Guinea

Guinea ( (listen)), officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. Guinea borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cote d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south. Formerly known as French Guinea (French: Guinée française), the modern country 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 12.4 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).Guinea achieved independence from France in 1958. It has a long history of military coups d'état. In 2010, after decades of authoritarian rule, Guinea held its first democractic election. Although Guinea continued to hold multi-party elections, the country continued to face ethnic conflicts, widespread corruption, and abuses by military and police. Human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. 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, a military faction overthrew president Alpha Condé and suspended the constitution.Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 per cent of the population. Guinea's people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The country is divided into four geographic regions: Maritime Guinea on the low-lying 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, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media, but more than twenty-four indigenous languages are also spoken. The largest are by far 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 largely dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the world's second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds and gold. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak.