Country Profiles - Equatorial Guinea

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Geography: Equatorial Guinea, formerly Spanish Guinea, consists of Río Muni (10,045 sq mi; 26,117 sq km), on the western coast of Africa, and several islands in the Gulf of Guinea, the largest of which is Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) (785 sq mi; 2,033 sq km). The other islands are Annobón, Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico. The total area is twice that of Connecticut.
Government: Dictatorship.
History: The mainland was originally inhabited by Pygmies. The Fang and Bubi migrated there in the 17th century and to the main island of Fernando Po (now called Bioko) in the 19th century. In the 18th century, the Portuguese ceded land to the Spanish that included Equatorial Guinea. From 1827 to 1844, Britain administered Fernando Po, but it was then reclaimed by Spain. Río Muni, the mainland, was not occupied by the Spanish until 1926. Spanish Guinea, as it was then called, gained independence from Spain on Oct. 12, 1968. It is Africa's only Spanish-speaking country.

Map of Equatorial Guinea

President: Col. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (1979)

Prime Minister: Vicente Ehate Tomi (2012)

Total area: 10,830 sq mi (28,050 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 722,254 (growth rate: 2.54%); birth rate: 33.83/1000; infant mortality rate: 71.12/1000; life expectancy: 63.49

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Malabo, 137,000

Monetary unit: CFA Franc

National name: Républica de Guinea Ecuatorial

Languages: Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) 32.4% (1994 census)

Ethnicity/race: Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)

National Holiday: Independence Day, October 12

Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices

Literacy rate: 94.2% (2011 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $19.68 billion; per capita $25,700 (2011 est.). Real growth rate: –1.5%. Inflation: 6%. Unemployment: 22.3% (2009 est.). Arable land: 4.63%. Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber. Labor force: 195,200 (2007). Industries: petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay. Exports: $15.44 billion (2013 est.): petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa. Imports: $7.943 billion (2013 est.): petroleum sector equipment, other equipment. Major trading partners: U.S., China, Spain, France, Netherlands, Côte d'Ivoire, Italy, Brazil (2012).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 14,900 (2012); mobile cellular: 501,000 (2012). Broadcast media: state maintains control of broadcast media with domestic broadcast media limited to 1 state-owned TV station, 1 private TV station owned by the president's eldest son, 1 state-owned radio station, and 1 private radio station owned by the president's eldest son; satellite TV service is available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible (2013). Internet hosts: 7 (2012). Internet users: 14,400 (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 0 km. Highways: total: 2,880 km (2000 est.). Ports and harbors: Bata, Luba, Malabo. Airports: 7 (2013).

International disputes: 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, imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has been pressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay.

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