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90-590: Lower Guinea may refer to: This Guinea location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Guinea Guinea ( / ˈ ɡ ɪ n i / GHIN -ee ), officially the Republic of Guinea ( French : République de Guinée ), is a coastal country in West Africa . It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to

180-714: A Grand Council of French West Africa was created in Dakar. Two representatives from each colony, usually the Lieutenant Governor and a representative of the French population there, were seated. This council had only consultative powers over the office of the Governor General. The functioning of such bodies rested upon the Indigénat legal code of 1885. Despite this state of flux, and with the exception of

270-602: A bloodless coup . Conté assumed the role of president, with Traoré serving as prime minister, until December. Conté denounced the previous regime's record on human rights, releasing 250 political prisoners and encouraging approximately 200 thousand more to return from exile. He made explicit the turn away from socialism. In 1992, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with a presidential poll in 1993, followed by elections to parliament in 1995 (in which his party—the Party of Unity and Progress —won 71 of 114 seats). In September 2001,

360-458: A coup , declaring himself head of a military junta . Protests against the coup became violent, and 157 people were killed when, on 28 September 2009, the junta ordered its soldiers to attack people gathered to protest Camara's attempt to become president. The soldiers went on a rampage of rape, mutilation, and murder, which caused some foreign governments to withdraw their support for the new regime. On 3 December 2009, an aide shot Camara during

450-474: A definitive series depicting colonial soldiers, both in 1945. A series of 1947 featured 19 scenes and people of the various colonies, then during the 1950s there were about 30 various commemoratives . The last issue inscribed "Afrique occidentale française" and "RF" was the Human Rights issue of December 1958. It was followed by a Stamp Day issue on 21 March 1959, which omitted the federation's name and

540-654: A military faction overthrew president Alpha Condé and suspended the constitution. Muslims represent 90% of the population. The country is divided into four geographic regions: Maritime Guinea on the Atlantic coast, the Fouta Djallon or Middle Guinea highlands, the Upper Guinea savanna region in the northeast, and the Guinée forestière region of tropical forests. French, the official language of Guinea,

630-581: A "constitutional" resolution of the situation. China (which relies on Guinea for half of its aluminium ore, facilitated by connections to ousted President Condé) openly opposed the coup. Guinea's armed forces are divided into 5 branches—army, navy, air force, the paramilitary National Gendarmerie and the Republican Guard—whose chiefs report to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who

720-613: A civil war, over succession, followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The empire fell to invaders from Morocco in 1591, but the kingdom later split into smaller kingdoms. After the fall of some of the West African empires, various kingdoms existed in what is now Guinea. Fulani Muslims migrated to Futa Jallon in Central Guinea, and established an Islamic state from 1727 to 1896 with a written constitution and alternate rulers. The Wassoulou or Wassulu Empire (1878–1898)

810-733: A deputy to represent them in the French parliament in 1848–1852, 1871–1876, and 1879–1940. In 1914, the first African, Blaise Diagne , was elected as the deputy for Senegal in the French Parliament. In 1916, Diagne pushed a law through the National Assembly (loi Blaise Diagne) granting full citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he promised to help recruit millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar , Gorée , Saint-Louis , and Rufisque could vote to send

900-602: A dispute over the rampage in September. Camara went to Morocco for medical care. Vice-president (and defense minister) Sékouba Konaté flew from Lebanon to run the country. After meeting in Ouagadougou on 13 and 14 January 2010, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré , President of Burkina Faso , produced a formal statement of 12 principles promising a return of Guinea to civilian rule within 6 months. The presidential election of 27 June brought allegations of fraud, and

990-530: A history of military coups d'état . After decades of authoritarian rule, it held its first democratic election in 2010. As it continued to hold multi-party elections, the country still faces ethnic conflicts, corruption, and abuses by the military and police. In 2011, the United States government claimed that torture by security forces and abuse of women and children (including female genital mutilation ) were ongoing human rights issues. In 2021,

