Guinea

Guinea: an outright decline in dollar terms, 1980–2024

Guinea holds the world's largest bauxite reserves and the giant Simandou iron-ore deposit, making mining the engine of an otherwise largely agricultural economy whose path has been shaped by repeated military takeovers, most recently in 2021. Between 1980 and 2024, Guinea's GDP per capita grew from $1,931 to $1,695 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of -0.3% — an outright decline in dollar terms. Annual GDP growth averaged 4.1% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 2.2 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 16.3% to 31.0% of GDP (a notable increase), while services rose from 28.3% to 36.3% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 42.8 to 60.9 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 4.1% to 10.9%, while the urban population share grew from 24.7% to 38.1%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 0.13 to 0.35 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 45.6 to 29.6; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 86.4% to 11.7%.