Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Guinea Hello Displorers, welcome to another exciting video presented to you by Displore and thanks for watching. In this video, we shall be looking at the top things you didn’t know about Guinea.Guinea is a west-coastal country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea, the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from other countries with "Guinea" in the name and the eponymous region, such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has a population of 12.4million who occupy an area of 245,857km2. If you are new here, welcome, be sure to subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss any of our videos. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak which still has an impact on the socio-economic health of the country. Human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue as in 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, and abuse of women and children were ongoing abuses of human rights. Given this small country has two other more prominent countries with similar names like it, it is often not the first country people are checking on, hence here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Guinea. 1. Part of Several Empires Guinea was once part of several great empires.The Sosso kingdom briefly flourished between 12th to 13th centuriesin the resulting void but the Mali Empire came to prominence when Soundiata Kéïta defeated the Sosso ruler Soumangourou Kanté at the Battle of Kirina in 1235. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa or Emperors, the most famous being Kankou Moussa, who made a famous hajj to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century.The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about 1460 and eventually surpassed the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. After the fall of the major West African empires, various kingdoms existed in what is now Guinea. 2. The Nation is Mostly Muslim The population of Guinea is approximately 85% Muslim and 8% Christian, with 7% adhering to indigenous religious beliefs. Much of the population, both Muslim and Christian, also incorporate indigenous African beliefs into their outlook.The vast majority of Guinean Muslims are adherent to the Sunni tradition of Islam, of Maliki school of jurisprudence, influenced with Sufism. There is also a Shi'a community in Guinea while the Christian groups include Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Evangelical groups. Jehovah's Witnesses are active in the country and recognized by the Government. There is a small Baháʼí Faith community. There are small numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, and traditional Chinese religious groups among the expatriate community. 3. There was Religious Strive in Guinea Most African countries have huge religious and ethnic diversities and are mostly religious tolerant to one another but that was not the case of Guinea. There were three days of ethno-religious fighting in the city of Nzerekore in July 2013. Fighting between ethnic Kpelle, who are Christian or animist, and ethnic Konianke, who are Muslims and close to the larger Malinke ethnic group, left at least 54 dead. The dead included people who were killed with machetes and burned alive. The violence ended after the Guinea military imposed a curfew, and President Conde made a televised appeal for calm. 4. The Small Nation is One of the Most Diverse in Africa The population of Guinea comprises about 24 ethnic groups and the Mandinka, also known as Mandingo comprise 24.8% of the population and are mostly found in eastern Guinea concentrated around the Kankan and Kissidougou prefectures. The Fulas or Fulani comprise 40.1% of the population and are mostly found in the Futa Djallon region. The Soussou, comprising 15.8% of the population, are predominantly in western areas around the capital Conakry, Forécariah, and Kindia. Smaller ethnic groups make up the remaining 18.3% of the population, including Kpelle, Kissi, Zialo, Toma and others. Approximately 10,000 non-Africans live in Guinea, predominantly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans. 5. The Official Language is French The official language of Guinea is French but the most widely spoken language is Pulaar, which was spoken by almost 40% of the population. French, the official language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media, but more than twenty-four indigenous languages are also spoken.The second most spoken language is the Mandinka language, which was spoken by about 30% of the population and the third most spoken language is the Susu language, which was spoken by about 18% of the population. Other languages spoken in Guinea include Koniaka, Kissi, Kpelle, and many more which are spoken by 23% of the population altogether.

• published: 21 Nov 2020
• views: 34123