Guinea - Poverty and wealth

Guinea is a poor country by any measure. The GDP per capita (according to the purchasing power parity conversion, which allows for the low price of many basic

Exchange rates: Guinea
Guinean francs per US$1
Oct 2000	1,855.0
2000	1,572.0
1999	1,387.4
1998	1,236.8
1997	1,095.3
1996	1,004.0
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [ONLINE].

GDP per Capita (US$)
Country	1975	1980	1985	1990	1998
Guinea	N/A	N/A	N/A	532	594
United States	19,364	21,529	23,200	25,363	29,683
Nigeria	301	314	230	258	256
Guinea-Bissau	226	168	206	223	173
SOURCE: United Nations. Human Development Report 2000; Trends in human development and per capita income.

commodities in Guinea) stood at US$1,300 in 2000. A 1994 survey indicated that 40 percent of the population was below the US$1 per day poverty line. About 80 percent of the labor force is employed in agriculture, most of which is subsistence farming , and the greatest incidence of poverty is in the rural areas.

Education was severely disrupted after independence in 1958, with teachers being one of the first groups to seek exile. The change of government in 1984 brought a greater emphasis on primary education, which, although it is universally compulsory, achieved only 48 percent enrollment in 1996. Secondary education enrollment stood at 12 percent in 1996. Guinea devotes 25 percent of its budget to education and is backed by the IMF and World Bank, with the aim of achieving 60 percent primary enrollment by the end of 2000. Male literacy stands at 50 percent, but the female figure is much lower at 22 percent, according to a 1995 estimate.

Guinea's health statistics are amongst the worst in sub-Saharan Africa. Life-expectancy in 2000 at birth was 46 years. This estimate is an increase from the 1965 figure of 35, although it is far below the sub-Saharan average of 51 years. Moreover, 1 in 6 live births die before the age of one year, and 12 percent die in infancy (between the ages of 1 and 5). Only 45 percent of the population has access to medical care.

Distribution of Income or Consumption by Percentage Share: Guinea
Lowest 10%	2.6
Lowest 20%	6.4
Second 20%	10.4
Third 20%	14.8
Fourth 20%	21.2
Highest 20%	47.2
Highest 10%	32.0
Survey year: 1994
Note: This information refers to expenditure shares by percentiles of the population and is ranked by per capita expenditure.
SOURCE: 2000 World Development Indicators [CD-ROM].

Household Consumption in PPP Terms
Country	All food	Clothing and footwear	Fuel and power a	Health care b	Education b	Transport & Communications	Other
Guinea	29	18	5	2	9	16	21
United States	13	9	9	4	6	8	51
Nigeria	51	5	31	2	8	2	2
Guinea-Bissau	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Data represent percentage of consumption in PPP terms.
a Excludes energy used for transport.
b Includes government and private expenditures.
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000.