Monaco (2003) | Equatorial Guinea (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 2,551; female 2,445)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 9,814; female 10,130) 65 years and over: 22.4% (male 2,937; female 4,253) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 113,083/female 111,989)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 141,914/female 152,645) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,886/female 11,592) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | none | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | none; linked to airport in Nice, France, by helicopter service (2002) | 4 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 1.95 sq km
land: 1.95 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center. | 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 Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. 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 population's living standards. |
Birth rate | 9.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 35.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $518 million
expenditures: $531 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995) |
revenues: $1.973 billion
expenditures: $711.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Monaco | name: Malabo
geographic coordinates: 3 45 N, 8 47 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 4.1 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 17 December 1962 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco |
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee equatoriale local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee equatoriale former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | euro (EUR) | - |
Death rate | 12.82 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $353 million (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco | chief of mission: the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea
embassy: adjacent to the golf course at the base of Mont Febe; note - relocated embassy is opened for limited functions; inquiries should continue to be directed to the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon mailing address: B.P. 817, Yaounde, Cameroon; US Embassy Yaounde, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 220 15 00 FAX: [237] 220 16 20 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Monaco does not have an embassy in the US
consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Purificacion ANGUE ONDO
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has been pressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $33.8 million $NA |
Economy - overview | Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. In 2001, a major new construction project will extend the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are extremely rough. | 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 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 remained strong in 2005, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the second highest per capita income in the world, after Luxembourg. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 27.37 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France |
0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 29.43 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Agel 140 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
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 | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre, son of the monarch (born 14 March 1958)
head of government: Minister of State Patrick LECLERCQ (since 5 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government |
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 Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 14 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held 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; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | - | US 25.8%, China 22.9%, Spain 11.4%, Canada 7.7%, Taiwan 7.5%, Portugal 5.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, France 4.2% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red | 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 - $870 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 90.6% services: 6.2% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 18.6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 43 44 N, 7 24 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | second-smallest independent state in the world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban | insular and continental regions widely separated |
Heliports | 1 (shuttle service between the international airport at Nice, France, and Monaco's heliport at Fontvieille) (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | - | US 24.6%, Italy 20.7%, France 12.1%, Spain 10.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.7%, UK 7% (2005) |
Independence | 1419 (beginning of the rule by the House of Grimaldi) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 89.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 83.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ECE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNITAR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | 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), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council) | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 30,540 (January 1994) | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 4.4 km
border countries: France 4.4 km |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held NA February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM 21, UND 3 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, CPDS 2 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.27 years
male: 75.37 years female: 83.37 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 49.54 years
male: 48 years female: 51.13 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,745 GRT/3,434 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $152.2 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Prince of Monaco Holiday), 19 November | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)
adjective: Monegasque or Monacan |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | NA | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | none | petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 7.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 46 km; condensate/gas 5 km; gas 47 km; oil 31 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]; Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM [leader NA] | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO] (ruling party); 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 | 32,130 (July 2003 est.) | 540,109 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.44% (2003 est.) | 2.05% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Monaco | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM NA, shortwave 8 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Railways | total: 1.7 km
standard gauge: 1.7 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 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: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system |
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 | 31,027 (1995) | 10,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 96,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1998) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | hilly, rugged, rocky | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.1% (1998) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |