Guinea:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Guinea:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003, though all the polls have been marred by irregularities. Guinea has maintained its internal stability despite spillover effects from conflict in Sierra Leone and Liberia. As those countries have rebuilt, Guinea's own vulnerability to political and economic crisis has increased. Declining economic conditions and popular dissatisfaction with corruption and bad governance prompted two massive strikes in 2006; a third nationwide strike in early 2007 sparked violent protests in many Guinean cities and prompted two weeks of martial law. To appease the unions and end the unrest, CONTE named a new prime minister in March 2007.

Location	Definition Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone
Geographic coordinates	Definition 11 00 N, 10 00 W
Map references	Definition Africa
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 245,857 sq km land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries	Definition total: 3,399 km border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km
Coastline	Definition 320 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	Definition generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain	Definition generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
Natural resources	Definition bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 4.47% permanent crops: 2.64% other: 92.89% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 950 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 226 cu km (1987)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 1.51 cu km/yr (8%/2%/90%) per capita: 161 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season
Environment - current issues	Definition deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to environmental damage
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands