Daily Almanac for
Feb 7, 2012
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Guinea

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Facts & Figures

President: Alpha Condé (2010)

Prime Minister: Jean-Marie Doré (2009)

Total area: 94,927 sq mi (245,861 sq km)

Population (2010 est.): 10,324,025 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 37.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 63.0/1000; life expectancy: 57.6; density per sq km: 41

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Conakry, 1,767,200

Monetary unit: Guinean franc

More Facts & Figures

Flag of Guinea
Index
  1. Guinea Main Page
  2. Guinea's Presidents Elected to Several Terms
  3. Liberia's Civil War Takes a Toll on Guinea
  4. Conté's Leadership Is Challenged

Geography

Guinea, in West Africa on the Atlantic, is also bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Slightly smaller than Oregon, the country consists of a coastal plain, a mountainous region, a savanna interior, and a forest area in the Guinea Highlands. The highest peak is Mount Nimba at 5,748 ft (1,752 m).

Government

Republic.

History

Beginning in 900, the Susu migrated from the north and began settling in the area that is now Guinea. The Susu civilization reached its height in the 13th century. Today the Susu make up about 20% of Guinea's population. From the 16th to the 19th century, the Fulani empire dominated the region. In 1849, the French claimed it as a protectorate. First called Rivières du Sud, the protectorate was rechristened French Guinea; finally, in 1895, it became part of French West Africa.

Guinea achieved independence on Oct. 2, 1958, and became an independent state with Sékou Touré as president. Under Touré, the country was the first avowedly Marxist state in Africa. Diplomatic relations with France were suspended in 1965, with the Soviet Union replacing France as the country's chief source of economic and technical assistance.

Next: Guinea's Presidents Elected to Several Terms
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Guatemala Countries Guinea-Bissau

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Guinea smelter--the perfect model for Africa? Katrina Manson and James Knight continue their odyssey through West Africa, this month filing an exclusive report from Guinea Conakry on a new aluminium smelter that could transform the country's economy and the people's quality of life.(Business in Africa)(Global Alumina arrives in Guinea) (African Business)

Guinea-pigs: Good, Symbol and Conflict of Knowledge in Ecuador. (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute)

Guinea pigs as models for cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism (The Journal of Nutrition)

Equatorial Guinea: Africa's Kuwait. (Countryfile).(oil boom prompts desire for re-opening of American embassy) (African Business)

Reintroducing guinea fowl. (The poultry yard). (Countryside & Small Stock Journal)

Guinea opens hunting: new bongo, buffalo destination.(big game hunting) (Sports Afield)

Carter: "Fight against Guinea worm disease needs more effort" (New African)

Meat production from Guinea fowl. (includes article on how to build an egg incubator) (Countryside & Small Stock Journal)

Guinea - Bissau new beginnings after troubled past: Guinea - Bissau has largely fallen off the map of dynamic Africa but this small country has no shortage of investment opportunities. In November, a British all - party parliamentary group and Ecobank organised a summit where Guinea - Bissau leaders met potential UK investors. Tom Minney reports.(Guinea-Bissau) (African Business)

A transforming ras gene in tumorigenic guinea pig cell lines initiated by diverse chemical carcinogens. (Science)

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