Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2007) | Equatorial Guinea (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
42.56% (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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | - | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 412 sq km
land: 412 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | - | Malabo |
Climate | antarctic | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 101.9 km | 296 km |
Constitution | - | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands abbreviation: HIMI |
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 | - | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $290 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 | - | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The islands have no indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited fishing in the surrounding waters. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 19.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 21 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mawson Peak, on Big Ben 2,745 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | tap water is not potable; desertification |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Exports | - | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | - | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | 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 - $960 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 12% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 06 S, 72 31 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | - | 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% |
Imports | - | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | - | manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | - | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) |
Independence | - | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | - | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | - | 92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6% (1999 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) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | - | 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:
5% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply | 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 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:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 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.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts fisheries patrols | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.6% (FY97/98) |
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) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | fish | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | - | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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, mayor of Malabo]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | uninhabited | 486,060 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 2.46% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) |
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 (2001 est.) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 4,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | NA |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | - | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |