Equatorial Guinea (2001) | Ghana (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
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.) |
0-14 years: 38.2% (male 4,438,308/female 4,329,293)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 6,661,512/female 6,687,738) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 380,495/female 433,953) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber | cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 12 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was re-elected in 2004. Kufuor is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in upcoming Presidential elections, which are scheduled for December 2008. |
Birth rate | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Malabo | name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 296 km | 539 km |
Constitution | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 | approved 28 April 1992 |
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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | - |
Death rate | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $290 million (1999 est.) | $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: 24 4th Circular Rd. Cantonments, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 741-000 FAX: [233] (21) 741-389 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Kwame BAWUAH-EDUSEI
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire |
Economic aid - recipient | $33.8 million (1995) | $1.316 billion in loans and grants (2007) |
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. | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative that took effect in 2006. Thematic priorities under its current Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2007. Ghana signed a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 19.5 million kWh (1999) | 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 256 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 461 million kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production | 21 million kWh (1999) | 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; desertification | recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish | Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census) |
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 | cedis per US dollar - 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003) |
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 |
chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 52.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 44.6% |
Exports | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 8,041 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, timber, cocoa | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture |
Exports - partners | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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) | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $960 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 12% (2000 est.) | 6.2% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | insular and continental regions rather widely separated | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
Highways | total:
2,880 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money laundering center; significant domestic cocaine and cannabis use |
Imports | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 45,010 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods and equipment | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (1994 est.) | 7.4% (2007 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building |
Infant mortality rate | 92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 53.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (1999 est.) | 11% (2007 est.) |
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) | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 310 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 11.29 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 56%
industry: 15% services: 29% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo | Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census) |
Legal system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
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.) |
total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,032 GRT/7,282 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3 million (FY97/98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY97/98) | 0.8% (2006 est.) |
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.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | violent windstorms, flash floods | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007) |
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] | Convention People's Party or CPP [Ladi NYLANDER]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTEY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles WAYO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 486,060 (July 2001 est.) | 22,931,299
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 28.5% (2007 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.46% (2001 est.) | 1.972% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007) |
Radios | 180,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
0 km |
total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices | Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 1.003 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership about 25 per 100 persons and rising
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: country code - 233; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,000 (1996) | 356,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 5.207 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 7 (2007) |
Terrain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1998 est.) | 11% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2007) |