Guinea has four main ethnic groups:

• Peuhl (Foula or Foulani), who inhabit the mountainous Fouta Djallon;
• Malinke (or Mandingo), in the savanna and forest regions;
• Soussous in the coastal areas; and
• Several small groups (Gerzé, Toma, etc.) in the forest region.

West Africans make up the largest non-Guinean population. Non-Africans total about 10,000 (mostly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans). Seven national languages are used extensively; major written languages are French, Peuhl, and Arabic.

Population: 7,466,200 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.38% (male 1,614,789; female 1,623,691)
15-64 years: 53.95% (male 1,966,929; female 2,060,877)
65 years and over: 2.68% (male 82,376; female 117,538) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.95% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 40.08 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 17.86 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
note: over the years Guinea has received several hundred thousand refugees from the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone; by the end of 1999 all Liberian refugees were assumed to have returned; refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 130.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 45.56 years
male: 43.16 years
female: 48.02 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.46 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%

Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Languages: French (official), each ethnic group has its own language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.9%
male: 49.9%
female: 21.9% (1995 est.)

See also : Guinea