guinea

a. a British gold coin taken out of circulation in 1813, worth 21 shillings

b. the sum of 21 shillings (?1.05), still used in some contexts, as in quoting professional fees

Guinea

1. a republic in West Africa, on the Atlantic: established as the colony of French Guinea in 1890 and became an independent republic in 1958. Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority and animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Conakry. Pop.: 8 620 000 (2004 est.). Area: 245 855 sq. km (94 925 sq. miles)

2. (formerly) the coastal region of West Africa, between Cape Verde and Namibe (formerly Mo??medes; Angola): divided by a line of volcanic peaks into Upper Guinea (between The Gambia and Cameroon) and Lower Guinea (between Cameroon and S Angola)

3. Gulf of. a large inlet of the S Atlantic on the W coast of Africa, extending from Cape Palmas, Liberia, to Cape Lopez, Gabon: contains two large bays, the Bight of Bonny and the Bight of Benin, separated by the Niger delta

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Guinea

Official name: Republic of Guinea

Capital city: Conakry

Internet country code: .gn

Flag description: Three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Geographical description: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Total area: 95,000 sq. mi. (245,860 sq. km.)

Climate: Generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Nationality: noun: Guinean (s); adjective: Guinean

Population: 9,947,814 (July 2007 CIA est.)

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

Languages spoken: French (official), local ethnic languages

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

Legal Holidays:

All Saints' Day	Nov 1
Assumption Day	Aug 15
Christmas Day	Dec 25
Declaration of the Second Republic	Apr 3
Easter Monday	Apr 25, 2011; Apr 9, 2012; Apr 1, 2013; Apr 21, 2014; Apr 6, 2015; Mar 28, 2016; Apr 17, 2017; Apr 2, 2018; Apr 22, 2019; Apr 13, 2020; Apr 5, 2021; Apr 18, 2022; Apr 10, 2023
Independence Day	Oct 2
Labor Day	May 1
New Year's Day	Jan 1
Organization of African Unity Day	May 25