POPULATION 7,775,065
MUSLIM 85 percent
CHRISTIAN 10 percent
OTHER 5 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Republic of Guinea, located in western Africa along the Atlantic Ocean, is bordered by six countries: Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali to the north; Côte d'Ivoire to the east; and Liberia and Sierra Leone to the south. The country is divided into four natural geographic regions: Lower Guinea (Maritime Guinea, or the Coastal Region), Middle Guinea (the Fouta Djallon), Upper Guinea, and the Forest Region. Each of the regions is home to a major ethnic group or cluster of closely related groups.

Guinea is one of the most Islamic countries in West Africa; the majority of citizens are Sunni Muslims. The Shia branch has been increasing in number but is still small. Christianity in Guinea is most prevalent where European influence was strongest—in the Coastal Region and Forest Region. Muslims and Christians in Guinea remain partly...