Equatorial Guinea

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (2002)

Internet country code

.gq

Internet users

900 (2002)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002)

Radios

180,000 (1997)

Telephone system

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

6,000 (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular

300 (1998)

Television broadcast stations

1 (2002)

Televisions

4,000 (1997)

Agriculture - products

coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber

Budget

revenues: $200 million expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Currency

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code

XAF

Debt - external

$225 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$33.8 million (1995) (1995)

Economy - overview

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. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports.

Electricity - consumption

20.46 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - production

22 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 91% hydro: 9% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro

Exports

$2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)

Exports - commodities

petroleum, timber, cocoa

Exports - partners

China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999)

Fiscal year

1 January - 31 December

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$736 million f.o.b. (2001)

Imports - commodities

petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment

Imports - partners

US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999)

Industrial production growth rate

7.4% (1994 est.)

Industries

petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6% (2001 est.)

Labor force

NA

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

30% (1998 est.)

Area

total: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 28,051 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate

tropical; always hot, humid

Coastline

296 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m

Environment - current issues

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

Geographic coordinates

2 00 N, 10 00 E

Geography - note

insular and continental regions rather widely separated

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Land use

arable land: 4.63% permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.)

Location

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM

Natural hazards

violent windstorms, flash floods

Natural resources

oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium

Terrain

coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

Administrative divisions

7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas

Capital

Malabo

Constitution

approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES; note - 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 Pastor Micha ONDO BILE chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700

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) 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 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president 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)

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)

Government type

republic

Independence

12 October 1968 (from Spain)

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 (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Tribunal

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal adult

Background

Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO 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.

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$27.5 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.5% (FY01)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071) 15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.)

Birth rate

37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate

12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.51% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

120 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

1,100 (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Languages

Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 54.35 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) male: 52.26 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Net migration rate

NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Population

498,144 (July 2002 est.)

Population growth rate

2.45% (2002 est.)

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: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Disputes - international

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

Airports

3 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

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)

Highways

total: 2,880 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996)

Merchant marine

total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.)

Ports and harbors

Bata, Luba, Malabo

Railways

total: 0 km

Waterways

none