City Africa
Conakry
Conakry is the capital city of Guinea, in West Africa. It sits on a long strip of land that pokes out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Conakry is the capital of Guinea, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. It began on Tombo island and spread along the Kaloum peninsula. Guinea's 2025 census counted 3,407,327 people in Conakry in its preliminary results, more than eight times Kankan, the next city.
Conakry was a small village on Tombo island in the second half of the 19th century; the French occupied it in 1887 and made it an important trading post. Linked to the Kaloum peninsula by a bridge, it grew along the peninsula. Preliminary results of the 2025 census give 3,407,327 people, and the WMO's averages give about 3,730 mm of rain a year.
Photo: Boubacar Bila Diao Balde, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Conakry
Conakry is the capital city of Guinea. Guinea is a country in West Africa, beside the Atlantic Ocean.
More than three million people live in Conakry.
Conakry is the capital of Guinea, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. The preliminary results of Guinea's 2025 census counted 3,407,327 people in Conakry, more than eight times as many as Kankan, the next-biggest city. In the 2014 census Conakry had 1,940,544.
Universalis says Conakry is Guinea's main center of culture and universities.
City Population (Institut National de la Statistique de Guinée) gives Conakry, a capital area of about 500 km² that includes Manéah and Kagbélen, 710,372 people in the 1983 census, 1,153,073 in 1996, 1,940,544 in 2014 (final) and 3,407,327 in the 2025 census (preliminary results). Kankan follows with 410,542 and Nzérékoré with 316,065.
Universalis (Pierre Vennetier): the Conakry agglomeration had 1.85 million people in 2004.
- Country
- Guinea (its capital)
- People in Conakry (census 2025, preliminary)
- 3,407,327
- People in Conakry (census 2014, final)
- 1,940,544
- Next-biggest city (2025, preliminary)
- Kankan, 410,542
Kaloum from the air
This photo was taken by a drone flying high above the city. Look at the red and orange roofs, the tall white buildings and the blue sea far away!
In the middle is a pale blue mosque with a green dome.
This drone photo shows the Kaloum area of Conakry on 1 May 2021. Streets run between tall white blocks, houses with red and orange roofs, and green trees. Near the middle stands a pale blue mosque with a green dome and a tall tower, which the photographer calls the Senegalese Mosque. The ocean fills the hazy background.
Universalis says the first town was laid out on a very regular plan, with avenues crossing at right angles.
Commons: 'Conakry vue de drone, Mosquée sénégalaise et son environnement' (Conakry seen from a drone, the Senegalese Mosque and its surroundings), 1 May 2021, own work by Boubacar Bila Diao Balde (CC BY-SA 4.0); categories 'Kaloum', 'Views of Conakry'.
Universalis: the early town's avenues, lined with mango trees, cross at right angles; many buildings have a shop on the ground floor and an apartment above, under corrugated metal roofs; a few large office and apartment blocks rose mostly in the western part.
- Photo
- a drone view over Kaloum, 1 May 2021
- Kaloum
- the part of Conakry shown in the photo (Commons category)
- Conakry National Museum
- opened 1960 (Wikidata)
From island village to capital
Long ago, Conakry was a small village on an island called Tombo.
Then it became an important trading post, and the town spread onto the land nearby. Now it is a big city!
In the second half of the 1800s, Conakry was still a small village on Tombo island, Universalis says. France occupied the island in 1887 and quickly made it an important trading post, with a deep-water anchorage protected by a breakwater.
A bridge for both trains and cars joined the island to the Kaloum peninsula, and the railway reached Kankan in 1900.
Universalis: Tombo island, edged with rocks and fairly sheltered by the Îles de Los, was occupied by the French in 1887 and became an important trading post; a combined rail and road bridge linked it to the Kaloum peninsula; the railway reached Kankan in 1900. Growth before and after 1960 spread up the peninsula, whose high point is about 100 m, as far as the airport, absorbing many villages.
Wikidata: Conakry National Museum, opened in 1960.
- A small village on Tombo island
- second half of the 19th century
- Occupied by France
- 1887
- Railway from Conakry reaches Kankan
- 1900
Port, peninsula and airport
Ships come to Conakry's port. Planes land at an airport farther along the peninsula. Islands lie out in the sea nearby.
Conakry's port has a deep-water anchorage behind a breakwater, Universalis says, and modern equipment for loading ores such as bauxite. The city could only grow onto the peninsula, and its neighborhoods spread as far as the airport.
The international airport lies about 13 kilometers northeast of the National Museum, and the Îles de Los, a group of islands, about 11 kilometers out to sea.
Universalis: the port is built mainly for ores and modern equipment for them; exports have included bananas, oranges, grapefruit, coffee, fish and bauxite; the town could only spread onto the peninsula, and housing reached the edge of the airport.
Wikidata: from Conakry National Museum, the international airport 13.3 km NE and the Îles de Los (about 80 km²) 10.5 km WSW.
- The port
- a deep-water anchorage behind a breakwater; modern equipment for ores
- International airport
- about 13 km northeast of the National Museum
- Îles de Los
- islands about 11 km west-southwest of the National Museum
A drenching rainy season
Conakry is hot all year. In July and August, it rains almost every day!
From December to March it is very dry.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Conakry (1991–2020) add up to about 3,730 millimeters of rain in a year. July and August each get more than 1,000 millimeters, and August has rain on about 28 days. From December to March, hardly any rain falls.
It is warm all year: average highs stay between about 28 and 32 °C, and lows about 22 to 25 °C.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Conakry (1991–2020): rainfall 3,729.9 mm on 130.9 days a year (days with at least 0.8 mm); July 1,082.6 mm and August 1,142.1 mm (28.2 days); June to October 3,506.7 mm; December to March 12.8 mm. Average highs 28.4 °C (August) to 32.3 °C (April); lows 22.3 °C (January) to 24.6 °C (April and May).
- August rainfall (WMO, 1991–2020)
- 1,142.1 mm
- Rainfall in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- 3,729.9 mm
- February rainfall
- 1.4 mm
Museums, gardens and mosques
Conakry has a national museum and a botanical garden full of plants. It has a mosque with room for 12,500 people, too.
The Conakry National Museum opened in 1960, Wikidata says. About 4 kilometers northeast of it lies the Conakry Botanical Garden, and close to the garden stands the Grand Mosque of Conakry, dating from 1982, with room for 12,500 people.
Universalis says local businesses have included fruit and fish canneries, car assembly and factories making plastic and aluminum goods.
Wikidata: Conakry National Museum (1960); Conakry Botanical Garden 3.8 km NE of the museum; Grand Mosque of Conakry (1982, capacity 12,500) 4.2 km NE.
Universalis: industry has long been led by mining (iron ore on the peninsula, bauxite on the Îles de Los); heavier works sit on the edges of the city: textiles at Sanouya, woodworking at Sofoniya, building materials at Kobala; Conakry is Guinea's cultural and university center.
- Conakry Botanical Garden
- about 4 km northeast of the National Museum
- Grand Mosque of Conakry
- from 1982 (Wikidata), room for 12,500
- Industries named by Universalis
- fruit and fish canning, car assembly, plastics, aluminum goods
Conakry on the map
Find Africa on the globe. Guinea is in the west, by the Atlantic Ocean. Conakry is on its coast.
Conakry lies at about 9.5° north, on the Atlantic coast of Guinea. The city began on Tombo island, which a bridge joins to the Kaloum peninsula. Measured from the National Museum, the Botanical Garden is about 4 kilometers northeast, the airport about 13 kilometers northeast and the Îles de Los about 11 kilometers west-southwest.
The city stretches northeast along the peninsula.
Conakry lies at about 9.51° N and 13.71° W. From Conakry National Museum (Wikidata points): Conakry's own point 0.6 km NW, Botanical Garden 3.8 km NE, Grand Mosque 4.2 km NE, Îles de Los 10.5 km WSW, the airport 13.3 km NE.
