Labé

The city was founded in the 1720s by the Yalunka people and named for their chief, Manga Labé.{{cite web |title=Labe |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Labe |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=3 June 2024}} It developed as a major trade center linking the Niger river to the Atlantic coast.Brooks, George E. “Ecological Perspectives on Mande Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (Ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present.” History in Africa, vol. 16, 1989, pp. 23–40. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3171777. Accessed 3 June 2024.

The city was the capital of the Diwal/province of Labe within the Imamate of Futa Jallon prior to French colonisation. It was home to Muslim leaders and scholars who resisted colonisation, such as Alpha Yaya Diallo. Labe is the most important city in the Moyenne (Middle) Guinea region also known as Fouta Djallon. Labe is considered as a major cultural and religious center in West Africa, especially among the Fulani people. Many Muslim scholars made Labe a famous learning place in Islamic studies. The most prominent of the erudites being Alfa Oumarou Rafiou (Dara Labe), Thierno Doura Sombili, Thierno Diawo Pellel, Thierno Aliou Bhouba Dian.{{cn|date = June 2024}}

File:Mosquée hoggo Labé.jpg

Labé is an important commercial centre in the region, arising out of its strategic geographical position between several other countries. Traders from nearby regions such as Pita, Tougué, Koubia, Lélouma, Mali Yemberin and other countries including Mali, Senegal, the Gambia and Sierra Leone gather in Labé. Its central market is the second largest in the country after the Madina market in Conakry. Trade or commerce has become the main activity in the city, but Labe also has a small manufacturing industry consisting mainly of shoe making, textile, carpentry, blacksmithing...

It is known for weaving and honey. The city also benefits from a considerable diaspora whose repatriated income contributes significantly to infrastructural development in Labé and helps to overcome the region's relatively poorer revenue stream. Merchants from the city dominate the informal economy in most Guinean cities and are also economically active in cities further afield, such as Dakar, Bamako, Abidjan, Bissau and Freetown.

The city also has a museum, while the Saala Falls and Mount Kolima lie nearby.

The town is served by Tata Airport. A jet-capable airport near Labé was built by Cuban engineers in 1973. Currently the airport remains unused due to the lack of airline traffic connecting the different regions and major cities in Guinea.

The city has a sizable stadium (stade Saifoulaye Diallo) which hosts soccer/football games played by the local club Fello Star. However the sport facility is poorly maintained and kept.Harold D. Nelson, Area Handbook for Guinea, Department of the Army Pamphlet 550-174, 1975, p.333

Labé has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with extreme temperature differences between day and night due to the city’s altitude of over {{convert|1,000|m|ft|-1|disp=or}}. It is as hot by day as the coast of Guinea all year round, but cold to comfortable at night due to lower heat storage in thinner air. About {{convert|1550|mm|in|0|disp=or}} of rain fall annually, almost all between late April and early November.

{{Weather box

|location = Labé, Guinea (1945-2022)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan high C = 29.5

|Feb high C = 31.1

|Mar high C = 32.6

|Apr high C = 32.6

|May high C = 30.8

|Jun high C = 27.8

|Jul high C = 25.8

|Aug high C = 25.3

|Sep high C = 26.0

|Oct high C = 27.0

|Nov high C = 28.1

|Dec high C = 28.4

|year high C =

|Jan mean C = 20.9

|Feb mean C = 22.5

|Mar mean C = 24.1

|Apr mean C = 25.1

|May mean C = 24.6

|Jun mean C = 22.8

|Jul mean C = 21.7

|Aug mean C = 21.4

|Sep mean C = 21.6

|Oct mean C = 21.9

|Nov mean C = 21.3

|Dec mean C = 20.5

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = 12.3

|Feb low C = 13.9

|Mar low C = 15.6

|Apr low C = 17.6

|May low C = 18.4

|Jun low C = 17.7

|Jul low C = 17.5

|Aug low C = 17.6

|Sep low C = 17.2

|Oct low C = 16.8

|Nov low C = 14.6

|Dec low C = 12.6

|year low C =

|Jan record high C = 35.5

|Feb record high C = 34.7

|Mar record high C = 40.5

|Apr record high C = 39.0

|May record high C = 40.0

|Jun record high C = 35.0

|Jul record high C = 30.0

|Aug record high C = 35.5

|Sep record high C = 33.0

|Oct record high C = 30.0

|Nov record high C = 35.0

|Dec record high C = 34.4

|Jan record low C = 3.8

|Feb record low C = 6.0

|Mar record low C = 7.0

|Apr record low C = 8.8

|May record low C = 10.9

|Jun record low C = 10.5

|Jul record low C = 11.0

|Aug record low C = 12.5

|Sep record low C = 13.2

|Oct record low C = 11.1

|Nov record low C = 8.1

|Dec record low C = 4.4

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 2

|Feb precipitation mm = 4

|Mar precipitation mm = 9

|Apr precipitation mm = 35

|May precipitation mm = 141

|Jun precipitation mm = 233

|Jul precipitation mm = 315

|Aug precipitation mm = 340

|Sep precipitation mm = 288

|Oct precipitation mm = 141

|Nov precipitation mm = 34

|Dec precipitation mm = 2

|year precipitation mm = 1543

|Jan humidity = 38

|Feb humidity = 37

|Mar humidity = 40

|Apr humidity = 43

|May humidity = 64

|Jun humidity = 74

|Jul humidity = 86

|Aug humidity = 82

|Sep humidity = 81

|Oct humidity = 77

|Nov humidity = 71

|Dec humidity = 47

|year humidity = 62

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0

|Feb precipitation days = 0

|Mar precipitation days = 1

|Apr precipitation days = 3

|May precipitation days = 11

|Jun precipitation days = 15

|Jul precipitation days = 20

|Aug precipitation days = 22

|Sep precipitation days = 21

|Oct precipitation days = 12

|Nov precipitation days = 2

|Dec precipitation days = 1

|Jan sun = 270

|Feb sun = 256

|Mar sun = 261

|Apr sun = 232

|May sun = 211

|Jun sun = 180

|Jul sun = 148

|Aug sun = 131

|Sep sun = 159

|Oct sun = 195

|Nov sun = 236

|Dec sun = 257

|year sun = 2536

|Jan percentsun = 76

|Feb percentsun = 79

|Mar percentsun = 71

|Apr percentsun = 63

|May percentsun = 54

|Jun percentsun = 47

|Jul percentsun = 38

|Aug percentsun = 34

|Sep percentsun = 44

|Oct percentsun = 54

|Nov percentsun = 69

|Dec percentsun = 73

|year percentsun = 58

|source 1 = NOAA (precipitation, humidity, and sunshine 1961-1990){{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG__I/GW/61809.TXT

| title = Labé Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| accessdate = March 8, 2015}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=daily-summaries&stations=GV000001809&startDate=1700-01-01&endDate=2023-12-31&dataTypes=TMAX,TMIN,PRCP

| title = Global Historical Climatological Network - Daily

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| accessdate = January 23, 2023}}

}}

• ENI of Labé, a public general education institution

• Thierno Abdourahmane Bah (1916 - 2013) - Poet and imam of Labe mosque
• Sirah Baldé (1927/8–2018) – novelist and teacher
• Cellou Dalein Diallo – politician and economist
• Koumanthio Zeinab Diallo – poet, novelist and playwright
• Siradiou Diallo (1936–2004) – politician and journalist

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{{Labé Prefecture}}

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{{Coord|11|19|N|12|17|W|type:city|display=title}}

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Category:Sub-prefectures of the Labé Region