General information: Consists of the mainland and five inhabited islands. Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by brutal leaders who have managed the economy exceptionally badly since independence in 1968 (after 190 years of colonial dependence on Spain). Nominally, since 1991 it has been a constitutional democratic republic, but the presidential elections in 1996 and the parliamentary elections in 1999 were rigged.
Geography
Location: West Africa, coast of the Gulf of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon.
Geographical coordinates: 2° 00′ N. latitude, 10° 00′ E
Reference map: Africa.
Area: total: 28,051 sq. km; land surface area: 28,051 km2; water surface area: 0 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the state of Maryland.
Land borders: total: 539 km; with neighboring states: with Cameroon 189 km, with Gabon 350 km.
Coastline: 296 km.
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Climate: tropical; always hot and humid.
Relief: coastal plains and hills inland; islands of volcanic origin.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: Basilio peak 3,008 m.
Natural resources: oil, timber, small unexploited gold deposits, manganese, uranium.
Land use: arable land: 5%; cultivated land: 4%; pastures: 4%; forests and plantations: 46%; others: 41% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: no data.
Natural hazards: severe storms, floods.
Current environmental issues: tap water is undrinkable; desertification.
International agreements on environmental protection: member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution; signed but not ratified: no.
Note to the “Geography” section: the island and continental parts of the country are quite far removed from each other.
Population
Population: 486,060 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 42.56% (male 103,909; female 102,946); 15 to 64 years old: 53.68% (male 124,808; female 136,088); over 65: 3.76% (male 8,178; female 10,131) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 2.46% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 37.72 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 13.11 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: negligible (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male/female; under 15: 1.01 male/female; from 15 to 64 years old: 0.92 male/female; over 65: 0.81 male/female; for the general population: 0.95 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 92.9 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 53.95 years; men: 51.89 years; women: 56.07 years (2001 est.).
Total fertility rate: 4.88 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.51% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 1,100 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 120 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: resident of Equatorial Guinea; adjective: pertaining to Equatorial Guinea.
Ethnic groups: Bioko (mostly Bubi, some Fernandines), Riomuni (mostly Fanji), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spaniards.
Believers: nominally Christians and mostly Catholics, followers of pagan cults.
Language(s): Spanish (official), French (official), Pidgin English, Fanji, Bubi, ibo.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 78.5%; men: 89.6%; women: 68.1% (1995 est.).
Politics
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.
State structure: republic.
Capital: Malabo.
Administrative division: 7 provinces: An-nobon, Bioko-Norte, Bioko-Sur, Quie-Ntern, Lito-ral, Centro-Sur, Uele-Nzas.
Independence: October 12, 1968 (until 1968 – a colony of Spain).
National holiday: Independence Day, October 12 (1968).
Constitution: adopted by national referendum on November 17, 1991; revised January 1995
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and judicial precedents.
Suffrage: from the age of 18, universal.
chief of state: President Brigadier General (retired) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since August 3, 1979, when he staged a coup d’état);
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since January 1998); Second Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since January 1998); See a2zgov.com to know more about Equatorial Guinea government and politics.
government: a council of ministers appointed by the president; elections: the president is elected by popular vote for a 7-year term; last election 25 February 1996 (next to be held in February 2003); the prime minister and his deputies are appointed by the president; election results: President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASGO re-elected with allegedly 98% of the vote (election was rigged).
Legislature: unicameral House of Peoples’ Representatives (80 seats; members elected by direct popular vote for five years); elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held in 2004); election results: distribution of votes between parties: PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; distribution of seats among parties: PDGE 75, UP 4, CPDS1; note: Opposition parties refused to take their seats in the House in protest of election irregularities in 1999.
Judiciary: Supreme Court.
Political parties and leaders: United Party for Social Democracy (CPDS) (Placido Miko ABOGO); Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) (governing) (Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO); Party for the Progress of Equatorial Guinea (PPGE) (North MOTO [Severo MOTO]); People’s Action of Equatorial Guinea (APGE) (Miguel Esono EMAN); People’s Union (UP) (Andre Moises Bda ADA [Andres Moises Bda ADA]); Progressive Democratic Alliance (Victorino Bolekia BONAY, Mayor of Malabo); Union of Independent Democrats (UDI) (Daniel OYONO).
Political influence groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ACST, 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).
Diplomatic representation in the USA: head of mission: Ambassador Teodoro BIYOGO NSUEA; office: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; phone: [1] (202) 518-5700; fax: {\] (202) 528-5252.
US Diplomatic Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador John M. YATES; note: US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); The US maintains diplomatic relations with Equatorial Guinea through the US Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon; The US State Department is considering opening a consular agency in Malabo.
Description of the flag: three equal horizontal stripes of green (top), white and red with a blue isosceles triangle, the base of which is the left side of the flag, and with the coat of arms in the center of the white stripe; the coat of arms depicts six yellow six-pointed stars (symbolizing the mainland of the country and five islands) above a gray shield with the image of a woolen tree, under which is a scroll to the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice). Economy
