However, fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders has
caused major economic disruptions. In addition to direct defense
costs, the violence has led to a sharp decline in investor
confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff,
while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local
markets. Multilateral aid - including Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) debt relief - and single digit inflation permitted
moderate 3.7% growth in 2002. Growth should strengthen in 2003
because of a slowly improving security situation and increased
investor confidence.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $18.69 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 25% industry: 37% services: 38% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 40% (1994 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.3 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
3 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues: $395.7 million
expenditures: $472.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
million (2000 est.)
Industries:
bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and
agricultural processing industries
Industrial production growth rate:
3.2% (1994)
Electricity - production:
790.6 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 45.5% hydro: 54.5% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
735.2 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
8,600 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber
Exports: $835 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural
products
Exports - partners:
South Korea 17.8%, Spain 10.1%, Cameroon 9.7%, Belgium 9.6%, US
9.2%, Ireland 8.6%, France 7.1%, Russia 6.8%, Germany 5% (2002)
Imports:
$670 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
textiles, grain and other foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
France 18.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 11%, Italy 8.9%, US 8.2%, Belgium 7.6%,
China 5.6%, UK 5.2% (2002)
Debt - external:
$3.4 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$359.2 million (1998)
Currency:
Guinean franc (GNF)
Currency code:
GNF
Exchange rates:
Guinean francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,950.56 (2001), 1,746.87
(2000), 1,387.4 (1999), 1,236.83 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Guinea
Telephones - main lines in use:
37,000 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
21,567 (1998)
Telephone system:
general assessment: poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small
radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay
system
domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave
3 (2001)
Radios:
357,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
6 low-power stations (2001)
Televisions:
85,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.gn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2001)
Internet users:
15,000 (2002)
Transportation Guinea
Railways:
total: 1,115 km
standard gauge: 311 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 804 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)
Highways:
total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km
unpaved: 25,467 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft)
Ports and harbors:
Boke, Conakry, Kamsar
Merchant marine:
none (2002 est.)
Airports:
15 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1