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.

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 N 10 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 28,051 km²
Water: 0 km²
Land: 28,051 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 539 km
Border countries: (2) Cameroon 189 km; , Gabon 350 km

Coastline: 296 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; always hot humid

Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

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

Natural resources: oil petroleum timber small unexploited deposits of gold manganese uranium

Land use
Arable land: 4.63%
Permanent crops: 3.57%
Other: 91.8% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: violent windstorms flash floods

Geography
Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated

Population: 498,144 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 2.45% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Ethnic groups: Bioko (primarily Bubi some Fernandinos) Rio Muni (primarily Fang) Europeans less than 1000 mostly Spanish

Languages: Spanish (official) French (official) pidgin English Fang Bubi Ibo

Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic pagan practices

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.)

Population growth rate: 2.45% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 37.33 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 12.83 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

Environment
Current issues: tap water is not potable; deforestation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 90.96 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 54.35 years
Female: 56.5 years (2002 est.)
Male: 52.26 years

Total fertility rate: 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.51% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1100 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 120 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 78.5%
Male: 89.6%
Female: 68.1% (1995 est.)

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

Government type: republic

Capital: Malabo

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

Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 12 October (1968)

Constitution: approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995

Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal adult

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)

Legislative branch
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

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal

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]

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)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
In the us chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us fax: [1] (202) 528-5,252
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 518-5,700
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

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)

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.

Real gdp growth rate: 6% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 20%
Industry: 60%
Services: 20% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: coffee cocoa rice yams cassava (tapioca) bananas palm oil nuts; livestock; timber

Industries: petroleum fishing sawmilling natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 30% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

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

Fiscal year: 1 January - 31 December

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6% (2001 est.)

Exports: $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: petroleum timber cocoa
Partners: China 24% Japan 7% US 7% South Korea 5% (1999)

Imports: $736 million f.o.b. (2001)
Commodities: petroleum sector equipment manufactured goods and equipment
Partners: US 60% France 12% Spain 8% Italy 6% (1999)

Debt external: $225 million (2000 est.)

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

Electricity
Production: 22 million kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 91%
Production by source hydro: 9%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 20.46 million kWh (2000)
Exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 6,000 (1998)
Mobile cellular: 300 (1998)

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)

Internet
Country code: .gq
Service providers isps: 1 (2002)
Users: 900 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $27.5 million (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (FY01)

Airports: 3 (2001)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Railways
Total: 0 km

Waterways: none

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.)

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