Guinea

Officially known as Republic of Guinea, the country lies in West Africa. It was previously called French Guinea. It sometimes is termed as Guinea-Conakry so that it is not taken as Guinea-Bissau.

Previous records medal:

The country has not got any medal in the Olympics.

History:

The land of present day Guinea has seen many empires. Then the Europeans first came to this land in the 15th century. In 18th century Islamic was founded in the country and it gave some stability to the nation. In 1890 France turned it into a colony and later it was merged with French West Africa in 1895.

Capital City:

Conakry is the capital of Guinea and like most of the other capital, this too is the largest city of the country.

Independence:

It got its freedom from France on 2nd October 1958 and it was the first French African colony to get freedom.

Neighbouring countries:

Guinea shares its borders with two countries namely

Guinea-Bissau and Senegal to its north;
Mali to its north and northeast
Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast;
Liberia to the south lies
Sierra Leone to the west southern tip

Geographical setting:

With an area of 245,857 sq km, the country’s size is as big as the United Kingdom and its coastline is 320km long. The country can be parted like

the Bassa-Cote lowlands, populated by the Susu
the Fouta Djalon, populated by Peuls
the Sahelian Haute-Guinea, populated by Malinkes
the region with the forests

Rivers like the Niger, the Gambia and Senegal originate from the mountains here. Mount Nimba is the highest point with 1,752 mts.

Demographics:

Around 24 cultural groups form the population of Guinea and out of them, main three are as under

the Fulani which make 40% of the total population and dwell in the region of Futa Jallon.
The Mandinka that make 30% of the population. They reside in eastern Guinea and the Kankan and Kissidougou
The Soussou which make 20% and are mostly seen in part around the capital, Conakry, Kindia and Forecariah.

The religion followed in Guinea are Muslims with the highest percentage,85% and Christianity with 8 %.

Culture:

The country like its surrounding countries, too possess a dear treasure of musical tradition. Bembeya Jazz, a musical group gained huge popularity in 1960s when the country got freedom.

Sports like football are popular and swimming is liked a lot near the capital while hiking can be done in region of Fouta Djallon.

Government and policies:

Politics in the country is based on presidential republic. He is the ultimate authority, the head of both: state and government. He commands the military of Guinea and executes all the power. The president is elected for two 7-year term. The 114 members National Assembly is elected for four year term. Though opposition parties are welcome but they hardly get chance to gain power as Guinea is one party dominant state.

Population:

As per an estimate made in July 2008, the total population of Guinea is 10,211,437. The population growth rate in the country is 2.612%.

Education:

Since its independence it followed France for its education system. It introduced some changes in its patterns such as African history and geography is stressed upon along with its old French educational structure. Education for children from 7 to 13 is free and compulsory. Though it has many schools and college, it needs more improvement to get overall development of the nation.

Economy:

Though the country has a vast treasure of minerals, hydropower and agriculture but it is still labeled as underdeveloped. Strikes due to dissatisfaction with economy led to the strike in 2006 in the nation. As the Guinea franc was devalued, so the prices of basic need things rose and it went beyond the reach of the people. So, a lot of work has to be done to improve the economy of the country.