Guinea Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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: 245,857 sq km

land: 245,717 sq km

water: 140 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Oregon; slightly larger than twice the size of Pennsylvania

Land boundaries

total: 4,046 km

border countries (6): Cote d'Ivoire 816 km; Guinea-Bissau 421 km; Liberia 590 km; Mali 1062 km; Senegal 363 km; Sierra Leone 794 km

Coastline

320 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 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

highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 472 m

Natural resources

bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt

Land use

agricultural land: 58.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 43.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 26.5% (2018 est.)

other: 15.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

950 sq km (2012)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Niger river source (shared with Mali, and Nigeria [m]) - 4,200 km; Gambia river source (shared with Senegal and The Gambia [m]) - 1,094 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km), Senegal (456,397 sq km)

Population distribution

areas of highest density are in the west and south; interior is sparsely populated as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season

Geography - note

the Niger and its important tributary the Milo River have their sources in the Guinean highlands

NOTE: The information regarding Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Guinea 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.