Guinea, Republic of, formerly People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea, independent nation in western Africa, bounded on the north-west by Guinea-Bissau and Senegal; on the north-east by Mali; on the east and south-east by Côte d'Ivoire; on the south by Liberia and Sierra Leone; and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. A former French colony, Guinea became independent on October 2, 1958. The total area of the nation, including the Iles de Los lying off the coast, near Conakry, the capital, is 245,857 sq km (94,926 sq mi).