The Quick and Dirty on Guinea

The République de Guinée is a country roughly the size of Orgeon located in West Africa. Not to be confused with New Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, or Equatorial Guinea! French is the national language but regional languages are predominately spoken outside of major cities. Sousou, Pular, and Malinke are the three most commonly spoken languages, each associated with a specific region of Guinea; Sousou and Basse Guinea, Pular and Fouta, and Malinke and Haute Guinea. Peace Corps Volunteers are sent to all three of those region; the Forest region currently has no volunteers. The country is predominately Muslim and up to 4 wives are legally allowed.

(click on this map to make it bigger and attempt to visualize all the places I mention!)

By the numbers (based off data from the Guardian, 7/30/13)

• 41% of the male population over age 15 can read and write; just 30% of females over age 15
• 1.3 of every 100 Guineans are Internet users
• 31% of population lives on less than $2 a day
• 54 and 56 – that’s the life expectancy for men and women, respectively
• 12.6% of children do not live to the age of 5
• 178th place out of 186 in worldwide human development index scores