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The Republic of Guinea is a country in West Africa with an area of ??245,857 square kilometers, and a population of 12559623 (ranked 76th in the world according to official estimates for 2020.
It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cte d'Ivoire to the southeast, Liberia and Sierra Leone to the south. The capital is Conakri.
Until his death in 2008, Lansana Conte was president of the country. After his death, the military took power and the new Head of State became Musa Dandis Kamara, who in 2009 was replaced for health reasons by Vice President Sekuba Konate.
The country, according to Transparency International, is one of the first in the world in corruption (penultimate in transparency, last with Haiti.
Guinea is often referred to as Guinea-Conakry, to distinguish it from its neighbor Guinea-Bissau, which has Bissau as its capital.
The territory of present-day Guinea was part of the Ghanaian Empire, which was founded around 900 AD. This empire was followed by the Soso kingdom.
in the 12th and 13th century. In 1235 and until the 14th century the empire of Mali flourished in the area. Songhai became an important state, which also became an empire, but which declined due to the ongoing civil strife after the battle of Todibi in 1591.
An Islamic state was founded in the 18th century and the region experienced a period of stability. The same area was reached by the Fulani Muslims in the Fuuta Jalloo area in the early 18th century.
During the period of discoveries from Portugal, the slave trade in the area began in the 15th century. Today's Guinea was created as a colony of France in 1890
with Noel Balley as the first commander. In the same year, the capital of the country, Konakri, was founded on the island of Tombo. In 1895 the country was integrated into French West Africa.
On September 28, 1958, under the supervision of Charles de Gaulle, France voted for a new Constitution and its colonies were called upon to choose between the adoption of the Constitution or independence.
All colonies approved the Constitution except Guinea. Thus, the African country became the first French colony to become independent, at the cost of losing all financial aid from France.
After independence, the country was ruled by dictator Sekou Toure. The latter launched prosecutions against dissidents and was accused of human rights violations.
His long rule ended with the 1984 coup, in which Lansana Conte took power. In his day, strict measures were taken to revive the economy and legalize political parties. Conte won the controversial elections of 1993, 1998 and 2003.