hant marine: none

Airports: 2 (1998 est.)

Airports--with paved runways:
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Military

Military--note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues

Disputes--international: none

======================================================================

@Guinea
------

Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 10 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 245,860 sq km
land: 245,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area--comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
total: 3,399 km
border countries: Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Cote d'Ivoire 610 km,
Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
(June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to
May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain: generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous
interior

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium,
hydropower, fish

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 22%
forests and woodland: 59%
other: 17% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 930 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce
visibility during dry season

Environment--current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of
potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion;
overfishing, overpopulation in forest region

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People

Population: 7,538,953 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,640,158; female 1,653,184)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,974,849; female 2,068,221)
65 years and over: 2% (male 83,859; female 118,682) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.82% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 40.62 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

De