West Bank (2006) | Equatorial Guinea (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 3 (2002) |
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) |
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: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides. | 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 | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 36.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | - | Malabo |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 296 km |
Constitution | - | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
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 | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002) | $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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | 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 | $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth. | 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 | NA kWh | 21.91 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 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: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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 | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) | 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: 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 | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.4%, Canada 10.6%, France 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | 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% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | US 29.1%, Spain 15.9%, UK 14.8%, France 10.4%, Norway 7.2%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | - | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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) | 7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | 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 | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 614,000 (April-June 2005) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24% services: 57.6% (April-June 2005) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | 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 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: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 54.75 years
male: 52.63 years female: 56.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | 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 branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $30 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 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 | - | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | droughts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | arable land | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 | - | 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 | 2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
510,473 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.06% (2006 est.) | 2.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Railways | - | total: 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 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 | - | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 |
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 | 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |