Guinea has been seen as a bulwark against instability in neighbouring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. However it has also been implicated in the conflicts that have ravaged the region.
Overview
After independence in 1958 Guinea severed ties with France and turned to the Soviet Union. The first president, Ahmed Sekou Toure, pursued a revolutionary socialist agenda and crushed political opposition. Tens of thousands of people disappeared, or were tortured and executed, during his 26-year regime.
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AT-A-GLANCE
Politics:
Military junta took control in December 2008 within hours of death of President Lansana Conte, who himself seized power in a coup 24 years earlier
Economy:
Guinea is a leading bauxite exporter, but most of its people live on less than $1 a day
International:
The US, the African Union and the European Union have imposed sanctions
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Economic mismanagement and repression culminated in riots in 1977. These led to some relaxation of state control of the economy.
But it was only after the death in 1984 of Ahmed Sekou Toure, and the seizure of power by Lansana Conte and other officers, that the socialist experiment was abandoned - without reversing poverty.
In 2000 Guinea became home to up to half a million refugees fleeing fighting in Sierra Leone and Liberia. This increased the strain on its economy and generated suspicion and ethnic tension, amid mutual accusations of attempts at destabilisation and border attacks.
Acute economic problems, instability among its neighbours and uncertainty over a successor to its authoritarian president have prompted a European think-tank, the Crisis Group, to warn that Guinea risks becoming a "failed state".
Facts
- Full name:
The Republic of Guinea
- Population:
10 million (UN, 2009)
- Capital:
Conakry
- Area:
245,857 sq km (94,926 sq miles)
- Major languages:
French, various tribal languages
- Major religions:
Islam, Christianity, indigenous beliefs
- Life expectancy:
56 years (men), 60 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit:
1 Guinean franc = 100 centimes
- Main exports:
Bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products
- GNI per capita:
US $400 (World Bank, 2007)
- Internet domain:
.gn
- International dialling code:
+224
Leaders
Interim head of military junta
: General Sekouba Konate
General Sekouba Konate took over as leader of the military junta in December 2009 after former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara was shot in the head by a would-be assassin.
General Konate has promised to respect election results
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The junta seized power in a bloodless coup after the death of long-serving President Lansana Conte in December 2008.
Gen Konate set up a transitional government charged with holding presidential elections, which are due on 27 June.
As campaigning kicked off in May 2010, he promised the junta would remain neutral and respect the eventual result.
The polls are expected to be the first free presidential elections since independence from France in 1958.
Gen Konate's predecessor Captain Camara was widely condemned after more than 150 people died when troops opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in a stadium in the capital Conakry.
A Human Rights Watch report later concluded that the killings were designed to silence opposition to military rule, and that this constituted a crime against humanity. The report accused the junta leadership of direct involvement in the killings, and called for Captain Camara to stand trial.
Prime minister:
Jean-Marie Dore
A veteran opposition politician, Jean Marie Dore was appointed interim prime minister at the head of a power-sharing government on 19 January 2010.
The move was agreed at talks between interim junta leader Gen Sekouba Konate and wounded coup leader Moussa Dadis Camara in Burkina Faso, where Captain Camara was recuperating from a 2009 assassination.
The appointment of Mr Dore - who like Captain Camara, hails from the southern Forestiere region - was a seen as a key step towards free elections and the resumption of civilian rule.
It was also decided that one third of the government would be appointed by the junta, one third by the opposition and another third by regional representatives.
Mr Dore was among the thousands who were protesting in a Conakry stadium against Mr Camara's regime when troops opening fire, killing more than 150 people.
He is a prominent member of the pro-democracy group Forum of Living Forces.
Media
Radio and TV stations, as well as the country's largest and only daily newspaper, are state-controlled and offer little coverage of the opposition and scant criticism of the government.
The government keeps tight control over the media
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After much international and opposition lobbying, the government agreed to open up the airwaves and licensed private radio broadcasters in early 2006.
However, a media crackdown followed President Conte's declaration of a "state of siege" amid violent protests against his rule in February 2007.
A restrictive press law allows the government to censor publications. More than a dozen private newspapers publish either weekly or sporadically and are critical of the government. High printing costs also severely restrict publishing.
The press
Television
- Radiodiffusion-Television Guineenne (RTG) - state-run national TV
Radio
- Radiodiffusion-Television Guineenne (RTG) - state-run national broadcaster, programmes in French, English and vernacular languages; operating several Radio Rurale community stations
- Radio Nostalgie Guinea - private
- Liberte FM - private
- Soleil FM - private
- Familia FM - private
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