|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, October 2.
|RNature and climate:|N Along the coats a plain with tropical rain forests, mangrove-swamps and cultivated areas.
Inside these plains a mountainchain from northwest to southeast with a highest peak within the country reaching 1752 m.a.s.l.
North of these mountains the savannah-plateau Fouta Djalon.
Average temperature between 25 and 27°C in the whole country, except the northmost parts were the average temperature from March to May is 30°C.
Percipitation varies from 4000 mm by the coast to 1000 mm in the interior.
|RPeople:|N 20 different tribes of which Fulani 35%, Malinke 30%, Sousou 20%, Kissi 7% and Kpelle 5% are the biggest.
|REconomy:|N 82% of the labor force is occupied i agriculture and stockraizing. Most important crops are bananas, peanuts, palmoil, pineapples and coffee for export and rice, cassava and maize for domestic consumption.
Fishing of no importance.
Guinea have vast forests (these are mainly used as fuel), and rich mineral resources.
Since many years mining gives most export revenues. The bauxite reserves are supposed to be the largest in the world. Guinea also have iron ore, diamonds, gold and uranium.
Manufacturing mainly of simple foods, textiles and construction materials.
Industry and trade occupies 9% of the population.
|RHistory:|N Guinea was a trading centre for western Africa for centuries before Europeans arrived.
On the remains of a series of empires a nation was founded in the 10th century and flourished up to the 15th century.
During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Guinea was one of the most important centres for slavetrading in Africa. Many million slaves were bought by Europeans for cheap glasspearls or weapons and taken across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Most active in this were the British, the French and the Spaniards, but Swedes and Danes also participated.
In the 19th century the area was colonized by France and in 1896 it became a part of the colony French West Africa.
When the French colonial empire in 1958 was reorganized to a commonwealth, the people of Guinea in a referendum choosed to become an independent country, proclaimed at October 2, 1958.
This new nation developed to a socialistic one-part-state.
Thousands of opponents were imprisoned and killed during the 1970:s. The military gained control in a coup 1984.
In 1991 a new constitution was passed leading to free-market economy and (hopefully) full democracy in 1996.
