GUINEA
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a West African country located along the Atlantic coast and bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Conakry. As of 2023–2025 estimates, Guinea’s population is roughly 13–14 million people.
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Guinea is ethnically diverse, with more than 20 ethnic groups — the largest being the Fulani (Peul), Malinké (Mandinka), and Susu. French is the official language, but many local languages such as Fula, Malinké, and Susu dominate daily life. Guinean culture combines strong Islamic influence (majority Muslim), deep community ties, and longstanding traditions tied to ethnic heritage.
FAMILY
This category includes anything related to a client’s home life, relationships with parents, siblings, or extended family, and the roles they play within their household. It also covers family expectations, communication patterns, cultural values, responsibilities, conflicts, and any major events or changes happening at home. The goal is to understand how the client’s family environment shapes their daily stress, emotional wellbeing, and behavior.
This blog post explores gender disparities in Guinea, focusing on how family expectations, education access, and societal roles differ for men and women. It highlights how traditional and modern forces shape family life, decision-making, and social responsibilities in Guinean households.
Covers Guinean family roles, marriage customs, gender expectations, lineage systems, and the importance of extended households.
This article provides a first-hand narrative of what it’s like living with a family in Guinea, exploring day-to-day routines, family hierarchy, communal responsibilities, and traditional values. It offers counselors a grounded look at how Guinean families organize their households, how children are raised, and how social norms are passed across generations.
This Cultural Atlas profile on Guinea offers a concise but rich overview of how family, social obligations, and lineage shape daily life—covering roles of elders, extended family systems, and communal decision-making.
COMMUNITY
This category explores how people in Guinea live together beyond the nuclear family — their neighborhoods, friendships, communal networks, social expectations, village or urban community structures, and how these influence daily life, social support, identity, and belonging. It covers social norms, community rituals, mutual aid, socialization practices, and how daily life is shaped by community ties.
This article explains how Guinean social life is organised around extended family compounds and communal spaces. It notes for example that in many households, separate dwellings still open onto a shared area where cooking and interaction happens.
This website page covers how multiple ethnic groups in The Gambia interact, merge traditions, and live as a cohesive society. It outlines how respect, shared customs, and community rituals transcend tribal lines.
This InterNations “Living in Guinea” guide offers a practical overview of everyday social life, community norms, and cultural expectations—especially useful for expatriates, but also helpful for understanding how Guinea’s social networks and community structures operate.
This site gives an overview of how over 24 ethnic groups in Guinea coexist with distinct customs, languages, and traditions that shape community life. It explains how communal living, festivals, and group identity influence daily social behaviour.
RELIGION
This category explores the beliefs, spiritual practices, and religious values that shape a client’s worldview. In many African communities, religion is deeply connected to daily life, moral expectations, community belonging, and decision-making. By understanding the client’s religious background—whether traditional beliefs, Christianity, Islam, or blended practices—counselors can better interpret their coping styles, sources of support, stress responses, and the meaning they attach to personal struggles.
This Wikipedia article provides an overview of the religious composition of Guinea, highlighting that the population is predominantly Muslim (approximately 85%), with Christian and traditional faiths also present. It explores how Islam, Indigenous beliefs, and minority religions shape social values, family roles, and community life in Guinea.
This “2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Guinea” provides detailed information on the religious landscape, legal protections, and societal attitudes toward faith in Guinea. It highlights how Islam is the dominant religion, while Christians and followers of traditional beliefs also form part of the population.
This piece explores how the Nalu people of Guinea are leading a revival of ancestral, earth-centered spiritual practices intertwined with nature, community, and identity. It discusses how these spiritual traditions are not just preserved but revitalized as tools for dignity, resistance, and communal resilience.
This page from the Humanists International “Freedom of Thought” project outlines Guinea’s current religious freedom, legal protections for belief and non-belief, and the societal interplay between dominant Islamic faiths and minority spiritual practices.