Saint Helena (2004) | Equatorial Guinea (2003) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 710; female 689)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 2,739; female 2,559) 65 years and over: 9.7% (male 319; female 399) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.2% (male 108,179; female 107,164)
15-64 years: 54% (male 132,342; female 143,509) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,576; female 10,703) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands and one of the smallest countries on the African continent, since he seized power in a coup in 1979. 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. |
Birth rate | 12.68 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 36.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Jamestown | Malabo |
Climate | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 60 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
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 | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (1996) | $248 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but states have not yet agreed to abide by the decision; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over small islets on Mbane/Mbagne bank, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s |
Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | 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 2003, led by oil. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.65 million kWh (2001) | 21.91 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 5 million kWh (2001) | 23.56 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 94.3%
hydro: 5.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 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, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since 1999); Michael CLANCY (taking office in October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
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 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 | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 26.7%, Tanzania 21.9%, Indonesia 9.4%, UK 8.7%, Japan 7.4%, Netherlands 7.2%, Nigeria 6.8%, Poland 5%, Spain 4.9% (2003) | US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.4%, Canada 10.6%, France 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | 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 - $18 million (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 56 S, 5 42 W | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
total: 2,880 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | UK 29.1%, South Africa 24.7%, Spain 16.4%, Italy 8.8%, Tanzania 8.2%, US 5.8% (2003) | US 29.1%, Spain 15.9%, UK 14.8%, France 10.4%, Norway 7.2%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 89.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ICFTU, UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | NA | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
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 March 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: 77.57 years
male: 74.67 years female: 80.61 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 54.75 years
male: 52.63 years female: 56.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,571 GRT/9,670 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $30 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 116,496 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 59,110 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | fish | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2003) |
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]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 7,415 (July 2004 est.) | 510,473 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.62% (2004 est.) | 2.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Railways | - | total: 0 km |
Religions | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: country code - 290; HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension Island, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 2,200 (2002) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1997) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
1 (2002) |
Terrain | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 1.54 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |