1988 Edition

Administrative divisions

6 provinces with appointed governors

Branches

constitution provides for president with broad powers, prime minister, unicameral legislature (House of Representatives of the People), and free judiciary

Capital

Malabo

Climate

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

tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Coastline

320 km

209 km

Communists

no significant number of Communists but some sympathizers

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Oregon

about one-third the size of Rhode Island

Elections

parliamentary elections held October 1983 Political parties and leaders: political parties suspended; before coup of 3 August 1979, National Unity Party of Workers (PUNT) was the sole legal party

Environment

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; deforestation

deforestation; soil erosion

Ethnic divisions

Fulani, Malinke, Sousou, 15 smaller tribes

mestico, angolares (descendents of Angolan slaves), forros (descendents of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), and Europeans (primarily Portuguese)

Extended economic zone

200 nm

200 nm

Government leader

Col. Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, President (since August 1979)

Infant mortality rate

159/1,000

63/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

2.4 million (1983); 82.0% agriculture, 11.0% industry and commerce, 5.4% services, 1.6% government

(1981) 21,096; most of population engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; some unemployment; labor shortages on plantations and for skilled workers

Land boundaries

3,476 km total

Land use

6% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 42% forest and woodland; 40% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

1% arable land; 36% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 62% other

Language

French (official); each tribe has its own language

Portuguese (official)

Legal system

in transition; constitution approved 15 August 1982 by popular referendum; in part based on Spanish civil law and custom

Life expectancy

40

Literacy

20% in French; 48% in local languages

est. 50%

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)

Member of

AfDB, Conference of East and Central African States, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

National holiday

12 October

Nationality

noun — Guinean(s); adjective— Guinean

noun — Sao Tomean(s); adjective— Sao Tomean

Organized labor

virtually 100% of wage labor force loosely affiliated with the National Confederation of Guinean Workers

Population

6,737,760 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.50%

114,025 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.89%

Religion

85% Muslim, 5% indigenous beliefs, 10% Christian

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Special notes

none

smallest country in Africa

Suffrage

universal for adults

Terrain

generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior

volcanic, mountainous

Territorial sea

12 nm

12 nm

Total area

245,860 km2; land area: 245,860 km2

960 km2; land area: 960 km2

Total area

200km CONAKRY North Atlantic Ocean

Type

republic

Administrative divisions

33 provinces, divided into 36 prefectures

Branches

coup on 3 April 1984 established 17-member Military Committee for National Redressment (CMRN) to determine government policy; the highest ranking CMRN member became President, with other CMRN assuming most Cabinet portfolios

Capital

Conakry

Communists

no Communist party, although there are some sympathizers

Elections

none scheduled but CMRN has promised to create a true and viable democracy Political parties and leaders: following 3 April 1984 coup all political activity was banned

Government leader

Gen. Lansana CONTE, Head of Government (since April 1984)

Legal system

based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; 1958 constitution suspended after military coup on 3 April 1984; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, Mano River Union, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OATUU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 2 October; Anniversary of Committee for National Redressment, 3 April

Official name

Republic of Guinea

Democratic Republic of

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Type

republic

Agriculture

major cash crops — Rio Muni, timber, coffee; Bioko, cocoa; main food products — rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock

cash crops — coffee, bananas, palm products, peanuts, citrus fruits, pineapples; staple food crops — cassava, rice, millet, corn, sweet potatoes; livestock raised in some areas

Budget

receipts, $17.67 million; expenditures $16.96 million (1985)

public revenues, $444 million; current expenditures, $330 million; development expenditures, $104 million (1983)

Electric power

10,000 kW capacity; 17 million kWh produced, 47 kWh per capita (1986)

108,000 kW capacity; 236 million kWh produced, 41 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$16.9 million (1982 est); cocoa, coffee, wood

$537 million (f.o.b., 1984 est.); bauxite, alumina, diamonds, coffee, pineapples, bananas, palm kernels

Fiscal year

calendar year

calendar year

GNP

$75 million, $420 per capita (1983); economy destroyed during regime of former President Masie Nguema

$1.6 billion (1984), $300 per capita; real growth rate 1.3% (1984 est.)

Imports

$41.5 million (1982 est.); foodstuffs, chemicals and chemical products, textiles

$403 million (f.o.b., 1984 est.); petroleum products, metals, machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles

Major industries

fishing, sawmilling

bauxite mining, alumina, diamond mining, light manufacturing and processing industries

Major trade partner

Spain

Major trade partners

imports — France, USSR, US, Italy; exports— US, USSR, FRG, France, Spain

Monetary conversion rate

ekuele replaced by Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) franc in 1985; 415 CFA francs=US$l (1986)

400 Guinean francs=US$l (December 1986)

Natural resources

timber, petroleum minerals, agriculture

bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydroelectric power, fish

Airfields

3 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, and possibly Air Force

Civil air

1 major transport aircraft

Highways

Rio Muni — 2,460 km, including 185 km bituminous, remainder gravel and earth; Bioko — 300 km, including 146 km bituminous, remainder gravel and earth

30,100 km total; 1,087 km paved, 13,013 km gravel or laterite, 16,000 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

no significant waterways

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1981, $6.2 million; 21% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 72,000; 36,000 fit for military service

Ports

1 major (Malabo), 3 minor

Railroads

none

1,045 km; 806 km 1.000-meter gauge, 239 km 1.435-meter standard gauge

Telecommunications

poor system with adequate government services; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; 2,000 telephones (0.6 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, no FM, and 1 TV stations Defense Forces