Equatorial Guinea gained
independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country,
composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the
smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO
has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although
nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002
presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative
elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total
control over the political system and has discouraged political
opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to
the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has
become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the
country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive
increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few
improvements in the population's living standards.
Geography
Equatorial Guinea
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the
Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Geographic coordinates:
2 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
total: 0.11 cu km/yr
(83%/16%/1%) per capita: 220 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
violent windstorms, flash
floods
Environment - current issues:
tap water is not potable;
deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
total: 18.9 years
male: 18.3 years female: 19.5 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.732% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
37.04 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
9.72 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8
male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 83.75
deaths/1,000 live births male: 84.85 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 82.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.23
years male: 60.36 years female: 62.13 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.16 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,900 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
370 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very
high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal
diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease:
malaria (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Equatorial
Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or
Equatoguinean
nominally Christian and
predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Languages:
Spanish 67.6% (official), other
32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 85.7%
male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Government
Equatorial Guinea
Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form:
Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea
Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee equatoriale local short form:
Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee equatoriale former: Spanish Guinea
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Malabo
geographic coordinates: 3 45 N, 8 47 E time
difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative divisions:
7 provinces (provincias,
singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur,
Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Independence:
12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 October
(1968)
Constitution:
approved by national referendum
17 November 1991; amended January 1995
Legal system:
partly based on Spanish civil
law and tribal custom
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August
1979 when he seized power in a military coup) head of
government: Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 14
August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since
15 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president elections: president elected by popular vote for a
seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 December 2002
(next to be held in December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime
ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro
OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro
OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections
marred by widespread fraud
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of People's
Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members
directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held 4 May 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- PDGE 98, CPDS 2 note: Parliament has little power since the
constitution vests all executive authority in the president
Judicial branch:
Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders:
Convergence Party for Social
Democracy or CPDS [Placido MICO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial
Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for
Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of
Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Avelino MOCACHE]; Popular Union or UP
chief of mission:
Ambassador Purificacion ANGUE ONDO chancery: 2020 16th Street
NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700
FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON embassy: adjacent to the golf
course at the base of Mont Febe; note - relocated embassy is opened for
limited functions; inquiries should continue to be directed to the US
Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon mailing address: B.P. 817,
Yaounde, Cameroon; US Embassy Yaounde, US Department of State, Washington,
DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 220 15 00 FAX: [237]
220 16 20
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of
green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the
hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of
arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five
offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below
which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace,
Justice)
Economy
Equatorial Guinea
Economy - overview:
The discovery and exploitation
of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in
recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of
GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence
Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings,
the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished
potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its
intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid
programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since
1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for
concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has
been trying to agree on a 'shadow' fiscal management program with the
World Bank and IMF. Government officials and their family members own most
businesses. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore,
manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2007, led
by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the fourth highest per capita income in
the world, after Luxembourg, Bermuda, and Jersey.
China 30.9%, US 22.2%, Spain
12.6%, Taiwan 10.6%, Portugal 6.1% (2006)
Imports:
$3.219 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
petroleum sector equipment,
other equipment
Imports - partners:
US 37.7%, Spain 9.8%, Cote
d'Ivoire 7.9%, France 6.1%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Italy 5% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$39 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.928 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$288 million (31 December 2007
est.)
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine
franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central
African States
Currency code:
XAF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine
francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005),
528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Equatorial Guinea
Telephones - main lines in use:
10,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
96,900 (2005)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and good mobile
coverage domestic: fixed-line density is about 2 per 100
persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2005
stood at about 20 percent of the population international:
country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to
African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2001)
Radios:
180,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)
Televisions:
4,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.gq
Internet hosts:
81 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)
Internet users:
8,000 (2006)
Transportation
Equatorial Guinea
Airports:
5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5 2,438 to
3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Pipelines:
condensate 42 km;
condensate/gas 5 km; gas 80 km; oil 54 km (2007)
Roadways:
total: 2,880 km (1999)
Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT
or over) 1,745 GRT/3,434 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Bata, Malabo
Military
Equatorial Guinea
Military branches:
National Guard (Guardia
Nacional (Army), with Coast Guard (Navy) and Air Wing) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.) for
compulsory military service (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 136,725
females age 16-49: 138,018 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 101,712
females age 16-49: 104,381 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.1% (2006 est.)
Transnational Issues
Equatorial Guinea
Disputes - international:
in 2002, ICJ ruled on an
equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime
boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea
and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely
defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation;
UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute
over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create a maritime
boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay
Trafficking in persons:
current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is mainly a destination country for children trafficked
for forced labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and commercial sexual
exploitation from surrounding countries - primarily Benin, Nigeria, Gabon,
and Cameroon; victims work in the agricultural and commercial sectors of
Malabo and Bata, where demand is high due to a booming oil sector and a
flourishing expatriate business community; children work as farmhands,
street vendors, or household servants; girls are trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 3 - failed to demonstrate
the political commitment to address its human trafficking problem; despite
efforts to raise awareness of trafficking problems, in 2006 the government
failed to investigate and prosecute traffickers or protect victims
