Countries

Guinea

Guinea curves along West Africa's Atlantic coast and inland to the highlands where the Niger River begins. In 1958 it became the first French colony in Africa to vote for immediate independence, and mining, above all bauxite, drives its economy.

A calm stretch of the Bafing river running between densely forested hills in Guinea

The Bafing river

Photo: Aboubacarkhoraa, CC BY-SA 4.0

Red for the sacrifice of those who fought for independence, yellow for the country's gold and sun, green for its vegetation. Adopted at independence in 1958.

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