7,164,823 (1996).

29.1 per sq km.

Conakry

1,000,000 (1996).

The Republic of Guinea is located in West Africa and bounded to the northwest by Guinea-Bissau, the north by Senegal and Mali, the east by Côte d'Ivoire, the south by Liberia and the southwest by Sierra Leone. Guinea's many rivers supply water to much of West Africa. The River Niger flows north from the southern highlands into Mali before turning south again through Niger and Nigeria. The coastal plain is made up of mangrove swamps, while inland are the Fouta Djalon hills which form several distinct ranges and plateaux over the whole of western Guinea. In the northeast, savannah plains of the Sahel region stretch into Mali. To the south are mountains known as the Guinea Highlands.

Republic since 1958. Gained independence from France in 1958. Head of State: President Lansana Conté since 1993. Head of Government: Prime Minister Laimine Sidime since 1999.

French is the official language. Susu, Malinké and Fula are local languages.

74% Muslim, with Animist and Roman Catholic minorities.

GMT.

220 volts, 50Hz.