Country Name
Guinea or officially the Republic of Guinea.
Location
Guinea is a west-coastal country in West Africa. Guinea shares a border with Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Ivory Coast to the east, Sierra Leone to the southwest, and Liberia to the south.
Capital
Conakry.
The reason for naming the country
Formerly known as French Guinea, the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from other countries with "Guinea", such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.
Guinea is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.
The English term Guinea comes directly from the Portuguese word Guiné, which emerged in the mid-15th century to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guinness, a generic term for the black African peoples south of the Senegal River, in contrast to the "tawny" Zenaga Berbers above it, whom they called Azenegues or Moors.
Flag
The Guinea flag was adopted on November 10, 1958, after gaining independence from France on October 2, 1958. The Guinea flag is similar to the flag of Ghana, except that on Ghana's flag the stripes are placed horizontally.
The design of the Guinea flag is based on the French flag, However, on
Guinea's flag, the French blue, white, and red colors are replaced with
the Pan-African colors of red, yellow, and green. The flag of Guinea consists of tricolor vertical stripes - the left stripe is red; the middle is yellow, and the right stripe is green.
The red represents the bloodshed in the struggle for the homeland, The yellow represents the mineral wealth of the country, and the sun and
the green stripe represents the rich African vegetation.
* Flag Facts:
-The flag of Mali and the flag of Senegal have very similar flags. Look for Senegal's central green star to differentiate the two.
- Guinea's flag is also very similar, although the colors are in reverse order.
Language
The official language of Guinea is French. The most widely spoken language is Pulaar. The second most spoken language is the Mandinka language. The third most spoken language is the Susu language. Other languages spoken in Guinea include Koniaka, Kissi, Kpelle, and other languages.
Religion
The population of Guinea is approximately 85% Muslim and 8% Christian, with 7% adhering to indigenous religious beliefs. Much of the population, both Muslim and Christian, also incorporate indigenous African beliefs.
The vast majority of Guinean Muslims are adherent to the Sunni, Maliki school, influenced by Sufism. There is also a Shi'a community in Guinea.
Christian groups include Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Evangelical groups. Jehovah's Witnesses are active in the country and recognized by the Government.
There is a small Baha'i community.
There are small numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, and traditional Chinese religious groups among the expatriate community.
Currency
Guinean franc (GNF).
Time Zone
+00:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary presidential republic.
Climate
In Guinea, the climate is tropical, with a dry season in winter and a rainy season in summer due to the southwest monsoon. Although the rains are heavier on the coast, the rainy season lasts longer in the south-east, where the first showers occur as early as in the second half of February, and the last ones occur in November, while in Conakry, on the coast, the rains occur from May to November, and in Kankan, in the east, from May to October.
Winter, from December to February, is hot, dry, and sunny, with the prevalence of the northeast wind, called Harmattan, which can carry dust and sand particles from the desert. Nights are usually cool, especially in the interior, while during the day the temperature is high, around 32/34 °C (90/93 °F), but with peaks of 40 °C (104 °F).
By February, the first showers occur in the south, while in the center and north the heat becomes even more intense.
The increase in temperature in spring is less pronounced along the coast, which is mitigated by the ocean breeze, but also in the south-central inland areas, both because of the higher altitude and the fact that the monsoon arrives earlier.
International Phone Code
+224
Internet Code
.gn
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