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1080-457: A majority of the votes cast to be elected president. The president governs Guinea, assisted by a council of 25 civilian ministers , appointed by him. The government administers the country through 8 regions, 33 prefectures , over 100 subprefectures , and districts (known as communes in Conakry and other cities and villages, or quartiers in the interior). District-level leaders are elected;

1170-1012: A million slaves in French West Africa fled from their masters to earlier homes. After the Fall of France in June 1940 and the two battles of Dakar against the Free French Forces in July and September 1940, authorities in West Africa declared allegiance to the Vichy regime , as did the colony of French Gabon in AEF. Gabon fell to Free France after the Battle of Gabon in November 1940, but West Africa remained under Vichy control until

1260-480: A new generation of French-educated Africans. On 21 October 1945 six Africans were elected, the Four Communes citizens chose Lamine Guèye , Senegal/Mauritania Léopold Sédar Senghor , Ivory Coast/Upper Volta Félix Houphouët-Boigny , Dahomey/Togo Sourou-Migan Apithy , Soudan-Niger Fily Dabo Sissoko , and Guinea Yacine Diallo . They were all re-elected to the 2nd Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946. In 1946,

1350-495: A population of 1,675,069 ranks as a special zone. Guinea is a republic. The president is directly elected by the people and is the head of state and the head of government . The unicameral National Assembly is the legislative body of the country, and its members are directly elected by the people. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court of Guinea  [ fr ] , the highest and final court of appeal in

1440-403: A public appearance in Conakry. His opponents claimed that he was a "tired dictator", whose departure was inevitable, whereas his supporters believed that he was winning a battle with dissidents. According to Foreign Policy , Guinea was in danger of becoming a failed state . In 2000, Guinea suffered as rebels crossed the borders from Liberia and Sierra Leone . Some thought that the country

1530-595: A raid on Conakry by several hundred exiled Guinean opposition forces. Among their goals, the Portuguese military wanted to kill or capture Sekou Touré due to his support of PAIGC , an independence movement and rebel group that had carried out attacks inside Portuguese Guinea from their bases in Guinea. After some fighting, the Portuguese-backed forces retreated. Guinea was elected as a non-permanent member of

1620-558: A representative to the French National Assembly. As the French pursued their part in the scramble for Africa in the 1880s and 1890s, they conquered large inland areas, and at first, ruled them as either a part of the Senegal colony or as independent entities. These conquered areas were usually governed by French Army officers, and dubbed "military territories". In the late 1890s, the French government began to rein in

1710-505: A second election was held on 7 November. Voter turnout was "high", and the elections went "relatively smoothly". Alpha Condé , leader of the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RGP), won the election, promising to reform the security sector and review mining contracts. In February 2013, political violence erupted after street protests over the transparency of the upcoming May elections . The protests were fueled by

1800-454: A sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as president. Later, Opération Persil was planned by Jacques Foccart ; they planned to create large quantities of forged Guinean francs to hyperinflate Guinea's economy and to arm Touré's opposition figures. However, the operation was leaked, and soon, the Guinean was issuing a number of official complaints. In 1960, Touré declared

1890-557: A union of Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea and Ivory Coast only, the federation was placed on a permanent footing in 1904. A governor-general was based first in Saint-Louis , then (from 1902) in Dakar (both in Senegal, the oldest French settlement). The AOF subsequently expanded to neighbouring French-ruled territories: Dahomey was added in 1904, after having been put under colonial tutelage in 1892; Mauritania in 1920, and when

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1980-464: Is a language of communication in schools, government administration, and the media. More than 24 indigenous languages are spoken, and the largest are Susu , Pular , and Maninka , which dominate respectively in Maritime Guinea, Fouta Djallon, and Upper Guinea, while Guinée forestière is ethnolinguistically diverse. Guinea's economy is mostly dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It

2070-420: Is believed that the first case was Emile Ouamouno, a 2-year-old boy in the village of Meliandou . He fell ill on 2 December 2013 and died on 6 December. On 18 September 2014, 8 members of an Ebola education health care team were murdered by villagers in the town of Womey . As of 1 November 2015, there had been 3,810 cases and 2,536 deaths in Guinea. Mass civil unrest and violent protests broke out against

2160-463: Is home to 5 ecoregions: Guinean montane forests , Western Guinean lowland forests , Guinean forest-savanna mosaic , West Sudanian savanna , and Guinean mangroves . It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.9/10, ranking it 114th globally out of 172 countries. The southern part of Guinea lies within the Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity hotspot , while

2250-684: Is illegal in Guinea. The prime minister declared in 2010 that he does not consider sexual orientation a legitimate human right. Guinea has one of the world's highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM, sometimes referred to as 'female circumcision') according to Anastasia Gage, an associate professor at Tulane University , and Ronan van Rossem, an associate professor at Ghent University . Female genital mutilation in Guinea had been performed on more than 98% of women as of 2009 . In Guinea "almost all cultures, religions, and ethnicities" practice female genital mutilation. The 2005 Demographic and Health Survey reported that 96% of women have gone through

2340-489: Is one of the emerging regional producers of apples and pears. There are plantations of grapes, pomegranates, and more recent years have seen the development of strawberry plantations, based on the vertical hydroponic system. Guinea has 25% or more of the world's known bauxite reserves. It has diamonds, gold, and other metals. Bauxite and alumina are the most major exports. Guinea possesses over 25 billion tonnes (metric tons) of bauxite —and perhaps up to one half of

2430-523: Is roughly the size of the United Kingdom. There are 320 km (200 mi) of coastline and a total land border of 3,400 km (2,100 mi). It lies mostly between latitudes 7° and 13°N , and longitudes 7° and 15°W , with a smaller area that is west of 15°. Guinea is divided into 4 regions: Maritime Guinea , also known as Lower Guinea or the Basse-Coté lowlands, populated mainly by

2520-804: Is subordinate to the Minister of Defence. In addition, regime security forces include the National Police Force (Sûreté Nationale). The Gendarmerie, responsible for internal security, has a strength of several thousand. The army, with about 15,000 personnel, is by far the largest branch of the armed forces and is mainly responsible for protecting the state borders, the security of administered territories, and defending Guinea's national interests. Air force personnel total about 700. Its equipment includes several Russian-supplied fighter planes and transports. The navy has about 900 personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges. Homosexuality

2610-602: Is the world's second-largest producer of bauxite and has deposits of diamonds and gold. As of the most recent survey in 2018, 66.2% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty , and an additional 16.4% are vulnerable to it. The country was at the core of the Western African Ebola virus epidemic . Guinea is named after the Guinea region which lies along the Gulf of Guinea . It stretches north through

2700-704: The Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942. Following World War II, the French government began a process of extending limited political rights in its colonies. In 1945 the French Provisional Government allocated ten seats to French West Africa in the new Constituent Assembly called to write a new French Constitution . Of these five would be elected by citizens (which only in the Four Communes could an African hope to win) and five by African subjects. The elections brought to prominence

2790-479: The Democratic Party of Guinea the country's only legal political party, and for the next 24 years, the government and PDG were one. Touré was re-elected unopposed to four 7-year terms as president, and every 5 years voters were presented with a single list of PDG candidates for the National Assembly. On 22 November 1970, Portuguese forces from neighbouring Portuguese Guinea staged Operation Green Sea ,

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2880-849: The French Army . World War II, and the passing of the Loi Cadre ( Overseas Reform Act of 1956 ), both radically restructured the administration of the colonies. French Togoland , seized by France from Germany in World War I, was for most of this period not nominally a colony but a Mandate territory . In theory, the Governors-General of the AOF reported directly to the Minister of Colonies in Paris, while individual colonies and territories reported only to Dakar. Originally created in 1895 as

2970-629: The French Fifth Republic of 1958 again changed the structure of the colonies from the French Union to the French Community . Each territory was to become a "Protectorate", with the consultative assembly named a National Assembly. The Governor appointed by the French was renamed the "High Commissioner", and made head of state of each territory. The Assembly would name an African as Head of Government with advisory powers to

3060-1060: The Loi Lamine Guèye granted some limited citizenship rights to natives of the African colonies. The French Empire was renamed the French Union on 27 October 1946, when the new constitution of the Fourth Republic was established. In late 1946 under this new constitution, each territory was for the first time (excepting the Four Communes) able to elect local representatives, albeit on a limited franchise, to newly established General Councils. These elected bodies had only limited consultative powers, although they did approve local budgets. The Loi Cadre of 23 June 1956 brought universal suffrage to elections held after that date in all French African colonies. The first elections under universal suffrage in French West Africa were

3150-635: The Mali Empire came when Soundiata Kéïta defeated the Sosso ruler Soumangourou Kanté at the Battle of Kirina in c.  1235 . The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa (Emperors), including Kankou Moussa , who made a hajj to Mecca in 1324. After his reign, the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century. The Songhai Empire expanded its power in about 1460. It continued to prosper until

3240-675: The Precepteur du marché trade inspectors, etc. Because of administrative practice and geographic isolation, Cercle Commanders had a tremendous amount of power over the lives of the Africans around them. The Cercle Commanders also had tremendous power over the economic and political life of their territories. Legally, all Africans outside the Four Communes of Senegal were "subjects" under the Indigénat legal code of 1885. This code gave summary powers to French administrators, including

3330-630: The Susu ethnic group; the cooler, more mountainous Fouta Djallon that run roughly north–south through the middle of the country, populated by Fulas; the Sahelian Haute-Guinea to the northeast, populated by Malinké ; and the forested jungle regions in the southeast, with several ethnic groups. Guinea's mountains are the source for the Niger, the Gambia, and Senegal Rivers, and rivers flowing to

3420-659: The UN Security Council 1972–73. In 1977, a declining economy and a ban on all private economic transactions led to the Market Women's Revolt , a series of anti-government riots started by women working in Conakry's Madina Market . Touré vacillated from supporting the Soviet Union to supporting the United States. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw some economic reforms. After the election of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing as French president, trade increased and

3510-501: The United Nations . According to a February 2009 U.S. Department of State statement, Guinea's foreign relations, including those with its West African neighbours, had improved steadily since 1985. The Department's October 2018 statement indicated that although "the U.S. condemned" Guinea's "2008 military coup d'etat," the U.S. had "close relations" with Guinea before the coup, and after "Guinea's presidential elections in 2010,

3600-647: The forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel . The English term Guinea comes directly from the Portuguese word Guiné which emerged in the mid-15th century to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guineus , a generic term for the black African peoples south of the Senegal River , in contrast to the "tawny" Zenaga Berbers above it, whom they called Azengues or Moors . In 1978, the official name became

3690-563: The presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by multiple autocratic rulers. What is now Guinea sat on the fringes of various West African empires. The earliest, the Ghana Empire , grew on trade and ultimately fell after repeated incursions of the Almoravids . It was in this period that Islam first arrived in the region by way of North African traders. The Sosso Empire came and stayed from 12th to 13th centuries; later,

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3780-463: The 2021 coup, and some of Guinea's allies condemned the coup. The African Union and West Africa's regional bloc ( ECOWAS ) both threatened sanctions, while some analysts expect the threats to be of limited effect because Guinea is not a member of the West African currency union and is not a landlocked country. ECOWAS promptly suspended Guinea's membership and demanded the unconditional release of President Condé, while sending envoys to Conakry to attempt

3870-663: The AOF in conjunction with officers of the French Colonial Forces . Each colony of French West Africa was administered by a Lieutenant Governor, responsible to the Governor General in Dakar. Only the Governor-General received orders from Paris, via the Minister of Colonies . The Minister, with the approval of the French Chamber of Deputies ( French National Assembly after 1946), chose Lieutenants Governor and Governors-General. Beginning in 1946,

3960-659: The French Community to unilaterally change their own constitutions. Senegal and former French Sudan became the Mali Federation (1960–61), while Ivory Coast, Niger, Upper Volta and Dahomey subsequently formed the short-lived Sahel-Benin Union , later the Conseil de l'Entente . The administrative structure of French colonial possessions in West Africa, while more homogeneous than neighboring British possessions ,

4050-406: The French authorities started to enforce anti-slavery laws against indigenous slave owners in territories under French control due to pressure from French abolitionists: the laws against slave trade were enforced, and fugitive slaves were not returned to their owners. In 1905, the French officially abolished slavery in most of French West Africa. From 1906 to 1911, as emancipation progressed, over

4140-413: The French found in the coastal areas of the Rivières du Sud colony in the 1880s, modern Guinea. The Canton, then, was much smaller than, and qualitatively different from, the pre-colonial states of the Sahel (such as the Toucouleur Empire ) which the French would later conquer. They were styled "Chefs de canton", "Chefs du Village", or occasionally taking the title of precolonial states assimilated by

4230-423: The French structure whole. This last was uncommon, but became more prevalent in the later colonial territories conquered, as fewer administrators were available to rule over larger, less populated territories with strong pre-colonial state structures. Where these larger polities resisted the French, they were often broken into small chiefdoms. Larger polities which presented a segment of the elite who would work with

4320-400: The French were maintained under new leadership. The Sultan of Agadez , the Sultan of Damagaram , and the Djermakoy of Dosso are examples of these large scale "Chefs de canton". But even these rulers were replaced by individuals handpicked by French authorities. Regardless of source, chiefs were given the right to arm small numbers of guards and made responsible for the collection of taxes,

4410-423: The Head of State. Legally, the federation ceased to exist after the 1958 French constitutional referendum to approve this French Community. All the colonies except Guinea voted to remain in the new structure. Guineans voted overwhelmingly for independence. In 1960, a further revision of the French constitution, compelled by the failure of the French Indochina War and the tensions in Algeria , allowed members of

4500-520: The Military structure (outside Military areas, e.g.: modern Niger and Mauritania prior to the Second World War). Below the "Cercle Commander" were a series of African "Chefs de canton" and "Chefs du Village": "chiefs" appointed by the French and subject to removal by the Europeans. As well, the "Cercle Commander" made use of a large number of servants, employees, and African officers such as the "Gardes-de-cercle" police, any military units seconded to them by government authorities, and sub-administrators such as

4590-456: The People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea. In 1984, the country was renamed the Republic of Guinea after the death of the first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré. The land that is now Guinea either bordered or was situated within a series of historic African empires before the French arrived in the 1890s and claimed the terrain as part of colonial French West Africa . Guinea declared independence from France on 2 October 1958. From independence until

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4680-425: The Senegalese Communes, the administrative structure of French rule at the lower levels remained constant, based upon the Cercle system. This was the smallest unit of French political administration in French colonial Africa that was headed by a European officer. They might range in size, but French Sudan (modern Mali) consisted of less than a dozen Cercles for most of its existence. Thus, a Cercle Commander might be

4770-442: The United States re-established strong diplomatic relations with the government." The statement indicated support for the "legislative elections in 2013 and a second presidential election in 2015" as signs of "democratic reform." A March 2021 report by the U.S. Department of State blasted extensive human rights violations by the government, security forces and businesses in Guinea. The report cited extensive international criticism of

4860-404: The absolute authority over hundreds of thousands of Africans. A Cercle consisted of several cantons , each of which in turn consisted of several villages, and was almost universal in France's African colonies from 1895 to 1946. The "Cercle Commander" (" commandant de cercle ") was subject to the authority of a District Commander, and the government of the colony above him, but was independent of

4950-399: The armies of Samori Touré , Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and leader of Malinké descent, in 1898 gave France control of what today is Guinea and adjacent areas. France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the British for Sierra Leone , the Portuguese for their Guinea colony (now Guinea-Bissau ), and Liberia . Under the French,

