Guinea Population and Language
Guinea has a young population. In 2019, almost 42 percent of the population was under 14. Most of the residents live in the middle part of the country. There are about 20 people groups in Guinea. The largest are fulani (or peuhl) and malinké.
A census was conducted in March 2014, but only preliminary partial results have been presented. Those figures showed that Kankan, who President Alpha Condé comes from, was the country’s most populous region. The political opposition accused the authorities of exaggerating the number of residents in government-friendly areas to gain benefits in the upcoming elections.
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Key populations estimated size and data of Guinea, including population density of how many people per square mile. Also included are facts for population and language.
Of the 20 people living in Guinea, fulani (or peuhl) and malinké are the largest. Fulani mainly feeds as herdsmen on the high plateau Fouta Djallon, but is now also strong in the trade. Malinké (or mandingo) lives mainly on the savannas in the northeast. They live in a strictly ranked society and feed on agriculture. The third largest people are susu (soussou) found in the coastal area. Susu is mainly farmers, fishermen and traders. In the forest areas in the south-east, a number of smaller people live, including kissi and kpelle (guerzé).
There is also a Lebanese minority as well as some French and other Europeans.
In the capital and other major cities, such as Kankan, as well as in the forest region in the southeast, the population is relatively mixed. But people usually live in areas dominated by their own people group and marriage across national borders is quite unusual.
The severe repression under Sékou Touré’s rule (1958–1984) caused up to one million Guineans to leave the country. Even today, many Guineans are leaving for Europe, in search of a better life.
Since then, there has been strong tension between Malinké and Fulani, which contributed, among other things, to violence in connection with the 2010 presidential election. But there were also a number of examples of how people from different ethnic groups protected each other.
Fulani is an economically strong group and dominates large parts of the business community. When Touré banned all private commerce in the 1970s, many people from Malinké applied to the state administration, while people belonging to Fulani settled abroad, in neighboring countries as well as in Europe and North America. When the state monopoly on trade was abolished in the 1980s, Fulani was the people group that had enough capital to start business while at the same time benefiting from an international network.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Guinea received hundreds of thousands of refugees from the civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast. However, most of them have returned home since peace agreements were concluded. In January 2020, according to the UNHCR, there were just under 5,000 refugees in the country, the majority of whom came from the Ivory Coast.
French is the official language but there are a number of native languages, of which Malinké, Fulani, Susu and Kissi are the largest.
FACTS – POPULATION AND LANGUAGE
Population
fulani just over 33 percent, malinké just over 29 percent, susu just over 21% and smaller people like kissi, kpelle, toma and others (uncertain figures)
Number of residents
12 717 176 (2017)
Number of residents per square kilometer
52 (2017)
Percentage of residents in the cities
35.8 percent (2017)
Nativity/birth
35.9 per 1000 residents (2016)
Mortality/mortality
9.3 per 1000 residents (2016)
Population growth
2.6 percent (2017)
Fertility rate
4.9 number of births per woman (2016)
Percentage of women
49.9 percent (2017)
Life expectancy
60 years (2016)
Life expectancy for women
61 years (2016)
Life expectancy for men
59 years (2016)
Language
French is the official language 1
- among the indigenous languages are marked malinké and sususources
2012
September
Debt amortization is approved
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approve debt relief for Guinea worth more than $ 2 billion.
New rattles in Conakry
In September, new crowds erupt in Conakry, when young people from the Malinké and Fulani groups meet.
April
The parliamentary elections are postponed
At the end of the month, President Alpha Condé announces that the parliamentary elections will be postponed, but he does not specify a new date. He refers to technical problems with registering voters.
February
Military is charged with massacre
Lieutenant Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara is being indicted for his role in the 2009 massacre (see September 2009). He may, however, remain in the government, where he is responsible for the fight against drug trafficking and financial crime.