Economy - overview: Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains a poor underdeveloped nation. The agricultural sector employs 80% of the work force. Guinea possesses over 25% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1998. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. The government made encouraging progress in budget management in 1997-99. Even with a recovery in prices for some of Guinea's main commodity exports, annual GDP is unlikely to increase by more than 5% in 2000-2001.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.7% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,200 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 24%
industry: 31%
services: 45% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 2.4 million (1983)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 11%, services 5.4%, civil service 3.6%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $553 million
expenditures: $652 million, including capital expenditures of $317 million (1995 est.)

Industries: bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (1994)

Electricity - production: 535 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 63.55%
hydro: 36.45%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 498 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

Exports: $695 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports - commodities: bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products

Exports - partners: Russia, US, Benelux, Ukraine, Ireland, Spain (1997)

Imports: $560 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs (1997)

Imports - partners: France, Cote d'Ivoire, US, Benelux, Hong Kong (1997)

Debt - external: $3.15 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $433.6 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 1,292.5 (January 1999), 1,236.8 (1998), 1,095.3 (1997), 1,004.0 (1996), 991.4 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year