The Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids.

Fulani Muslims migrated to Futa Jallon in Central Guinea and established an Islamic state from 1735 to 1898 with a written constitution and alternate rulers.

Guinea's colonial period began with French military penetration into the area in the early to mid-19th century, as France replaced Portugal as the dominant European power in the region.

The French withdrew quickly, destroying infrastructure and equipment along the way,[5] and on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as president.

As a result, the United States did not engage with the Touré government, in response Guinea quickly turned to the Soviet Union—making it the Kremlin's first success story in Africa.

Even the relationship with France improved, after the election of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing as president, trade increased and the two countries exchanged diplomatic visits.

Touré was reelected unopposed to four seven-year terms as president, and every five years voters were presented with a single list of PDG candidates for the National Assembly.

Advocating a hybrid African Socialism domestically and Pan-Africanism abroad, Touré quickly became a polarising leader, and his government became intolerant of dissent, imprisoning hundreds, and stifling free press.

Vacillating between support for the Soviet Union and (by the late 1970s) the United States, Guinea's economic situation became as unpredictable as its diplomatic line.

The Guinean Market Women's Revolt in 1977 resulted in the regime's softening of economic restrictions and began a turn away from the radical socialism previously practiced by the government.

Sékou Touré died on March 26, 1984, after a heart operation in the United States, and was replaced by Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui, who was to serve as interim president pending new elections.

Conté immediately denounced the previous regime's record on human rights, released 250 political prisoners and encouraged approximately 200,000 more to return from exile.

[9] In 2000 Guinea became embroiled in the instability which had long blighted the rest of West Africa as rebels crossed the borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone and it seemed for a time that the country was headed for civil war.

[14] On 28 September 2009, the junta ordered its soldiers to attack people who had gathered to protest Camara's presumed candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections.

[20] After meeting in Ouagadougou on 13 and 14 January, Camara, Konaté and Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, produced a formal statement of twelve principles promising a return of Guinea to civilian rule within six months.

[21] On 21 January 2010 the military junta appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month transition government, leading up to elections.

[33] In February 2013, a plane carrying the head of the Guinean armed forces, General Kelefa Diallo, and nine other military officials, crashed on its way to the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

[34] The opposition coalition withdrew from the electoral process in mid-February, mainly due to President Conde's insistence on using a suspicious South African firm Waymark Infotech to draw up the registered voter list.

[35][36] In late February 2013, political violence erupted in Guinea after protesters took to the streets to voice their concerns over the transparency of the upcoming May 2013 elections.

The demonstrations were fueled by the opposition coalition's decision to step down from the electoral process in protest at the lack of transparency in the preparations for elections.

[35][38] The political violence also led to inter-ethnic clashes between the Fula and Malinke peoples, the latter forming the base of support for President Condé, with the former consisting mainly of the opposition.

[40] Beginning in July 2014, Guinea suffered the most severe recorded outbreak of Ebola in history, which rapidly spread to neighbouring countries Liberia and Sierra Leone.

[44] On 1 October 2021, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led the previous month's coup, was sworn in as interim president of Guinea.