Republic of
Equatorial Guinea

CIA stats below, w/ a slight edit by me.
(2001 info unless otherwise noted.)

Didn't explain why they U.S. is the main trade partner w/ a country
"ruled by ruthless leaders who have badly mismanaged the economy."
(Hint: See "Economy - overview:")

 

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.

Transnational Issues

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

Government
Executive branch:
Chief of state:  President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO
(since 8/3/79 when he seized power in a military coup)
Head of govt:  PM Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 2/26/01);
First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA Jan. 1998);
Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA Jan. 1998)
Cabinet:  Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections:  president elected by popular vote to a 7-yr term;
Election last held 2/25/96 (next to be held NA Feb. 2003);
PM and vice PMs 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 5-yr terms)
Elections:  last held 3/7/99 (next to be held NA 2004)
Election results:
% 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

Political parties and leaders:
Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido Miko ABOGO];
Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE [Teodoro O.N. 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]

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 Sept. 1995); US relations with Equatorial Guinea
are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon;
the US State Dept. is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo

Economy

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.

Telephone system:
General assessment:  poor system w/ adequate government services
Domestic:  NA
International:  international communications from
Bata and Malabo to African and European countries;
Satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)



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)

Government
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

Capital:
Malabo

Administrative divisions:
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia);
Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur,
Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas

Independence:
12 Oct. 1968 (from Spain)   

National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 Oct. (1968)

Constitution:
Approved by national referendum 11/17/91;
amended Jan. 1995

Legal system:
Partly based on Spanish
civil law and tribal custom

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal adult

Judicial branch:
Supreme Tribunal

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

Economy

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 % share:
Lowest 10%:  NA%
Highest 10%:  NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Unemployment rate:
30% (1998 est.)

Budget:
Revenues:  $47 million
Expenditures:  $43 million, w/
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%
(1999)

Electricity - consumption:
19.5 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
Ccoffee, 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

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere
Africaine francs (XAF)/ US $ - 
699.21 (Jan. 2001), 711.98 (2000),
615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998),
583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996);
Note - from 1/1/99, the XAF is pegged to
the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Transportation

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:  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:
3 (2000 est.)

Airports - paved runways:
Total:  2
2,438 to 3,047 m:  1
1,524 to 2,437 m:  1
(2000 est.)

Airports - unpaved runways:
Total:  1
under 914 m:  1
(2000 est.)

Military

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force,
Rapid Intervention Force, National Police

Manpower - availability:
Males age 15-49:  108,973

Fit for military service:
Males age 15-49:  55,347

Expenditures - $ figure:
$3 million (FY97/98)

Expenditures - % of GDP:
0.6% (FY97/98)

Geography

Location:
Western Africa, borders 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

  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:  4%
Permanent pastures:  4%
Forests and woodland:  46%
Other:  41%
(1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
Violent windstorms, flash floods

Environment - current issues:
Tap water is not potable; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
Party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
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 

Population:
486,060 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years:  42.56%
(m 103,909; fe 102,946)
15-64 years:  53.68%
(m 124,808; fe 136,088)
65 years and over:  3.76%
(m 8,178; fe 10,131)
  
Population growth rate:
2.46%

Birth rate:
37.72 births/1,000 population

Death rate:
13.11 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate:
NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
At birth:  1.03 m/fe
Under 15 yrs:  1.01 m/fe
15-64 years:  0.92 m/fe
65 yrs and over:  0.81 m/fe
Total population:  0.95 m/fe

Infant mortality rate:
92.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
Total population:  53.95 yrs
Male:  51.89 yrs   Female:  56.07 years

Total fertility rate:
4.88 children born/woman

% Of People W/ HIV/AIDS:
0.51% (1999 est.)

People w/ 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),
Euros = less than 1,000, mostly Spanish

Religions:
 Christian (most are Roman Catholic),
pagan practices

Languages:
Spanish (official), French (official),
pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Literacy:
Definition:  age 15 and up can read/write
Total population:  78.5%
Male:  89.6%    Female:  68.1%
(1995 est.)

Communications

     Telephones - main lines in  use:
4,000 (1996)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
180,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)

Televisions:
4,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gq

Internet Service Providers:
1 (2000)

Internet users:
500 (2000)

Africa

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