Equatorial Guinea (2002) | New Zealand (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas | 13 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne-Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Nelson-Marlborough, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast |
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.) |
0-14 years: 21.7% (male 443,211; female 422,507)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,337,383; female 1,325,683) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 203,084; female 261,949) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 113 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 70
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about the size of Colorado |
Background | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, 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 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. | The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. |
Birth rate | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $32.14 billion
expenditures: $30.13 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | Malabo | Wellington |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | temperate with sharp regional contrasts |
Coastline | 296 km | 15,134 km |
Constitution | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter |
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: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $225 million (2000 est.) | $37.46 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP 96531-1034 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, 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 | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $99.7 million |
Economic aid - recipient | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) | - |
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. | Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita income has been rising and is now 80% of the level of the four largest EU economies. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and growth should continue at the same level in 2004. Expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately. |
Electricity - consumption | 20.46 million kWh (2000) | 34.88 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 22 million kWh (2000) | 37.51 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Aoraki-Mount Cook 3,754 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; deforestation | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside |
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% |
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 | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000), 1.8896 (1999) |
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 for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 30,220 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, timber, cocoa | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery |
Exports - partners | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) | Australia 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 11%, China 4.9%, UK 4.8% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 January - 31 December | 1 July - 30 June |
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) | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $85.34 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 4.8%
industry: 27.4% services: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E | 41 00 S, 174 00 E |
Geography - note | insular and continental regions rather widely separated | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world |
Highways | total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
total: 92,053 km
paved: 57,809 km (including at least 190 km of expressways) unpaved: 34,244 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1991 est.) |
Imports | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) | 119,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics |
Imports - partners | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) | Australia 22.2%, US 11.8%, Japan 11.8%, China 9%, Germany 5.3% (2003) |
Independence | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (1994 est.) | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining |
Infant mortality rate | 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 5.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2003 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, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) | ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal | High Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | NA | 2.008 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.6%
permanent crops: 6.99% other: 87.41% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo | English (official), Maori (official) |
Legal system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.49 years
male: 75.5 years female: 81.61 years (2004 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: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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.) |
total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 77,523 GRT/108,352 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Isle of Man 1 registered in other countries: 8 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27.5 million (FY01) | $1.147 billion (FY03/04) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY01) | 1% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,033,464 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 868,984 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 27,157 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
Natural hazards | violent windstorms, flash floods | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,213 km; liquid petroleum gas 79 km; oil 160 km; refined products 304 km (2004) |
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] | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; Progressive Coalition [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) | 3,993,817 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.45% (2002 est.) | 1.05% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 180,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 0 km | total: 3,898 km
narrow gauge: 3,898 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 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: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: country code - 64; submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1998) | 1.765 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 300 (1998) | 2.599 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1998 est.) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |