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Guinea

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Guinea is a country located in West Africa along the Atlantic Ocean.

Location Guinea AU Africa
Location Guinea AU Africa

It shares borders with several other nations. To the north is Senegal, and to the northeast lies Mali. The country is also near the Ivory Coast to the southeast. To the south, it borders Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Guinea Regions
Guinea Regions

Because it sits near the Gulf of Guinea, it is sometimes called Guinea-Conakry. This name helps people tell it apart from neighbors like Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea. Its capital city is Conakry, which sits right on the coast.

The land in Guinea is divided into four very different regions.

Guinea Regions
Guinea Regions

First, there is Maritime Guinea, which is the area along the Atlantic coast. Next are the Fouta Djallon highlands, also known as Middle Guinea.

Fouta Djallon (14582291826)
Fouta Djallon (14582291826)

The northeast contains the Upper Guinea savanna region. Finally, there is the Guinée forestière, which is filled with tropical forests.

Hippopotame au Parc national Badiar
Hippopotame au Parc national Badiar

These different areas create many different types of homes for plants and animals.

Long ago, this land was part of many great African empires. The Ghana Empire was one of the earliest groups in the area. Later, the Mali Empire grew very strong in this region.

Dame de Mali Guinée
Dame de Mali Guinée

Famous leaders like Mansa Kankou Moussa ruled during this time. After the empires changed, the French arrived in the 1890s. They made Guinea a colony known as French Guinea.

Ahmed Sékou Touré na obisku v Ljubljani 1961 (3)
Ahmed Sékou Touré na obisku v Ljubljani 1961 (3)

On October 2, 1958, Guinea voted to become an independent country. Ahmed Sékou Touré became its first president.

Today, about 14 million people live in Guinea. Most people, about 90 percent, are Muslim.

Mosquée fayçal
Mosquée fayçal

People use French as the official language for school and government. However, more than 24 local languages are spoken, such as Susu, Pular, and Maninka.

Kissidougou market
Kissidougou market

The economy relies on farming and mining. Guinea is the second-largest producer of bauxite in the world.

Guinea Dinguiraye market
Guinea Dinguiraye market

It also has many valuable deposits of gold and diamonds.

Guinea's recent history has had many ups and downs. The country has faced many military coups, which is when the military takes control.

In 2010, Guinea held its first democratic election. However, a military group took power again in 2021. This caused the country to be suspended from the African Union for a while.

Location Guinea AU Africa
Location Guinea AU Africa

Guinea was eventually welcomed back to the African Union in January 2026. The country remains an active member of the United Nations and other groups.

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🖼️ Images & Media (17)
Liberté.oga
File:Guinea (orthographic projection).svg
Guinea (orthographic projection).svg
File:Location Guinea AU Africa.svg
Location Guinea AU Africa.svg
File:Ahmed Sékou Touré na obisku v Ljubljani 1961 (3).jpg
Ahmed Sékou Touré na obisku v Ljubljani...
File:President Jimmy Carter with President Ahmed Sǩou Tour ̌of Guinea.jpg
President Jimmy Carter with President...
File:Acte2 FNDC.jpg
Acte2 FNDC.jpg
File:Un-guinea.png
Un-guinea.png
File:Koppen-Geiger Map GIN present.svg
Koppen-Geiger Map GIN present.svg
File:Hippopotame au Parc national Badiar.jpg
Hippopotame au Parc national Badiar.jpg
File:Guinea Regions.png
Guinea Regions.png
File:Fouta Djallon (14582291826).jpg
Fouta Djallon (14582291826).jpg
File:Vladimir Putin and Alpha Condé (2017-09-28) 2.jpg
Vladimir Putin and Alpha Condé (2017-09-28) 2.jpg

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