It lies just west of Sierra Leone. The population of Guinea is 7.5 million. The ethnic make up of Guinea is very diverse. About 85 percent of the people are Muslim, the remainder follow traditional beliefs. The official language is French but the country has eight national languages.
Mineral wealth makes Guinea potentially one of the strongest in Africa.
More than 25 percent of the known world reserves of high-grade bauxite ore, used for the making of aluminum, is found there. Large amounts of iron ore also exist along with diamonds, gold, petroleum, cobalt and platinum. Guinea has great potential with all of its natural resources, but manufacturing facilities are lagging. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, is a small country to the west of Guinea. Its population is only 1.2 million people.