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The World Factbook 2002
| Equatorial Guinea |

Introduction | Equatorial Guinea

Background: | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea, which gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 presidential and 1999 legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed.

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 water: 0 sq km land: 28,051 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: | total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline: | 296 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: 3% other: 92% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | NA sq km
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, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | insular and continental regions rather widely separated

People | Equatorial Guinea

Population: | 498,144 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071) 15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.45% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 54.35 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) male: 52.26 years
Total fertility rate: | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 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.)

Government | Equatorial Guinea

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Malabo
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)
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 25 February 1996 (next to be held NA February 2003); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
election results: President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected with 98% of the popular vote in elections marred by widespread fraud
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
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)

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 March 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]; 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, 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 NSUE chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; 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 | 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 unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. 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. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 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% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | NA
Unemployment rate: | 30% (1998 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $200 million expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas
Industrial production growth rate: | 7.4% (1994 est.)
Electricity - production: | 22 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 90.91% hydro: 9.09% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 20.46 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber
Exports: | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: | petroleum, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners: | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999)
Imports: | $736 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment
Imports - partners: | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999)
Debt - external: | $225 million (2000 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
Currency code: | XAF
Exchange rates: | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
Fiscal year: | 1 January - 31 December

Communications | Equatorial Guinea

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 3, shortwave 5 (2002)
Radios: | 180,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (2002)
Televisions: | 4,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .gq
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000)
Internet users: | 600 (2000)

Transportation | Equatorial Guinea

Railways: | total: 0 km
Highways: | total: 2,880 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996)
Waterways: | none
Ports and harbors: | Bata, Luba, Malabo
Merchant marine: | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: | 3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001)

Military | Equatorial Guinea

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $27.5 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.5% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Equatorial Guinea

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

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002