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Compare Equatorial Guinea (2002) - Southern Ocean (2006)

Compare Equatorial Guinea (2002) z Southern Ocean (2006)

 Equatorial Guinea (2002)Southern Ocean (2006)
 Equatorial GuineaSouthern Ocean
Administrative divisions 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas -
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.)
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Agriculture - products coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber -
Airports 3 (2001) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
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Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
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Area total: 28,051 sq km


land: 28,051 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly more than twice the size of the US
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. A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) -
Budget revenues: $200 million


expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
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Capital Malabo -
Climate tropical; always hot, humid sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 296 km 17,968 km
Constitution approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 -
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
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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.) -
Debt - external $225 million (2000 est.) -
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 -
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
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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 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
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. Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption 20.46 million kWh (2000) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) -
Electricity - production 22 million kWh (2000) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 91%


hydro: 9%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
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Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues tap water is not potable; deforestation increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
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
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish -
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 -
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
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Exports $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) -
Exports - commodities petroleum, timber, cocoa -
Exports - partners China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) -
Fiscal year 1 January - 31 December -
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) -
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 20%


industry: 60%


services: 20% (1999 est.)
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GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2001 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 2 00 N, 10 00 E 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note insular and continental regions rather widely separated the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways total: 2,880 km


paved: 0 km


unpaved: 2,880 km (1996)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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Imports $736 million f.o.b. (2001) -
Imports - commodities petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment -
Imports - partners US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) -
Independence 12 October 1968 (from Spain) -
Industrial production growth rate 7.4% (1994 est.) -
Industries petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas -
Infant mortality rate 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) -
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6% (2001 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) -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2002) -
Irrigated land NA sq km -
Judicial branch Supreme Tribunal -
Labor force NA -
Land boundaries total: 539 km


border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
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Land use arable land: 4.63%


permanent crops: 3.57%


other: 91.8% (1998 est.)
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Languages Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo -
Legal system partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom -
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
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 54.35 years


male: 52.26 years


female: 56.5 years (2002 est.)
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Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 78.5%


male: 89.6%


female: 68.1% (1995 est.)
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Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Africa Antarctic Region
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
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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.)
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Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police -
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) -
Nationality noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)


adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
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Natural hazards violent windstorms, flash floods huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
Net migration rate NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 498,144 (July 2002 est.) -
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 2.45% (2002 est.) -
Ports and harbors Bata, Luba, Malabo -
Radio broadcast stations AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) -
Radios 180,000 (1997) -
Railways total: 0 km -
Religions nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices -
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.)
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Suffrage 18 years of age; universal adult -
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)
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Telephones - main lines in use 6,000 (1998) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 300 (1998) -
Television broadcast stations 1 (2002) -
Terrain coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) -
Transportation - note - Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 30% (1998 est.) -
Waterways none -
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