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| Equatorial Guinea | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
About 63.5 % (1995) of Equatorial Guinea’s land area is covered with forest and woodland. Deforestation has occurred, as agricultural production has increased. Water from taps cannot be drunk.
| Equatorial Guinea | Communications | Back to Top |
Poor system with sufficient government services
domestic: NA
international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
| Equatorial Guinea | Culture | Back to Top |
contempt a veneer of Spanish culture and of Roman Catholic religion that is thicker in Bioko than on the mainland, Equatorial Guineans live largely according to ancient customs, which have undergone a revival since freedom. Among the Fang of the mainland, witchcraft, orthodox music (in which the Fang harp, the xylophone, the great drums, and the wooden trumpet are used), and storytelling survive. Spanish aid is much oriented to educational and health services. Among the Bubi farmers of Bioko, some ancient customs are still followed.
| Equatorial Guinea | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 108,975 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 55,348 (2001 est.)
| Equatorial Guinea | International Disputes | Back to Top |
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
| Equatorial Guinea | Economy | Back to Top |
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 75 % of the working population. The principal export crop is cacao, which is grown almost entirely on Bioko. Coffee is grown on the mainland, which also produces tropical hardwood timber, a leading export. Cassava and sweet potatoes are the staple foods. Local manufacturing industries include the processing of oil and soap, cocoa, yucca, coffee, and seafood. Large offshore oil deposits were determined in 1995. The currency is the CFA franc .An exchange rate of 50 CFA francs equal to 1 French franc was enforced from 1948 until 1994, when the CFA franc was devalued by 50 %.
Equatorial Guinea's economy has depended primarily upon three commodities cocoa, coffee, and timber. Before freedom, the Spanish subsidized cocoa and coffee exports to Spain. Cocoa, which is of high quality, was the mainstay of the economy of Bioko, which possesses the right soil and climate for its intensive cultivation. Most of Equatorial Guinea's cocoa is produced on the island. Cocoa exports dropped to one-tenth of their former level, and exports of coffee almost ceased from island and mainland plantations, the small production of robusta coffee by Fang farmers in Río Muni alone being marketed. The timber companies are entirely European; there were at one time 30 timber concessions in operation on the mainland. The industry requires a large investment.
The find 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-freedom 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 nation 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.
| Equatorial Guinea | Education | Back to Top |
Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of six and 14, but only about half of the children attend school. The primary and secondary levels each consist of six years of schooling. Facilities for higher education are provided through Spanish assistance at Bata and Malabo. Efforts have been made to improve educational opportunities, but illiteracy remains a problem; only about one-third of the population is literate.
| Equatorial Guinea | Government | Back to Top |
The 1982 constitution gives the President considerable powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and calling legislative elections. The President retains his role as commander in chief of the armed forces and minister of defense, and he maintains close supervision of the military activity. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and operates under powers designated by the President. The Prime Minister coordinates government activities in areas other than foreign affairs, national defense and security.
The Chamber of Representatives is comprised of 15 members appointed by the President and 45 members chosen by indirect elections; the term is 5 years. Adult citizens elect officials by secret ballot in their towns and villages. These officials then become electors who choose the 45 representatives from their own number, one per district, to serve in the national legislature. In practice, the Chamber is not independent and is unable to act without presidential approval or direction.
The President appoints the governors of the seven provinces. Each province is separated administratively into districts and municipalities. The internal administrative system falls under the Ministry of Territorial Administration; several other ministries are described at the provincial and district levels.The judicial system follows similar administrative levels. At the top are the President and his judicial advisors. In descending rank are the ppeals courts, chief judges for the divisions, and local magistrates. Tribal laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict with national law. The current court system, which often uses customary law, is a combination of orthodox, civil, and military justice, and it operates in an adhoc manner for deficiency of accomplished procedures and experienced judicial personnel.
The other official branch of the government is the State Council. The State Council's main function is to serve as caretaker in case of death or physical incapacity of the President. It comprises the following ex officio members: the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the President of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Social and Economic Council. Although the abuses and atrocities that characterized the Macias years have been eliminated, effective rule of law does not exist and the government is ultimately run by the Presidency. Religious freedom is tolerated.
| Equatorial Guinea | History | Back to Top |
The first inhabitants of the region that is now Equatorial Guinea are believed to have been Pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in northern Rio Muni. Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang. Elements of the latter may have generated the Bubi, who immigrated to Bioko from Cameroon and Rio Muni in several waves and succeeded former Neolithic populations. The Annobon population, native to Angola, was introduced by the Portuguese via Sao Tome.
