ath rate: 17.3 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -15.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note: over the years Guinea has received up to several hundred
thousand refugees from the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone,
some of whom are now returning to their own countries

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 126.32 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.5 years
male: 44.02 years
female: 49.06 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.53 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller
tribes 10%

Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Languages: French (official), each tribe has its own language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.9%
male: 49.9%
female: 21.9% (1995 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
conventional short form: Guinea
local long form: Republique de Guinee
local short form: Guinee
former: French Guinea

Data code: GV

Government type: republic

Capital: Conakry

Administrative divisions: 4 administrative regions (regions
administrative, singular--region administrative) and 1 special zone
(zone speciale)*; Conakry*, Guinee, Guinee-Forestiere, Haute-Guinee,
Moyen-Guinee

Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April
(1984)

Constitution: 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law,
and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lansana CONTE (head of military government
since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Lamine SIDIME (since 8 March 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected
president; elec