Guinea

People

Guinea’s strong population growth is a result of declining mortality rates and sustained elevated fertility. The population growth rate was somewhat tempered in the 2000s because of a period of net outmigration. Although life expectancy and mortality rates have improved over the last two decades, the nearly universal practice of female genital cutting continues to contribute to high infant and maternal mortality rates. Guinea’s total fertility remains high at about 5 children per woman because of the ongoing preference for larger families, low contraceptive usage and availability, a lack of educational attainment and empowerment among women, and poverty. A lack of literacy and vocational training programs limit job prospects for youths, but even those with university degrees often have no option but to work in the informal sector. About 60% of the country’s large youth population is unemployed.

Tensions and refugees have spilled over Guinea’s borders with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire. During the 1990s Guinea harbored as many as half a million refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia, more refugees than any other African country for much of that decade. About half sought refuge in the volatile "Parrot’s Beak" region of southwest Guinea, a wedge of land jutting into Sierra Leone near the Liberian border. Many were relocated within Guinea in the early 2000s because the area suffered repeated cross-border attacks from various government and rebel forces, as well as anti-refugee violence.

 

Guinea has four main ethnic groups:
1) Peuhl (Foula or Foulani), who inhabit the mountainous
Fouta Djallon;
2) Malinke (or Mandingo), in the savannah and forest
regions;
3) Soussous in the coastal areas; and
4) Toma in the forest region.


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1990 2000 2010 2020
Population, total (millions) 6.35 8.24 10.19 13.13
Population growth (annual %) 3 2.3 2.3 2.8
Surface area (sq. km) (thousands) 245.9 245.9 245.9 245.9
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) 25.9 33.5 41.5 53.4
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) .. .. .. 43.7
Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) 91.8 63 36.1 23.2
Income share held by lowest 20% 3 5.8 7.6 8.5
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 50 51 57 62
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 6.6 6.1 5.3 4.6
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) 181 169 150 130
Contraceptive prevalence, any method (% of married women ages 15-49) 2 6 6 11
Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) 31 35 45 55
Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) 232 164 118 96
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) .. 20 18.8 16.3
Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) 35 42 58 47
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) 18 32 57 59
School enrollment, primary (% gross) 31.8 58.2 84.2 100.8
School enrollment, secondary (% gross) 10 18 38 ..
School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) 0 1 1 ..
Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) 0.5 1.6 1.6 1.4
Environment
Forest area (sq. km) (thousands) 72.8 69.3 65.7 61.9
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) .. .. .. 24.9
Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3
Urban population growth (annual %) 4 3.2 3.1 3.8
Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) .. .. .. ..
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) 0.16 0.18 0.25 0.25
Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) .. .. .. ..