Greenland (2007) | Equatorial Guinea (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24% (male 6,926/female 6,597)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 20,901/female 18,012) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 1,873/female 2,035) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 14 (2007) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Greenland, the world's largest island, is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century, and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the EU) with Denmark in 1973, but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament; the law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. | 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. |
Birth rate | 16.01 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.36 billion
expenditures: $1.27 billion (2005) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 45 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Greenland is divided into four time zones |
Malabo |
Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
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 |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) | $225 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 |
Disputes - international | managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $512 million; note - subsidy from Denmark (2005) | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities are ongoing. Press reports in early 2007 indicated that two international aluminum companies were considering building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of local hydropower potential. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland announced plans to begin summer-season direct flights to the U.S. east coast in May 2007 potentially opening a major new tourism market. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 279 million kWh (2005) | 20.46 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 300 million kWh (2005) | 22 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (2000) | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002) | 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: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Soren MOLLER (since April 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election results: Hans ENOKSEN reelected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
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 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Denmark 67.8%, Japan 11.9%, China 5.5% (2006) | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white | 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: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2005 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | Denmark 69.9%, Sweden 16.3%, Norway 3.7% (2006) | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut); gold, niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2005 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Arctic Council, NC, NIB, UPU | 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 | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 32,120 (2004) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%, Demokratiit 22.8%, IA 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%; Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Demokratiit 7, IA 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 8 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.23 years
male: 66.65 years female: 73.9 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Arctic Region | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,422 GRT/2,340 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Denmark 1) (2007) |
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.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
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 | June 21 (longest day) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, diamonds, gold, platinum, niobium, tantalite, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Atassut Party (Solidarity) [Finn KARLSEN] (a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark); Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood) [Josef MOTZFELDT] (a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule); Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List) (an independent right-of-center party with no official platform); Siumut (Forward Party) [Hans ENOKSEN] (a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) | 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 | NA |
Population | 56,344 (July 2007 est.) | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.03% (2007 est.) | 2.45% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 0 km |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.115 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,300 (2002) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,200 (2004) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus some local low-power stations, and 3 Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) stations (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.3% (2005 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |