Guinea

Guinea is bordered to the north by Guinea Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, and to the south by Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d\'Ivoire, and has a land mass of 245,857 km². It has a population of 13.53 million and a GDP of US$23.61bn (2023).\r\n\r\nIt is home to the largest bauxite reserve in the world, from which aluminium is extracted, and is also rich in other minerals such as gold, iron, and diamonds. Guinea\'s primary exports are gold and aluminum ore. It has also been identified as one of the African countries with high hydropower potential due to its many rivers.\r\n\r\nAs the country\'s largest employer, the agriculture sector plays a key role in poverty reduction and rural development, providing income for 57% of rural households, and employment for 52% of the labour force. Institutional capacities are weak and access to public services is limited. Guinea ranks 182nd out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index 2021; inequality is high, corruption and poverty is widespread.\r\n\r\nReal GDP is expected to be 5.6% for 2024 and inflation is currently running at 7.9%. On December 18, 2023, the explosion of a major fuel import and storage facility led to fuel shortages and new urgent financing needs. The blast caused 25 deaths and 457 injured as well as widespread fuel shortages, affecting transportation and economic activity. The relatively strong mining sector is sustaining growth, although growth is expected to decelerate to 4.1 percent in 2024, lower than the 2019-23 average of 5.1 percent. Average inflation is expected to increase to 11 percent in 2024 as fuel shortages pushed up prices.\r\n\r\nMore than 20 international mining companies have operations in Guinea, which remains largely underexplored.\r\n\r\nMajor companies mining bauxite in Guinea include Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco), Rusal, Rio Tinto (a shareholder in Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee) and Metalcorp, whose subsidiary Societe des Bauxites de Guinee is developing a US$1.4bn bauxite mine and an alumina refinery. In May 2018, Guinea approved a US$2.9bn development of a bauxite mine, port, railway and power station by China\'s TBEA. In Guinea\'s gold mining industry, AngloGold Ashanti is among the major gold miners.

Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF.