8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Guinea

About 1 in 271 people born in 2023 started life in Guinea. A boy can expect to live 60 years and a girl 62, up from 34 and 37 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 73% have basic drinking water.

1 in 271
odds of being born here
487,600 births · Ranked 56th of 230
60 / 62
years of life, boys / girls
Was 34 / 37 in 1950
$2,697
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 153rd of 203 · extrapolated
38%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 25 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 359 in every 1,000 births to 93.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth59.5 years for boys, 61.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 593.1 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year131,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles52%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.4%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year178 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year286 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.0 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.2.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.22UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 38 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2018
9%Poorest fifth
13%Second
17%Middle
23%Fourth
38%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,697 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth38% / 9% (2018)World Bank PIP
Unemployment5.1% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises7.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming49% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed82% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment39% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Conakry, with 1.9 million people.

38%
live in cities
51%
have electricity at home
73%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Conakry1.9 million
Camayenne1.9 million
Nzérékoré226,426
Kankan221,428
Manéah194,297
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French27%
Fula26%
Mandingo23%
Mandingo23%
Susu11%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Conakry4.0 million
Kindia699,693
Kankan Region503,226
Boké Region497,604
Nzérékoré Region442,714
Faranah370,948
Labé Region158,324
Mamou Region104,464

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 3.4% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Ivory Coast, France, Senegal.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Ivory Coast111,634
France92,446
Senegal54,779
Residents born abroad0.8% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 3.4% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostIvory Coast (111,634), France (92,446), Senegal (54,779)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $616.4 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

3% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

3%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2021)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024468Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501; the deadliest, in 1983, killed about 443 people (magnitude 6.2)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence1,090 between 1996 and 2020UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Guinea, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Guinea

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences