Guinea's deep Muslim heritage arrived via the neighboring Almoravid Empire in the 11th century. Following Almoravid decline, Guinea existed on the fringe of several African kingdoms, all competing for regional dominance. In the 13th century, the Mali Empire took control of Guinea and encouraged its already growing Muslim faith. After the fall of the West African empires, various smaller kingdoms controlled Guinea. In the 18th century, Fulani Muslims established an Islamic state in central Guinea that provided one of the earliest examples of a written constitution and alternating leadership. European traders first arrived in the 16th century, and the French secured colonial rule in the 19th century.
In 1958, Guinea achieved independence from France. Sekou TOURE became Guinea’s first post-independence president; he established a dictatorial regime and ruled until his death in 1984, after which General Lansana CONTE staged a coup and seized the government. He too established an authoritarian regime and manipulated presidential elections until his death in 2008, when Captain Moussa Dadis CAMARA led a military coup, seized power, and suspended the constitution. In 2009, CAMARA was wounded in an assassination attempt and was exiled to Burkina Faso. In 2010 and 2013 respectively, the country held its first free and fair presidential and legislative elections. Alpha CONDE won the 2010 and 2015 presidential elections, and his first cabinet was the first all-civilian government in Guinean history. CONDE won a third term in 2020 after a constitutional change to term limits. In 2021, Col Mamady DOUMBOUYA led another successful military coup, establishing the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD), suspending the constitution, and dissolving the government and the legislature. DOUMBOUYA was sworn in as transition president and appointed Mohamed BEAVOGUI as transition prime minister. The National Transition Council (CNT), which acts as the legislative body for the transition, was formed in 2022 and consists of appointed members representing a broad swath of Guinean society.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "11 00 N, 10 00 W" }, "Map references": { "text": "Africa" }, "Area": { "total ": { "text": "245,857 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "245,717 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "140 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly smaller than Oregon; slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "4,046 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Cote d'Ivoire 816 km; Guinea-Bissau 421 km; Liberia 590 km; Mali 1062 km; Senegal 363 km; Sierra Leone 794 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "320 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" } }, "Climate": { "text": "generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds" }, "Terrain": { "text": "generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Mont Nimba 1,752 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Atlantic Ocean 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "472 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "73.2% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 24.4% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 5.3% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 43.5% (2023 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "20.3% (2023 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "6.5% (2023 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "949 sq km (2017)" }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "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 kmthe name derives from konakri, a Susu word meaning \"over the water\" and referring to the city's location on a peninsula; it was originally the name of a local village
" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "7 administrative regions (régions administratives, singular - région administrative) and 1 governorate (gouvenorat)*; Boke, Conakry*, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labe, Mamou, N'Zerekore" }, "Legal system": { "text": "civil law system based on the French model" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "previous 1958, 1990; 2010 and a referendum in 2020, which was suspended on 5 September 2021 via a coup d'état; on 27 September, the Transitional Charter was released, which supersedes the constitution until a new constitution is promulgated" } }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction" }, "Citizenship": { "citizenship by birth": { "text": "no" }, "citizenship by descent only": { "text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Guinea" }, "dual citizenship recognized": { "text": "no" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "na" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "President Col. Mamady DOUMBOUYA (since 17 January 2026)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Amadou Oury BAH (since 27 February 2024)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "formerly the Council of Ministers appointed by the president" }, "election/appointment process": { "text": "the president is directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 7-year single term, and the prime minister is appointed by the president" }, "most recent election date": { "text": "28 December 2025" }, "election results": { "text": "2025: Mamady DOUMBOUYA elected president in the first round; percent of vote -Mamady DOUMBOUYA (Independent) 86.7%, Abdoulaye Yero BALDE (DFG) 6.5%, other 7%