|
| World Fact Book
| Mark H. Solsman
| Documentation Training and Publications, Center for Academic Computing
| mhs108@psu.edu  10/19/93
I
 
_@_Equatorial Guinea Geography
 
Total area:
    28,050 km2
Land area:
    28,050 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
    539 km; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline:
    296 km
Maritime claims:
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over
    islands in Corisco Bay
Climate:
    tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain:
    coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Natural resources:
    timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium
Land use:
    arable land 8%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and
    woodland 51%; other 33%
Environment:
    subject to violent windstorms
Note:
    insular and continental regions rather widely separated
 
:Equatorial Guinea People
 
Population:
    388,799 (July 1992), growth rate 2.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
    42 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    15 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    107 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    49 years male, 53 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    5.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s); adjective - Equatorial
    Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic divisions:
    indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos; Rio Muni,
    primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly Spanish
Religions:
    natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic; some pagan
    practices retained
Languages:
    Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Literacy:
    50% (male 64%, female 37%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    172,000 (1986 est.); agriculture 66%, services 23%, industry 11% (1980);
    labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
    no formal trade unions
 
:Equatorial Guinea Government
 
Long-form name:
    Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Type:
    republic in transition to multiparty democracy
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; formerly Spanish Guinea)
Constitution:
    new constitution 17 November 1991
Legal system:
    partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Executive branch:
    president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
    (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
    unicameral House of Representatives of the People (Camara de Representantes
    del Pueblo)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Tribunal
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August
    1979)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE BIOKO MALABO (since 15 August 1982); Deputy
    Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi MONSUY ANDEME (since 15 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
    only party - Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Brig. Gen.
    (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, party leader; multipartyism legalized
    in new constitution of November 1991, promulgated January 1992
Suffrage:
    universal adult at age NA
Elections:
  Chamber of People's Representatives:
    last held 10 July 1988 (next to be held 10 July 1993); results - PDGE is the
    only party; seats - (41 total) PDGE 41
  President:
    last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996); results - President
    Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO was reelected without
    opposition
Member of:
    ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO,
    IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM, OAS (observer), OAU,
    UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery (temporary) 57 Magnolia Avenue,
    Mount Vernon, NY 10553; telephone (914) 667-9664
  US:
    Ambassador John E. BENNETT; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros, Malabo
    (mailing address is P.O. Box 597, Malabo); telephone [240] (9) 2185, 2406,
    2507; FAX [240] (9) 2164
 
:Equatorial Guinea Government
 
Flag:
    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)
 
:Equatorial Guinea Economy
 
Overview:
    The economy, destroyed during the regime of former President Macias NGUEMA,
    is now based on agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which account for about
    half of GDP and nearly all exports. Subsistence agriculture predominates,
    with cocoa, coffee, and wood products providing income, foreign exchange,
    and government revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts for
    about 8% of GDP and the construction, public works, and service sectors for
    about 38%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore,
    manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration, taking place under
    concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms, has been moderately
    successful.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $156 million, per capita $400; real growth rate
    1.6% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    3.6% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    NA%
Budget:
    revenues $27 million; expenditures $29 million, including capital
    expenditures of NA (1990 est.)
Exports:
    $37 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    coffee, timber, cocoa beans
  partners:
    Spain 38.2%, Italy 12.2%, Netherlands 11.4%, FRG 6.9%, Nigeria 12.4 (1988)
Imports:
    $68.3 million (c.i.f., 1990)
  commodities:
    petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery
  partners:
    France 25.9%, Spain 21.0%, Italy 16%, US 12.8%, Netherlands 8%, Germany
    3.1%, Gabon 2.9%, Nigeria 1.8 (1988)
External debt:
    $213 million (1990)
Industrial production:
    growth rate - 6.8% (1990 est.)
Electricity:
    23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced, 160 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
    fishing, sawmilling
Agriculture:
    cash crops - timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa from Bioko; food crops -
    rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock
Illicit drugs:
    transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia to
    Western Europe
Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-89), $14 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89) $130 million;
    Communist countries (1970-89), $55 million
Currency:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
    = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 269.01 (January
    1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54
    (1987)
 
:Equatorial Guinea Economy
 
Fiscal year:
    1 April - 31 March
 
:Equatorial Guinea Communications
 
Highways:
    Rio Muni - 2,460 km; Bioko - 300 km
Ports:
    Malabo, Bata
Merchant marine:
    2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413 GRT/6,699 DWT; includes 1 cargo
    and 1 passenger-cargo
Civil air:
    1 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
    3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    poor system with adequate government services; international communications
    from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; 2,000 telephones;
    broadcast stations - 2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth
    station
 
:Equatorial Guinea Defense Forces
 
Branches:
    Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Police
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 81,850; 41,528 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP
 
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