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Political corruption in Equatorial Guinea is high by world standards and considered among the worst of any country on earth. It has been described as "an almost perfect kleptocracy" in which the scale of systemic corruption and the rulers' indifference towards the people's welfare place it at the bottom of every major governance indicator or ranking, below nations with similar per capita GDPs.[1]
"Few countries symbolize oil-fuelled corruption and nepotism more than Equatorial Guinea", wrote Jan Mouawad in The New York Times in July 2009.[2] Its corruption system, according to the Open Society Foundations (OSF), is "unparalleled in its brazenness".[3] This government is controlled by a limited group of powerful individuals who divert most of the country's revenues into their own clandestine bank accounts in other nations.[2] Equatorial Guinea's corruption is so entrenched, scholar Geoffrey Wood has claimed, that it can be classified as a criminal state.[4]
This situation is especially dramatic due in large part to the massive scale of the country's revenues from oil and other natural resources. The Guardian noted that the nation is enormously wealthy due to vast oil reserves, but that that wealth is concentrated in the hands of an elite minority.[5] Despite its GDP per capita of $18,236 – which makes it richer than most African countries and places it below China – Equatorial Guinea is ranked 145th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index measure of quality of life. While the people of Equatorial Guinea technically have a per capita GDP similar to China, the vast majority live in poverty worse than Afghanistan or Chad, according to Arvind Ganesan of Human Rights Watch in 2009, attributing this disparity to the government's corruption, incompetence, and disregard of its own people's well-being.[2] Most people in Equatorial Guinea remain in abject poverty, with no access to healthcare or education. Meanwhile, any criticism of the ruling class is non-existent due to the government's use of force and intimidation to silence opposition.[5]
Sasha Lezhnev of Global Witness noted in 2008 that the government earns oil revenues in the billions yearly, while the population lives on less than $1 a day.[6] President Teodoro Obiang is said to have control over the oil reserves and the government, Ganesan claimed, and consequentially the country's immensely rich treasury is "a private cash machine for a few" rather than used for any public benefit.[2] According to the Financial Times, foreign diplomats joke that Equatorial Guinea is a family-run business which holds a seat at the UN.[7] The nation is known among foreign businessmen as a poor environment for business and investments.[8] The individual who has become most associated in the international media with the corruption of Equatorial Guinea's leaders is Teodorin Obiang, a son of the president whose lavish lifestyle in southern California, Paris, and elsewhere has made headlines and been the target of investigations by American and French authorities, among others.
Because of the levels of corruption, the country always ranks near the bottom of Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index. In 2023, only eight countries were lower[9] on a scale of 180 countries worldwide, where the country ranked highest is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[10] Only two countries were ranked lower in sub-Saharan Africa.[11] It is the only nation in the world since 2008 to receive a score of 'zero' for budget transparency.[12] In 2008, a U.S. State Department report indicated that officials in Equatorial Guinea are frequently engaging in corruption and illegal practices with impunity.[13] In 2014, the country received a score of zero on TI's Open Budget Index.[14] From 1996 to 2013, the Economic Intelligence Unit gave the country a score of 0.0 for "control of corruption".[15] On the National Resource Governance Institute's Resource Governance Index, Equatorial Guinea received a "failing" score of 13/100, ranking 56th out of 58 countries. On "reporting practices", it received a score of 14/100, for a rank of 55th.[16]
In 2011, Freedom House put Equatorial Guinea in its "worst of the worst" category for governments that violate human rights and civil liberties, which also includes North Korea, Sudan, and Turkmenistan.[4] In its 2014 world report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated: "Corruption, poverty, and repression continue to plague Equatorial Guinea. ... Vast oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the small elite surrounding the president, while a large proportion of the population continues to live in poverty. Mismanagement of public funds and credible allegations of high-level corruption persist, as do other serious abuses, including arbitrary detention, secret detention, and unfair trials."[17]
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea" (PDF). Human Rights Watch.
- ^ a b c d Mouawad, Jan (July 9, 2009). "Oil Corruption in Equatorial Guinea". The New York Times.
- ^ "Corruption and Its Consequences in Equatorial Guinea" (PDF). Open Society Foundations. March 2010.
- ^ a b Silverstein, Ken (February 21, 2011). "Teodorin's World". Foreign Policy.
- ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea: One man's fight against dictatorship". The Guardian. July 11, 2014.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea: Poverty rife in Africa's 'Kuwait'". IRIN. October 6, 2008.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea: Squandered riches". Financial Times. February 3, 2014.
- ^ Fletcher, Pascal (March 10, 2014). "Insight-Equatorial Guinea seeks to shake off 'oil curse' image". Reuters.[dead link]
- ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2023: Equatorial Guinea". Transparency.org. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated". Transparency.org. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "CPI 2023 for Sub-Saharan Africa: Impunity for corrupt officials, restricted civic space & limited access to justice". Transparency.org. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Hasse, Karen (April 7, 2015). "Transparency is not enough to alleviate 'corruption fatigue'". Rand Daily Mail.
- ^ "2008 Human Rights Report: Equatorial Guinea". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea". Transparency International.
- ^ "Country Data Report for Equatorial Guinea, 1996–2013" (PDF). The World Bank. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2010.
- ^ "Equatorial Guinea". Natural Resoure Governance Institute. September 2015.
- ^ "World Report 2014: Equatorial Guine". Human Rights Watch. January 7, 2014.