Paracel Islands (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 41.7% (male 112,326/female 111,244)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 140,568/female 151,500) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,900/female 11,343) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
NA sq km land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | This archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and potentially large oil reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Prattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops captured a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. However, the islands are still claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. | 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 NGUEMA 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 | - | 36.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $813.2 million
expenditures: $375.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Malabo |
Climate | tropical | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 518 km | 296 km |
Constitution | - | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
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 |
Death rate | - | 12 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $248 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 Teodoro Biyogo NSUE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | 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 | - | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | 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 presumably remained strong in 2004, led by oil. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 24.82 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 26.69 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 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: 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 | - | 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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) |
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 Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since 14 June 2004); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 15 June 2004) 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 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 |
Exports - commodities | - | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | - | US 29.3%, China 22.8%, Spain 16%, Taiwan 14.9%, Canada 6.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | - | 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 - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 3%
industry: 95.7% services: 1.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 30 N, 112 00 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | - | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | - | total: 2,880 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | - | US 26.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 21.4%, Spain 13.6%, France 8.8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | - | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | - | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 85.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 8.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | 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, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1993) | 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% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2001) |
Languages | - | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | - | 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 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, NA 2 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 49.7 years
male: 48.01 years female: 51.44 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | occupied by China | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $126.2 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (2004) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | - | noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | none | petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2004) |
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]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2001 est.) |
535,881 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 2.42% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded | Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
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: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone 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 | - | 9,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 41,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly low and flat | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | - | 4.62 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |