Geography

The Republic of Guinea is situated in western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean with a coastline of some 300 km between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. It has a total land area of 245,857 km2 and also borders Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali and Senegal.

The Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands. The climate is generally hot and humid with a monsoon type rainy season from June to November with south-westerly winds, and a dry season from December to May with north-easterly harmattan winds.

The capital, Conakry, receives 4 m of rainfall in a year although the centre of the country receives less than half that amount. The hot, dry and dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during the dry season. The terrain is generally a flat coastal plain with a hilly to mountainous interior, the highest point being Mont Nimba at 1,752 m. The population is over 9 million and the official language is French with each ethnic group having its own language. More details can be found at CIA Factbook