| Background: |
Composed of a
mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial
Guinea has been ruled by ruthless leaders who have badly
mismanaged the economy since independence from 190 years of
Spanish rule in 1968. Although nominally a constitutional
democracy since 1991, the 1996 presidential and 1999
legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed. |
| Location: |
Western Africa,
bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
2 00 N, 10 00 E |
| 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical; always
hot, humid |
| Terrain: |
coastal plains
rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
| Natural
resources: |
oil, petroleum,
timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese,
uranium |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
5%
permanent crops: 4%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 41% (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
violent
windstorms, flash floods |
| Environment
- current issues: |
tap water is not
potable; desertification |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship
Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
insular and
continental regions rather widely separated |
| Population: |
486,060 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
42.56% (male 103,909; female 102,946)
15-64 years: 53.68% (male 124,808; female
136,088)
65 years and over: 3.76% (male 8,178; female
10,131) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.46% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
37.72
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
13.11
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
NEGL migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
92.9 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 53.95 years
male: 51.89 years
female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
4.88 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.51% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
1,100 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
120 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Bioko (primarily
Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang),
Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
| Religions: |
nominally
Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
| Languages: |
Spanish
(official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi,
Ibo |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.5%
male: 89.6%
female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea
local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial
local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial
former: Spanish Guinea |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| 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 adult |
| 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 Candido
Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime
Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy
Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January
1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president
elections: president elected by popular vote to
a seven-year term; election last held 25 February 1996 (next
to be held NA February 2003); prime minister and vice prime
ministers appointed by the president
election results: President Teodoro OBIANG
NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected with 98% of popular vote in
elections marred by widespread fraud |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral House
of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del
Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote
to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be
held NA 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party -
PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and
CPDS 1
note: opposition parties have refused to take
up their seats in the House to protest widespread
irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Tribunal |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Convergence Party
for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido Miko 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 [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular
Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic
Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY, mayor of Malabo];
Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, AfDB,
BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Teodoro BIYOGO NSUEA
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC
20009
telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700
FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador John M. YATES; note - the US
does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy
closed September 1995); US relations with Equatorial Guinea
are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon; the
US State Department is considering opening a Consulate
Agency in Malabo |
| 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
- 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 deterioration of the rural economy under
successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for
agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored
by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993
because of the government's gross corruption and
mismanagement. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by
government officials and their family members. Undeveloped
natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese,
uranium, and alluvial gold. The country responded favorably
to the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Boosts
in production and high world oil prices stimulated growth in
2000, with oil accounting for 90% of greatly increased
exports. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $960 million (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
12% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
20%
industry: 60%
services: 20% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
6% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30% (1998 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$47 million
expenditures: $43 million, including capital
expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum,
fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
7.4% (1994 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
21 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
85.71%
hydro: 14.29%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
19.5 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
coffee, cocoa,
rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts;
livestock; timber |
| Exports: |
$860 million
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
petroleum,
timber, cocoa |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 62%, Spain
17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) |
| Imports: |
$300 million
(f.o.b., 1999) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
manufactured
goods and equipment |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 35%, France
15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) |
| Debt
- external: |
$290 million
(1999 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$33.8 million
(1995) |
| Currency: |
Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
| Exchange
rates: |
Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21
(January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998),
583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999,
the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per
euro |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31
March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
4,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: poor system with adequate government
services
domestic: NA
international: international communications
from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 0, FM 2,
shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
4,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.gq |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
500 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
2,880 km
paved: 0 km
unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Bata, Luba,
Malabo |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 26,035 GRT/27,927 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, combination
bulk 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy, Air
Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 108,973 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 55,347 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$3 million
(FY97/98) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
0.6% (FY97/98) |
| Disputes
- international: |
tripartite
maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon
and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary
dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over
islands in Corisco Bay |
|
