Guinea - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Guinea. The Niger and its important tributary the Milo River have their sources in the Guinean highlands. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.9 years (2018 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 553 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Guinea
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W |
| Map references | Africa |
| Tarrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior |
| Natural Resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt |
| Natural Hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season |
| Irrigated Land | 949 sq km (2017) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | Niger river source (shared with Mali, and Nigeria [m]) - 4,200 km; Gambie (Gambia) river source (shared with Senegal and The Gambia [m]) - 1,094 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 4,046 km |
| Border Countries | Cote d'Ivoire 816 km; Guinea-Bissau 421 km; Liberia 590 km; Mali 1062 km; Senegal 363 km; Sierra Leone 794 km |
| Coastline | 320 km |
| Climate | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 245,717 sq km |
| Water Area | 140 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly smaller than Oregon; slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 472 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 70% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 20.7% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 5.8% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 43.5% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 24.9% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 5.2% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Areas of highest density are in the west and south; interior is sparsely populated as shown in this population distribution map
People and Society
In Guinea, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Fulani (Peuhl) 33.4%, Malinke 29.4%, Susu 21.2%, Guerze 7.8%, Kissi 6.2%, Toma 1.6%, other/foreign 0.4% (2018 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 2.74% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 35.3 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 3.8% of GDP (2021) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 0.3 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.78 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 2.36 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 10.9% (2018) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 68.7% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 2.2% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Guinean | Guinean(s) |
| Languages | French (official), Pular, Maninka, Susu, other native languages |
| Religions | Muslim 85.2%, Christian 13.4%, animist 0.2%, none 1.2% (2018 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 40.9% (male 2,884,146/female 2,835,794) |
| 15-64 years | 55.1% (male 3,846,852/female 3,856,366) |
| 65 years and over | 4% (2024 est.) (male 254,608/female 308,413) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 82.4 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 76.3 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 6.1 |
| Potential support ratio | 16.3 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 19.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 19.2 years |
| Female | 19.6 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 38.1% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 3.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 2.111 million CONAKRY (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.02 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.83 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 47 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 51.6 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 42.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 64.6 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 62.7 years |
| Female | 66.6 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.5% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 76.9% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 85.2% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.5% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 23.1% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 14.8% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 90.9% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 38.7% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 58% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 9.1% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 61.3% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 42% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 17% |
| Women married by age 18 | 46.5% |
| Men married by age 18 | 1.9% (2018 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Guinea
Want to know more about Guinea? Check all different factbooks for Guinea below.
