Economical overview
Guinea has plenty of natural resources and
could be one of West Africa's richest countries, but
many years of political and economic mismanagement have
hampered development. The official economy is largely
built around mineral exports and the mining sector
usually accounts for 70-90 percent of export income and
a fifth or sixth of GDP. The dependence on aid is great.
After nearly two decades of good economic growth, the
economy had deteriorated during the first years of the
21st century. This was due, among other things, to high
global prices of imported goods such as food and oil,
growing spending on foreign loans and declining aid as a
result of Guinea's difficulties in paying off its debts
and the regime's violation of human rights.
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Guinea
When Condé's democratically elected government took
power in 2011, the economy was in ruins. Juntan had
printed new banknotes to meet its expenses, allowed over
a third of the state budget to go to the military and
squandered state money.
Condé's government tightened its control over the
state's accounts and cut the budget deficits to the
equivalent of 2.6 percent of GDP in 2013.
The economic reforms enabled Guinea to regain support
from international lenders. The debt burden eased when
debts were written off by several countries and after
Guinea ended the IMF and the World Bank's heavily
indebted countries program. In addition, the poverty
reduction program resumed with the IMF, which was
canceled in connection with the military coup in 2008.
In 2011, foreign debt amounted to more than $ 3 billion,
two years later it had decreased to $ 846 million.
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The economy gained momentum in the early 2010s and
was helped by growing income from the mining industry. A
slight decline in the growth rate was noticed in 2013
due to falling commodity prices on the world market and
political turmoil (see Current policy). But the next two
years, the economy was basically still, largely as a
result of Ebola's ravages in the country (see Social
conditions). The costs for the care of the sick and the
fight against the disease were a heavy expense item for
the government, despite extensive crisis support,
including from the IMF and the World Bank.
Guinea is estimated to have the world's largest
reserves of bauxite, constituting raw material for
aluminum. The country also has good assets of iron ore,
gold, diamonds, nickel, titanium and uranium and more. A
number of foreign mining companies are active in the
country. Both the junta, the transition board and the
Condé government have tried to increase their income by
negotiating the agreements with the mining companies and
in the autumn of 2011 a new regulatory framework was
introduced which would also give the state better
transparency in mining operations.
Mining investments increased during the second half
of the 00s despite the political turmoil, but dropped
significantly a few years into the 2010s due to global
price falls and difficulties in extracting large and
abundant iron ore deposits in the southeast. The
projects have been delayed due to disputes over
extraction rights with foreign investors, where previous
contracts are suspected to have been acquired with the
help of bribes, and to uncertainty about how profitable
they would be.
FACTS - FINANCE
GDP per person
US $ 885 (2018)
Total GDP
US $ 10 990 million (2018)
GDP growth
8.7 percent (2018)
Agriculture's share of GDP
17.8 percent (2018)
Manufacturing industry's share of GDP
10.0 percent (2018)
The service sector's share of GDP
41.7 percent (2018)
Inflation
8.9 percent (2019)
Government debt's share of GDP
38.2 percent (2018)
External debt
US $ 1,489 million (2017)
Currency
Guinea franc
Merchandise exports
US $ 3,978 million (2018)
Imports
US $ 3,386 million (2018)
Current account
- US $ 191 million (2018)
Commodity trade's share of GDP
72 percent (2018)
Main export goods
bauxite, aluminum, gold
Largest trading partner
China, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, India
2011
December
The parliamentary elections are moved forward
The parliamentary elections scheduled for December 29 are postponed
indefinitely in the middle of the same month. The decision is seen as a way for
the electoral commission, Ceni, to meet the opposition's demand for greater
transparency in the process of avoiding electoral fraud. New date is later set
to July 8, 2012.
August
Reconciliation Commission is appointed
The President appoints a commission to present proposals on how
reconciliation can be achieved between the country's social and ethnic groups.
The Commission will be jointly headed by the imam of Conakry's Grand Mosque and
the Roman Catholic Bishop of the capital.
July
Attacks against Condé
Shotgun breaks out at night at President Condé's residence and a rocket hits
the building. A soldier in the guard force is killed but the president escapes
unharmed.
April
Concerns when Diallo returns to Guinea
Cellou Dalein Diallo, fearing for his safety, returns to Guinea after
traveling abroad after the election. Authorities refuse to grant his supporters
permission to demonstrate, yet large crowds close up to meet him at the airport.
The security forces intervene and 4 people are killed.
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