history of Guinea

Introduction & Top Questions
Early history of Guinea
Colonial era
Independent Guinea
- Touré’s rule
- Guinea under Conté
- Conté’s death, 2008 military coup, and 2010 elections
- 2013 legislative elections, 2015 presidential election, Ebola virus outbreak, and economic progress
- New constitution, controversy over a possible third term for Condé, and the 2020 presidential election
- Guinea’s 2021 military coup and aftermath
- 2025–26 elections and return to constitutional rule

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Antique map showing the northwest region of Africa as published in the 1902 Encyclopaedia Britannica. The map details colonial territories and countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, the Sahara, Senegal, Portuguese Guinea, French Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, and Nigeria, with borders, cities, rivers, and geographic features labeled in fine print.

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Ahmed Sekou Toure, president of Guinea, sits at a desk with microphones, wearing a traditional cap and white clothing, with a large portrait of himself in the background.

Alpha Conde, President of Guinea, sits in a suit and red tie with an earpiece and microphone, holding papers during a formal event.

A healthcare worker in a white coat administers a vaccine injection to a seated man's upper arm at a health center in Conakry, with medical supplies visible in the background.

history of Guinea: Media

Images

Guinea

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Guinea

Guinea

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Antique map showing the northwest region of Africa as published in the 1902 Encyclopaedia Britannica. The map details colonial territories and countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, the Sahara, Senegal, Portuguese Guinea, French Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, and Nigeria, with borders, cities, rivers, and geographic features labeled in fine print.

Northwest Africa, c. 1902

Map of northwest Africa showing Guinea-Bissau (then Portuguese Guinea) and Guinea...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Samory Touré

Samory Touré

The Muslim leader Samory Touré, who founded a powerful kingdom in western Africa...

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

colonization of Africa by European countries

Map showing the colonization of Africa by European countries in the early 1900s.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ahmed Sekou Toure, president of Guinea, sits at a desk with microphones, wearing a traditional cap and white clothing, with a large portrait of himself in the background.

Sékou Touré

Guinean leader Sékou Touré was the first president of the Republic of Guinea (1958–84).

© J. Cuinieres—Roger Viollet/Getty Images

Sékou Touré

Sékou Touré

Guinean Pres. Sékou Touré arriving in Washington, D.C., June 29, 1982.

William Firaneck/U.S. Department of Defense (DF-SC-83-08641)

Alpha Conde, President of Guinea, sits in a suit and red tie with an earpiece and microphone, holding papers during a formal event.

Alpha Condé

Guinean Pres. Alpha Condé.

© Igor Dolgov/Dreamstime.com

A healthcare worker in a white coat administers a vaccine injection to a seated man's upper arm at a health center in Conakry, with medical supplies visible in the background.

Ebola

A health worker injects a man with an experimental Ebola vaccine, Conakry, Guinea,...

© Cellou Binani—AFP/Getty Images

Interactives

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Colonization of Africa: Maps, Timeline, Decolonization, & Independence

Learn about the colonization of Africa, the process of decolonization that led to...

© Encyclopaedia Britannica