Kazakhstan (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 oblystar (singular - oblysy) and 3 cities (qala, singular - qalasy)*; Almaty, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana), Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; formerly Dzhambul)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk) |
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.73% (male 2,271,866; female 2,200,078) 15-64 years: 66.03% (male 5,358,535; female 5,688,550) 65 years and over: 7.24% (male 412,761; female 799,513) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42% (male 110,268; female 109,222)
15-64 years: 54.3% (male 136,370; female 147,431) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,745; female 11,015) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 449 (2000 est.) | 3 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
28 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 less than 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
421 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 45 914 to 1,523 m: 101 under 914 m: 246 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
2,717,300 sq km land: 2,669,800 sq km water: 47,500 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than four times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; and continuing to strengthen relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the country for over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. 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 president controls most opposition parties through the judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the country's living standards. |
Birth rate | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.1 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $708.5 million
expenditures: $317.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998 | Malabo |
Climate | continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km) | 296 km |
Constitution | adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 | tenge (KZT) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.5 billion (2000 est.) | $248 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard H. JONES embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091 mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030 telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number) FAX: [7] (3272) 63-38-83, 50-76-24 |
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 Kanat SAUDABAYEV chancery: 1401 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845 consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over Mbane Island, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s |
Economic aid - recipient | $409.6 million (1995) | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increases prospects for substantially larger oil exports in several years. Kazakhstan's economy again turned downward in 1998 with a 2% decline in GDP due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. The recovery of international oil prices in 1999, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession in 2000. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry. | 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. Growth will remain strong in 2004, led by oil. |
Electricity - consumption | 44.132 billion kWh (1999) | 21.91 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 200 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.077 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 44.36 billion kWh (1999) | 23.56 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
87.12% hydro: 12.65% nuclear: 0.23% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Vpadina Kaundy -132 m highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census) | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | tenge per US dollar - 145.09 (January 2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997), 67.30 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Kazymzhomart TOKAYEV (since 2 October 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term had been extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, other 1.5% note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities |
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 Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since 14 June 2004); 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 | $8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil 40%, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | EU 23%, Russia 20%, China 8% (1999) | US 33.6%, Spain 25.8%, China 14.4%, Canada 11.8%, Italy 6.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold | 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 - $85.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 30% services: 60% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 2.4% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.5% (2000 est.) | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 00 N, 68 00 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total:
NA km paved: 150,000 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) (2000) unpaved: NA km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) |
total: 2,880 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 26.3% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | significant illicit cultivation of cannabis and limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrone); limited government eradication program; cannabis consumed largely in the CIS; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Russia, North America, and Western Europe from Southwest Asia; developing heroin addiction problem | - |
Imports | $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | Russia 37%, US, Uzbekistan, Turkey, UK, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea (1999) | US 30.6%, UK 16%, France 15.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.9%, Spain 8.1%, Norway 5.9%, Italy 5.3% (2003) |
Independence | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14.9% (2000 est.) | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 87.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 93.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.4% (2000 est.) | 6% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 22,000 sq km (1996 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members) | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 8.8 million (1997) | NA (October 2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 27%, agriculture 23%, services 50% (1996) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
12,012 km border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 57% forests and woodland: 4% other: 16% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2001) |
Languages | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on civil law system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the former oblasts and the former capital of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (67 seats; the addition of 10 "Party List" seats brings the total to 77; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms); note - with the oblasts being reduced to 14, the Senate will eventually be reduced to 37; a number of Senate seats come up for reelection every two years
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2001); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions |
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 24 April 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: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
63.29 years male: 57.87 years female: 68.97 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 55.15 years
male: 53 years female: 57.36 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Asia, northwest of China | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT
by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | General Purpose Forces (Army), Air Force, Border Guards, Navy, Republican Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $322 million (FY99) | $75.1 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 2.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,509,179 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 120,463 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,598,859 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 61,084 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
163,628 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 25 October (1990) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992) | condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party [Romin MADENOV]; Alash [Soverkazhy AKATAYEV]; AZAMAT Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSIITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [Nurbulat MASANOV, Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan (RNPK); Amirzhan KOSANOV, RNPK activist; Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM, Orleu Movement; cochairmen]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party [Umirzak SARSENOV]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN] | 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 | Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director] | NA |
Population | 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.) | 523,051 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.03% (2001 est.) | 2.43% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk) | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | 6.47 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
14,400 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 14,400 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1997) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
service is poor; equipment antiquated domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan international: international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay; with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat |
general assessment: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.818 million (1997) | 9,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11,202 (1997) | 41,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.68 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.7% (1998 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 3,900 km
note: on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers |
- |