Universalis: the peninsula rises to about 100 m at most.
- Latitude
- about 9.5° north
- Longitude
- about 13.7° west
- Setting
- Tombo island and the Kaloum peninsula, sheltered by the Îles de Los
Amazing facts
-
In August, more than a meter of rain falls in Conakry!
In the WMO table, August in Conakry averages 1,142 millimeters of rain: more than a meter in one month.
WMO, 1991–2020: August 1,142.1 mm; July 1,082.6 mm; the year 3,729.9 mm.
-
Conakry began on an island called Tombo.
Conakry began on Tombo island; a bridge for trains and cars later joined it to the Kaloum peninsula, Universalis says.
Universalis: Tombo island was linked to the Kaloum peninsula by a combined rail and road bridge.
-
Conakry's old streets were lined with mango trees.
Universalis says the avenues of Conakry's first town were lined with mango trees and crossed at right angles.
Universalis: the early town was laid out on a very regular plan, with mango-lined avenues crossing at right angles.
-
A group of islands called the Îles de Los lies near Conakry.
The Îles de Los lie about 11 kilometers out to sea from the National Museum. Bauxite, an ore used to make aluminum, has been mined there, Universalis says.
Wikidata: Îles de Los, an archipelago of about 80 km², 10.5 km WSW of the museum; Universalis: bauxite on the Îles de Los, iron ore on the peninsula.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government works
- peninsula
- a piece of land with water on three sides
- port
- a town or harbor where ships load and unload goods
- breakwater
- a wall built out into the sea to protect a harbor from waves
- bauxite
- a rock that aluminum is made from
- preliminary
- first results, which may still change a little
Discovery challenge
-
Conakry is the capital of which country?
Conakry is the capital of which West African country?
Conakry, occupied by France in 1887, is the capital of which country today?
- Guinea
- Ghana
- Kenya
Show the answer
Guinea
Guinea!
Guinea.
Guinea.
-
Where did Conakry begin?
On what did Conakry first grow, before spreading along the peninsula?
Universalis says Conakry was a small village in the 19th century on which island?
- A mountain top
- Tombo island
- A desert oasis
Show the answer
Tombo island
On a little island called Tombo!
Tombo island.
Tombo.
-
Which month is the rainiest in Conakry?
In the WMO table, which month is Conakry's wettest?
Which month averages 1,142.1 mm in the WMO's 1991–2020 Conakry table?
- February
- August
- December
Show the answer
August
August!
August.
August.
-
Which ocean is Conakry beside?
Conakry lies on the coast of which ocean?
The Îles de Los, off Conakry, lie in which ocean?
- Indian Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Arctic Ocean
Show the answer
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean!
The Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean.
-
What kind of trees lined Conakry's old streets?
Which trees lined the avenues of Conakry's first town?
Universalis says the right-angled avenues of the early town were lined with which trees?
- Mango trees
- Pine trees
- Maple trees
Show the answer
Mango trees
Mango trees!
Mango trees.
Mango trees.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Conakry on the Atlantic coast of West Africa.
- Explain how a peninsula shapes the way a city grows.
- Read a rainfall table and compare the wettest and driest months.
- Compare Conakry's census counts from 1983 to 2025.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Conakry could only grow along its peninsula. What problems might a long, narrow city have?
- Conakry gets more than a meter of rain in August alone. How might a city prepare for so much rain?
- The 2025 census figure is 'preliminary'. Why might first census results change a little later?
Try at home or in class
- Rain jar: measure 1,142 millimeters on a tall tube or wall and compare it with your own height.
- Peninsula map: draw an island joined to a long strip of land and show how a city could grow along it.
- Growth bars: draw bars for Conakry's 1983, 1996, 2014 and 2025 census counts.
Key vocabulary: capital, peninsula, port, breakwater, bauxite, preliminary
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Guinea: Regions and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Institut National de la Statistique de Guinée
- Conakry , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Conakry: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (Guinea)
- File:Ville de Conaky.jpg (Boubacar Bila Diao Balde, 1 May 2021) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.