West Bank (2008) | Equatorial Guinea (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | - | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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: 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 September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. 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 was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008. | 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 | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.149 billion
expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006) |
revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 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 | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $290 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 | - | 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 | 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 | 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 | $1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 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. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance. | 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 | NA kWh | 0 kWh (1999) |
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 | 21 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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; 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 | 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 - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (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:
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 | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 - $960 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.) | 12% (2000 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 paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) |
Independence | - | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 7.4% (1994 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: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006) | 6% (1999 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, 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 | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 605,000 (2006) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 15% services: 67% (2006) |
- |
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:
5% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 41% (1993 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 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: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 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:
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 branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 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 | - | 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 |
Net migration rate | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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, mayor of Malabo]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,535,927
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.) |
486,060 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.985% (2007 est.) | 2.46% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
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: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 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; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
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 | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 4,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 30 (2008) | 1 (1997) |
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 | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.6% (2006) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |