FAX: 41 15 22

FAX: (202) 483-8688

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: 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23

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

Guinea Economy

Economy - overview: 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22.3%

industry: 35.3%

services: 42.4% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: 40% (1994 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6%

highest 10%: 32% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 3 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $NA

expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.)

Industries: bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (1994)

Electricity - production: 750 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 46.67%

hydro: 53.33%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 697.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

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)

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)

Debt - external: $3.6 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $359.2 million (1998)

Currency: Guinean franc (GNF)

Currency code: GNF

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)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Guinea Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 20,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,868 (1997)

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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 357,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 6 (1997)

Televisions: 85,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .gn

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

Internet users: 5,000 (2000)

Guinea Transportation

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)

Highways: total: 30,500 km

paved: 5,033 km

unpaved: 25,467 km (1996)

Waterways: 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft)

Ports and harbors: Boke, Conakry, Kamsar

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

Airports: 15 (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 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 10

1,524 to 2,437 m: 6

914 to 1,523 m: 3

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Guinea Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard,
Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National
Police Force (Surete National)

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.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $56 million (FY96)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.4% (FY96)

Guinea Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: 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

@Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau Introduction

Background: In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling.

Guinea-Bissau Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal

Geographic coordinates: 12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 36,120 sq km

land: 28,000 sq km

water: 8,120 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of
Connecticut

Land boundaries: total: 724 km

border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

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

Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m

Natural resources: fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use: arable land: 11%

permanent crops: 1%

permanent pastures: 38%

forests and woodland: 38%

other: 12% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 17 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires

Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Guinea-Bissau People

Population: 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536)

15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889)

65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.23% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.42 years

male: 47.12 years

female: 51.78 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.5% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,300 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Guinean (s)

adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%,
Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%

Languages: Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 53.9%

male: 67.1%

female: 40.7% (1997 est.)

Guinea-Bissau Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau

conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau

local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau

local short form: Guine-Bissau

former: Portuguese Guinea

Government type: republic, multiparty since mid-1991

Capital: Bissau

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos

Independence: 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by
Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26
February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Koumba YALLA (since 18
February 2000)

head of government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001)

cabinet: NA

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature

election results: Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)

elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of
Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for
the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY];
Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz
LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES];
International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje
Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress
or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic
Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS
[Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president,
Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or
PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT (associate), ACP,
AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Mario LOPES DA ROSA

chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone: (202) 347-3950