The Portuguese explorer, Fernando Po, seeking a route to India, is credited with having determined the island of Bioko in 1471. He called it Formosa ("pretty flower"), but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer. The Portuguese retained control until 1778, when the island, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the mainland between the Niger and Ogoue Rivers were ceded to Spain in exchange for territory in South America (Treaty of Pardo). From 1827 to 1843, Britain accomplished a base on the island to combat the slave trade. Conflicting claims to the mainland were settled in 1900 by the Treaty of Paris, and timeically, the mainland territories were united administratively under Spanish rule.
contempt the formal ending of one-party rule in 1991, President Obiang and a circle of advisors (drawn largely from his own family and ethnic group) maintain real authority. The President names and dismisses cabinet members and judges, ratifies treaties, leads the armed forces, and has considerable authority in other areas. He appoints the governors of Equatorial Guinea's six provinces. The opposition had few electoral successes in the 1990s. By the early 21th century, President Obiang’s PDGE party fully controlled government at all levels.
| Equatorial Guinea | Introduction | Back to Top |
Equatorial Guinea, independent republic, western Africa, consisting of a mainland section bordered on the north by Cameroon, on the east and south by Gabon, and on the west by the Gulf of Guinea; and, in the Gulf of Guinea, the islets of Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico, and the islands of Bioko (formerly Macías Nguema Biyogo, and previously Fernando Póo), and Annobón (Pagalu from 1973-1979). Equatorial Guinea has a total area of 28,051 sq km (10,831 sq mi). The capital is Malabo on the island of Bioko.
Official Name- Republic of Equatorial Guinea| Equatorial Guinea | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Equatorial Guinea | Languages | Back to Top |
Spanish is the official language; Fang, a Bantu language, is the most widely spoken. About 90 % of the people are members of the Roman Catholic church, although orthodox beliefs are also widely practiced.
| Equatorial Guinea | Life | Back to Top |
The population of Equatorial Guinea (2001 estimate) is 486,060, with many thousands more believed to be living abroad due to political conditions in the nation. The overall population density is 17 persons per sq km (45 per sq mi). The population is composed almost entirely of black Africans. The Fang, indigenous to the mainland but now also living on Bioko Island, constitute more than 80 % of the population. The Bubis, indigenous to Bioko Island, make up about 15 % of the population. Several smaller ethnic groups live along the mainland coast.
| Equatorial Guinea | organization | Back to Top |
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 .
| Equatorial Guinea | People | Back to Top |
The majority of the population is African, but its composition is complex for a political unit so small in size. The Fang people, who fought their way to the sea in the 19th and early 20th centuries by subjugating the weaker tribes in their path, form about 80 or 90 % of the population of the mainland region. North of the Mbini River are the Ntumu Fang, and to the south of it are the Okak Fang. Holding political power on the mainland, the Fang tend to migrate to Bioko, where their leaders hold most of the levers of political control. Coastal tribes, such as the Kombe, Mabea, Lengi, Benga, and others, have been in contact with European traders much longer, and a limited amount of miscegenation has taken place, particularly on the island of Corisco. Spanish ethnographers refer to these coastal tribes as playeros. Both the Fang majority and the playero minority are Bantu.
The original inhabitants of Bioko are the Bubi, descendants of Bantu migrants from the mainland. Contacts with Europeans decimated them, and only a few thousand remained early in the 20th century. They became the most pro-Spanish element of the African population, viewing the end of Spanish rule as a signal for the invasion of their island by the Fang. Certainly, numbers of mainlanders, most of them Fang, have flocked to the island since the mid-1960s, seeking to join the civil or military forces or to obtain political patronage. In addition to these two groups, there are Fernandinos, descendants of former slaves liberated by the British during the 19th century who mingled with other emancipated Africans from Sierra Leone and Cuba as well as with immigrants from other western African countries.
Spanish and French are both official languages, though use of Spanish predominates. The Roman Catholic Church has greatly determined both religion and education. Equatoguineans tend to have both a Spanish first name and an African first and last name. When written, the Spanish and African first names are followed by the father's first name -which becomes the principal surname and the mother's first name. Thus people may have up to four names, with a different surname for each generation.
| Equatorial Guinea | Politics | Back to Top |
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]
| Equatorial Guinea | Provinces | Back to Top |
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas.
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| Equatorial Guinea | Time | Back to Top |
| Equatorial Guinea | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Africaine Francs BEAC | United States Dollars |
| 1.00 XAF | 0.00132616 USD |
| 754.059 XAF | 1 USD |
| Countries Currency Unit | USD/Unit | Units/USD | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0129554 | 77.1877 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.341293 | 2.93004 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.533413 | 1.87472 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.0632609 | 15.8076 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.502513 | 1.99000 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.430318 | 2.32386 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1.42399 | 0.702251 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.447293 | 2.23567 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 0.627606 | 1.59336 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00152392 | 656.202 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.120813 | 8.27726 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1.49883 | 0.667186 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0281883 | 35.4758 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.117155 | 8.53568 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.370370 | 2.70000 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.217271 | 4.60255 |
| EUR | Euro | 0.870489 | 1.14878 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.447227 | 2.23600 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.146406 | 6.83034 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.132705 | 7.53550 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.445074 | 2.24682 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 301.977 | 0.00331151 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00255463 | 391.447 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.128215 | 7.79939 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00358416 | 279.006 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.00999868 | 100.013 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0205205 | 48.7319 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000102055 | 9,798.61 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.10529 | 0.904738 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.212386 | 4.70841 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000449570 | 2,224.35 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0210041 | 47.6099 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.00754183 | 132.594 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1.41057 | 0.708931 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.000660937 | 1,513.00 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.263330 | 3.79751 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.111007 | 9.00848 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.440474 | 2.27028 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.113022 | 8.84780 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.395011 | 2.53158 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0166945 | 59.9000 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0196386 | 50.9202 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 510.962 | 0.00195709 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.243488 | 4.10699 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00434198 | 230.310 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000303433 | 32,956.21 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0321342 | 31.1195 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.266668 | 3.74998 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4.65692 | 0.214734 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.542540 | 1.84318 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0208441 | 47.9751 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.0883340 | 11.3207 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.000759354 | 1,316.91 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00523174 | 191.141 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1.24862 | 0.800882 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00384615 | 260.000 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.0964189 | 10.3714 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 0.593789 | 1.68410 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0286531 | 34.9002 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0230087 | 43.4619 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.163399 | 6.12000 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000000763622 | 1,309,549.07 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00108696 | 920.000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000239866 | 4,169.00 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
| Equatorial Guinea : Population growth rate | 2.46% |
| Equatorial Guinea : Birth rate | 37.72 births/1,000 population |
| Equatorial Guinea : Death rate | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population |
| Equatorial Guinea : People living with HIV/AIDS | 1,100 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Independence | 12 October 1968 |
| Equatorial Guinea : National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October |
| Equatorial Guinea : Constitution | 17 November 1991 |
| Equatorial Guinea : GDP | purchasing power parity - $960 million |
| Equatorial Guinea : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Electricity - consumption | 19.5 million kWh |
| Equatorial Guinea : Exports | $860 million petroleum, timber, cocoa |
| Equatorial Guinea : Imports | $300 million manufactured goods and equipment |
| Equatorial Guinea : Telephones | 4,000 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Mobile cellular | N/A |
| Equatorial Guinea : Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Radios | 180,000 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Television broadcast stations | 1 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Televisions | 4,000 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Internet country code | .gq |
| Equatorial Guinea : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Internet users | 500 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Railways | N/A |
| Equatorial Guinea : Highways | 2,880 km |
| Equatorial Guinea : Waterways | N/A |
| Equatorial Guinea : Pipelines | N/A |
| Equatorial Guinea : Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
| Equatorial Guinea : Merchant marine | 12 ships |
| Equatorial Guinea : Airports | 3 |
| Equatorial Guinea : Heliports | N/A |
| Equatorial Guinea : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
| Equatorial Guinea : Military expenditures | $3 million |