5040-538: The civil administration with its military counterpart. The United Nations , European Union , African Union , ECOWAS (which suspended Guinea's membership), and La Francophonie denounced the coup, and called for President Condé's unconditional release. Similar responses came from some neighboring and Western countries (including the United States ), and from China (which relies on Guinea for half of its aluminum ore, facilitated by its connections to President Condé). Despite these, on 1 October 2021, Mamady Doumbouya

5130-415: The colonies the choice of autonomy in a new French Community or immediate independence in the referendum of 28 September 1958. Guinea voted overwhelmingly for independence. It was led by Ahmed Sékou Touré , whose Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally (PDG) had won 56 of 60 seats in the 1957 territorial elections. The French later withdrew, and on 2 October 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself

5220-403: The country formed the Territory of Guinea within French West Africa , administered by a governor general resident in Dakar . Lieutenant governors administered the individual colonies, including Guinea. In 1958, the French Fourth Republic collapsed due to political instability and its failures in dealing with its colonies, especially Indochina and Algeria . The French Fifth Republic gave

5310-410: The country in the following weeks. Existing civil and economic unrest in the country temporarily worsened as a result, with several confrontations between protestors and police in Conakry, increased fuel and travel costs, and general price inflation throughout the country. Guinea shares a border with Guinea-Bissau to the northwest , Senegal to the north , Mali to the northeast , Ivory Coast to

5400-412: The country. The National Assembly of Guinea , the country's legislative body, did not meet from 2008 to 2013, when it was dissolved after the military coup in December. Elections have been postponed multiple times since 2007. In April 2012, President Condé postponed the elections indefinitely, citing the need to ensure that they were "transparent and democratic". The 2013 Guinean legislative election

5490-446: The depths of the Sahara , the Federation contained more than ten million inhabitants at its creation, and some 25 million at its dissolution. The AOF included all of the Senegal River valley, most of the Niger River valley, and most of the West African Sahel region. It also included tropical forests in Ivory Coast and Guinea, the Fouta Djallon highlands, and the Aïr Mountains of modern Niger. The French colonial territories in

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5580-430: The east , Sierra Leone to the southwest and Liberia to the south . The nation forms a crescent as it curves from its southeast region to the north and west, to its northwest border with Guinea-Bissau and southwestern coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The sources of the Niger River , the Gambia River , and the Senegal River are all found in the Guinea Highlands . At 245,857 km (94,926 sq mi), Guinea

5670-427: The federation issued their own postage stamps until 1943. In many cases the stamps were inscribed with the name of the federation " Afrique Occidentale Française " as well as the colony's own name. In 1943 and 1944, stamps of Senegal and Mauritania were overprinted with new values and valid throughout French West Africa. The first issues printed specifically for the federation were the Eboue common design type and

5760-562: The law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. The exception was the Four Communes of Senegal: those areas had been towns of the tiny Senegal Colony in 1848 when, at the abolition of slavery by the French Second Republic , all residents of France were granted equal political rights. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legally French. They could vote in parliamentary elections, which had been previously dominated by white and mixed-race residents of Senegal. The Four Communes of Senegal were entitled to elect

5850-442: The municipal elections of late 1956. On 31 March 1957, under universal suffrage, territorial Assembly elections were held in each of the eight colonies (Togo as a UN trust Territory was at this stage on a different trajectory). The leaders of the winning parties were appointed to the newly instituted positions of Vice-Presidents of the respective Governing Councils — French Colonial Governors remained as Presidents. The Constitution of

5940-495: The north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south. It is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry , after its capital Conakry , to distinguish it from other territories in the eponymous region , such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea . Guinea has a population of 14 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi). Formerly French Guinea , it achieved independence in 1958. Guinea has

6030-512: The north-east is characterized by dry savanna woodlands. Declining populations of some animals are restricted to uninhabited distant parts of parks and reserves. Species found in Guinea include the following: The Republic of Guinea covers 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi) of West Africa, about 10 degrees north of the equator. It is divided into 4 natural regions: Guinea is divided into 8 administrative regions which are subdivided into 33 prefectures . The capital Conakry with

6120-423: The operation. As of the most recent survey in 2018, 66.2% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 16.4% vulnerable to it. The agriculture sector at some point employed approximately 75% of the country. The rice is cultivated in the flooded zones between streams and rivers. The local production of rice is not sufficient to feed the country, so rice is imported from Asia. Guinea

6210-456: The opposition coalition's decision to step down from the elections in protest of the lack of transparency in the preparations for elections. Nine people were killed during the protests, and around 220 were injured. Some deaths and injuries were caused by security forces using live ammunition on protesters. The violence led to ethnic clashes between the Malinke and Fula , who supported and opposed President Condé, respectively. On 26 March 2013,

6300-404: The opposition leader Alpha Condé was imprisoned for endangering state security and pardoned 8 months later. Subsequently, he spent time in exile in France. In 2001, Conté organized and won a referendum to lengthen the presidential term, and in 2003, began his third term after elections were boycotted by the opposition. In January 2005, Conté survived a suspected assassination attempt while making

6390-436: The opposition party backed out of negotiations with the government over the election, saying that the government had not respected them, and had broken all agreements. On 25 March 2014, the World Health Organization stated that Guinea's Ministry of Health had reported an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Guinea. This initial outbreak had 86 cases, including 59 deaths. By 28 May, there were 281 cases, with 186 deaths. It

6480-762: The president appoints officials to all other levels of the centralized administration. Former President Alpha Condé derived support from Guinea's second-largest ethnic group, the Malinke . Guinea's opposition was backed by the Fula ethnic group, who account for around 33.4% of the population. Guinea is a member of the African Union , Agency for the French-Speaking Community , African Development Bank , Economic Community of West African States , World Bank , Islamic Development Bank , IMF , and

6570-430: The presidential palace, Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized control of state television and declared that President Alpha Conde 's government had been dissolved and the nation's borders closed. By the evening, the putschists had declared control of all of Conakry and the country's armed forces. According to Guinée Matin , by 6 September, the military fully controlled the state administration and started to replace

6660-400: The recent national elections, which yielded "President Alpha Conde's re-election (despite disputed results) [...] following a controversial March referendum amending the constitution and allowing him to run for a third term." The department condemned the 2021 coup. The U.S. called for "national dialogue to address concerns sustainably and transparently". The United Nations promptly denounced

6750-468: The recruitment of forced labour, and the enforcement of "customary law". In general, Canton Chiefs served at the behest of their Cercle Commander and were left to see to their own affairs as long as calm was maintained and Administrative orders were carried out. With an area of some 4,689,000 square kilometres (1,810,000 sq mi) (mostly the desert or semi-desert interior of Mauritania , Sudan and Niger ) extending from Africa's westernmost point to

6840-414: The restructuring of the people's lives he governed. The other official office particular to the local administration of French West Africa was the "Chief". These were Africans appointed by French officials for their loyalty to France, regardless of their rights to local power. These chiefs were assigned created territories based on the scale of a French Canton, as well as on the small scale tribal structures

6930-553: The rights to arrest, try, punish and imprison subjects. It also gave French local authorities the right to requisition forced labour, usually limited to able-bodied men for a few weeks a year, but in practice having few restrictions. These "tools" included the Civilizing mission ideology common in the period following the First World War. Every new Cercle Commander might well bring with him vast projects for development and

7020-418: The rule of Alpha Conde on 14 October 2019, against constitutional changes. More than 800 were killed in clashes. After the 2020 Guinean presidential election , Alpha Condé's election to a third term was challenged by the opposition, who accused him of fraud. Condé claimed a constitutional referendum from March 2020 allowed him to run despite the 2-term limit. On 5 September 2021, after hours of gunfire near

7110-711: The sea on the west side of the range in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. The highest point in Guinea is Mount Nimba at 1,752 m (5,748 ft). While the Guinean and Ivorian sides of the Nimba Massif are a UNESCO Strict Nature Reserve , the portion of the so-called Guinean Backbone continues into Liberia , where it has been mined for decades; the damage is evident in the Nzérékoré Region at 7°32′17″N 8°29′50″W  /  7.53806°N 8.49722°W  / 7.53806; -8.49722 . Guinea

7200-444: The territorial expansion of its "officers on the ground", and transferred all the territories west of Gabon to a single governor based in Senegal, reporting directly to the Minister of Overseas Affairs. The first governor-general of Senegal was named in 1895, and in 1904, the territories he oversaw were formally named French West Africa (AOF). Gabon would later become the seat of its own federation French Equatorial Africa (AEF), which

7290-484: The territory of Upper Volta was divided from French Sudan by colonial decree in 1921, it automatically also entered the AOF. Between 1934 and 1937, the League of Nations Mandate territory of French Togoland was subsumed into Dahomey, and between its seizure from Germany in World War I and independence it was administered through the AOF. In 1904, both Mauritania and Niger were classed "Military Territories": ruled by

7380-476: The two countries exchanged diplomatic visits. Sékou Touré died on 26 March 1984 after a heart operation in the United States, and was replaced by Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui , who was to serve as interim president, pending new elections. PDG was due to elect a new leader on 3 April 1984. Under the constitution, that person would have been the only candidate for president. Hours before that meeting, Colonels Lansana Conté and Diarra Traoré seized power in

7470-561: The world's reserves. Its mineral wealth includes more than 4-billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore, and diamond and gold deposits, and uranium . French West Africa French West Africa ( French : Afrique-Occidentale française , AOF ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa : Mauritania , Senegal , French Sudan (now Mali ), French Guinea (now Guinea ), Ivory Coast , Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso ), Dahomey (now Benin ) and Niger . The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital

7560-444: Was Saint-Louis in Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960. With an area of 4,689,000 km , French West Africa was eight times the size of Metropolitan France . French Equatorial Africa had an additional area of 2,500,000 km . Until after World War II, almost none of the Africans living in the colonies of France were citizens of France. Rather, they were "French subjects," lacking rights before

7650-439: Was headed towards a civil war. Conté blamed neighbouring leaders for coveting Guinea's natural resources, and these claims were denied. In 2003, Guinea agreed to plans with her neighbours to tackle the insurgents. The 2007 Guinean general strike resulted in the appointment of a new prime minister. Conté remained in power until his death on 23 December 2008. Several hours after his death, Moussa Dadis Camara seized control in

7740-601: Was held on 24 September. President Alpha Condé 's party, the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly of Guinea , with 53 out of 114 seats. Cellou Dalein Diallo 's UFDG party won 37 seats, and opposition leaders denounced the official results as fraudulent. The president of Guinea is normally elected by popular vote for a 5-year term; the winning candidate must receive

7830-411: Was led by Samori Toure in the predominantly Malinké area of what is now upper Guinea and southwestern Mali (Wassoulou). It moved to Ivory Coast before being conquered by the French. European traders competed for the cape trade from the 17th century onward and made inroads earlier. Guinea's colonial period began with French military penetration into the area in the mid-19th century. The defeat of

7920-506: Was marked by variety and flux. Throughout the history of the AOF, individual colonies and military territories were reorganized numerous times, as was the Government General in Dakar. French Upper Volta was formed and parceled out to neighboring colonies twice. The future states of Mauritania and Niger remained out of the federation until the 1920s and 1940s respectively. They were Military Territories , directly controlled by

8010-454: Was sworn in as interim president. On 11 May 2023, at least 7 people were shot dead in anti-government demonstrations in cities across Guinea. The anti-government movement became involved in peaceful protests and called on rulers to end military rule in Guinea and transition the country to democracy. On 18 December 2023, an explosion occurred at the country's main oil depot in Conakry, killing 24 people and causing extensive fuel shortages in

8100-460: Was to border its western neighbor on the modern boundary between Niger and Chad . France abolished slavery in French West Africa. This process was gradual. Slavery was formally illegal in all French land including their colonies from 1848, but this law only applied to French citizens in territories officially under French law, which meant that indigenous subjects without French citizenship were not obliged to obey. In French West Africa in 1903-1905,

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