Although Guinea's mineral wealth makes it potentially one of Africa's richest countries, its people are among the poorest in West Africa.
Ruled by strong-arm leaders since independence, Guinea has been seen as a bulwark against instability in neighbouring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. However it has also been implicated in the conflicts that have ravaged the region.
After independence in 1958 Guinea severed ties with France and turned to the Soviet Union. The first president, Ahmed Sekou Toure, pursued a revolutionary socialist agenda and crushed political opposition. Tens of thousands of people disappeared, or were tortured and executed, during his 26-year regime.
AT-A-GLANCE
Economic mismanagement and repression culminated in riots in 1977. These led to some relaxation of state control of the economy.
But it was only after the death in 1984 of Ahmed Sekou Toure, and the seizure of power by Lansana Conte and other officers, that the socialist experiment was abandoned - without reversing poverty.
In 2000 Guinea became home to up to half a million refugees fleeing fighting in Sierra Leone and Liberia. This increased the strain on its economy and generated suspicion and ethnic tension, amid mutual accusations of attempts at destabilisation and border attacks.
Acute economic problems, instability among its neighbours and uncertainty over a successor to its authoritarian president have prompted a European think-tank, the Crisis Group, to warn that Guinea risks becoming a "failed state".
Junta leader: Moussa Dadis Camara
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara emerged as the leader of the group of army officers who seized power in a bloodless coup after the death of long-serving President Lansana Conte in December 2008.
Few doubted that the army would play a key role following the death of Mr Conte, who was propped up by the military for most of his rule, but there was some surprise when the coup leader turned out to be a relatively junior army officer.
The ousted government initially opposed the coup, but with many Guineans - disgruntled by almost a quarter of a century of misrule - appearing to back the army's move, most former ministers soon pledged loyalty to Capt Camara.
The junta set up a new ruling body, the 32-member National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), to replace the government and other institutions, and pledged to rid the country of corruption and to improve living standards.
Though Capt Camara declared himself "president of the republic" the day after the coup, he also maintained that he had no intention of clinging to power and would hold elections after a two-year transitional period.
In August 2009, he announced that presidential elections would be held on 31 January 2010 and elections for parliament in March. Despite a previous promise that he would not seek election, his supporters formed a movement urging him to stand.
A month later, government troops opened fire on a mass opposition rally at a stadium in Conakry, called to protest Captain Camara's rumoured intention to stand. The Guinean Human Rights Organisation said 157 were killed in the violence and over 1200 injured. The military government put the death toll at 57.
Amid international expressions of concern at the violence, the authorities moved to ban all "subversive" gatherings.
Prime minister: Kabine Komara
Mr Komara was appointed as prime minister by Guinea's military junta at the end of 2008, a week after the coup that followed the death of President Lansana Conte.
He is seen as an accomplished technocrat but a political novice.
Born in 1950, Mr Komara began his career working for Guinea's central bank.
He was later an executive with the Guinean bauxite company CBG before taking on the role of liaising between the Guinean government and the African Development Bank.
In 1995 he left Guinea to take a job at the African Export-Import Bank in Cairo.
The appointment of a civilian premier raised hopes that the junta would honour other commitments made at the time of the coup, including the holding of elections.
Radio and TV stations, as well as the country's largest and only daily newspaper, are state-controlled and offer little coverage of the opposition and scant criticism of the government.
After much international and opposition lobbying, the government agreed to open up the airwaves and licensed private radio broadcasters in early 2006.
However, a media crackdown followed President Conte's declaration of a "state of siege" amid violent protests against his rule in February 2007.
A restrictive press law allows the government to censor publications. More than a dozen private newspapers publish either weekly or sporadically and are critical of the government. High printing costs also severely restrict publishing.
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