Norfolk Island (2008) | Equatorial Guinea (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2007 est.) |
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 | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 | NA | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million (FY99/00) |
revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Malabo |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 32 km | 296 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 | NA | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $290 million (1999 est.) |
Dependency status | self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department | - |
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 | $NA | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 | NA kWh | 19.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 21 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
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 | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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 | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | NA | manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2006) | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry and services: 90% |
- |
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 | English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Oceania | 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 | - |
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 | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | fish | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | NA | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 2,114 (July 2007 est.) | 486,060 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.006% (2007 est.) | 2.46% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
0 km |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.2%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia and New Zealand; satellite earth station |
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 4,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0; note - proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum (2002) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus 2 repeaters that air Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |