Guinea
As a least-developed country (LDC), Guinea is a beneficiary of the EU's "Everything but Arms" (EBA) arrangement. The World Bank classifies Guinea as a lower middle-income economy with a per-capita income of $1,877 in 2025. Total EU imports from Guinea amounted to about €946 million in 2025 (2026: €644 million). As most of Guinea's exports enter the EU duty-free under the EU's normal tariff regime, the scope for preferential imports is limited - these amounted to €5.2 million in 2025.
What is the EBA?
The EBA arrangement covers all LDCs as classified by the United Nations. This arrangement enables duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating in LDCs except for arms and ammunition. Unlike beneficiaries of the Standard GSP and GSP+, LDCs are not excluded from the scheme if they benefit from other preferential arrangements or agreements with the EU.
At a glance: EU preferential imports from EBA beneficiary countries (2025, € million)
15.1M (2025)
Population
Presidential Republic
Government
7.4% (2025)
GDP Growth
3.6% (2025)
Inflation
$ 28.3B (2025)
GDP
Facts about Guinea's economy
Export Products
Aluminium ores and gold are Guinea's most important export products, followed with some distance by cocoa beans and petroleum oils.
Trade Partners
Guinea's most important trading partners are China, the EU, and India which together accounted for almost 60% of overall trade in 2025. Guinea's main supplier is China (31%), followed by the EU (19%) and India (11%). China (32%), Ghana (18%) and India (16%) are the main export markets.
Economic Structure
The service sector accounts for about 38% of the GDP (2025), followed by agriculture (31%) and industry (25%). Important agricultural commodities are nuts, rice, sesame, millet, corn, and cassava. The industrial sector mainly concentrates on the processing of agricultural commodities, smaller industries include beverages, textiles, and footwear. Mining is also very important.
Bauxite Reserves
Guinea has considerable mineral resources and is home to almost half of the world’s reserves of bauxite which is used to produce aluminium.
Usage of EBA Preferences
Only a fraction of Guinea's overall exports to the EU use EBA preferences, because most export commodities enter the EU without duties under the normal tariff regime. Nonetheless, the preference utilisation rate, which represents the ratio of preferential imports to GSP eligible imports, stood at 98% in 2025.
Trade with the EU
Total trade with the EU amounted to €1.8 billion in 2025. The EU is Guinea's second most important trading partner (14% of total trade), also ranking second as a source of imports (19%) and fifth as a destination for exports (10%).
Guinea and the EU
Imports from Guinea by product section (2025, € million)
Imports from Guinea over time (€ million)
GUINEA AND THE EU GSP
Economic Impact
1%
Only a tiny fraction of Guinea's exports to the EU were eligible for EBA preferences in 2025.
61%
Guinea's preference utilisation rate in 2025.
100%
Share of zero-duty imports from Guinea in 2025. Most imports are duty-free under normal EU tariffs.
Preference utilisation and export diversification
EU imports from Guinea (€ million)
Preference utilisation (%) vs. total eligible imports (in € million)
The vast majority of EU imports from Guinea are duty free under the EU's normal tariffs; accordingly, EBA eligible imports only account for a small share (less than 1% in 2025). Eligible imports have been volatile over the years but increased from 2023 to 2025. Guinea’s preference utilisation rate also showed considerable fluctuations over the years, but also settled at between 50% and 60% since 2022 (61% in 2025).
The largest product sections under EBA (€ million, 2025)
Although the share of EBA-eligible imports from Guinea is small, these are fairly diversified: in 2025, products in 14 of the 35 GSP product sections used the preferences. Nonetheless, the three most prominent sections, edible oils, base metals, and fish, accounted for 88% of preferential imports from the country in 2025. The most important product section among eligible imports, edible oils, had a utilisation rate of 98% in 2025.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
As a beneficiary of the EBA, Guinea is not required to ratify any conventions to be able to benefit from preferential access to the EU market. Nonetheless, the country has ratified all 27 international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.
Core international conventions on human rights and labour standards
Ratified
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1969)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)
- International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1976)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981)
- Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930)
- Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948)
- Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949)
- Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951)
- Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957)
- Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958)
- Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973)
- Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
Additional Conventions
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
- Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
- United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
- United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
- United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
- United Nations Convention against Corruption (2004)
EU-Guinea Bilateral Development Cooperation
DG INTPA
Access all info about EU-Guinea relations on the International Partnerships website.