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West Africa

Guinea

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.

Muslim population85.2%of the population

Population17.5 millionpeople (current)

CapitalConakryUTC 0

Currency9,565 = $1Guinean francs (GNF) (2020)

Country basics

Guinea is a West African republic on the Atlantic coast, where the Niger and Senegal rivers rise.

Guinea is a republic with Conakry as its capital and French as its official language, alongside several national languages. The franc is the currency, and bauxite, of which it holds some of the largest reserves in the world, leads its exports.

Official name

Republic of Guinea

Region

Africa · Western Africa

Government

Unitary presidential republic

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+224

Currency

Guinean franc (GNF, Fr)

Member of

UN; African Union

Website

https://www.gouvernement.gov.gn

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 85.2%, Christian 13.4%, animist 0.2%, none 1.2%

Languages

French

People and cities

Population

17.5 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

19.5 years (2025)

Living in cities

38.1% (2023)

Largest cities

Conakry (capital) 2.111 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

9,565 Guinean francs (GNF) per US dollar (2020)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$4,000 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

8.1% (2024)

Unemployment

5.3% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

64.6 years (2024)

Doctors

0.21 per 1,000 people (2022)

Safe drinking water

71.5% of people (2022)

Electricity

47.7% of people (2022)

Internet users

27% of people (2023)

Literacy

39.6% of adults (2018)

Land and climate

Climate

Generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

SizeSlightly smaller than Oregon; slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania

245,857 sq km

Natural hazards

Hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

National holiday

Independence Day, 2 October (1958)