Equatorial Guinea (2002) | Reunion (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
Capital | Malabo | Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 296 km | 207 km |
Constitution | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | - |
Death rate | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $225 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 | none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) | NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 20.46 million kWh (2000) | 1.084 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 22 million kWh (2000) | 1.166 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; deforestation | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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 | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, timber, cocoa | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 January - 31 December | 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) | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | insular and continental regions rather widely separated | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (1994 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2001 est.) | 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) | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | NA | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
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: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom | French law |
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 General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.95 years
male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 years (2005 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27.5 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY01) | - |
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.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | violent windstorms, flash floods | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) | 776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.45% (2002 est.) | 1.38% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo | Le Port |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 180,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 0 km | - |
Religions | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1998) | 300,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 300 (1998) | 489,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1998 est.) | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |