Equatorial Guinea

Not to be confused with Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Western New Guinea, or Papua New Guinea. For similar terms, see Guinea (disambiguation).
"EqG" redirects here. For other topics, see EQG.

Republic of Equatorial Guinea
  • República de Guinea Ecuatorial (Spanish)
  • République de Guinée équatoriale (French)
  • República da Guiné Equatorial (Portuguese)
Motto: Unidad, Paz, Justicia (Spanish)
"Unity, Peace, Justice"
Anthem: Caminemos pisando las sendas de nuestra inmensa felicidad (Spanish)
Let Us Walk Treading the Paths of Our Immense Happiness
CapitalMalabo (current)
Ciudad de la Paz (under construction)
3°45′N 8°47′E / 3.750°N 8.783°E / 3.750; 8.783
Largest cityBata, Malabo
Official languages
Recognised regional languages
List
Ethnic groups
(2020[3])
Religion
(2020)[4]
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party presidential republic under a totalitarian dictatorship[5][6]
• President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue
Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua
Joaquín Asong Owono Mbang
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Chamber of Deputies
Independence 
from Spain
• Declared
12 October 1968
Area
• Total
28,050 km2 (10,830 sq mi) (141st)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• 2024 estimate
1,795,834 [7] (154th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $28.356 billion[8] (148th)
• Per capita
Decrease $18,362[8] (90th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $10.041 billion[8] (156th)
• Per capita
Decrease $6,502[8] (95th)
HDI (2022)Increase 0.650[9]
medium (133rd)
CurrencyCentral African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onright
Calling code+240
ISO 3166 codeGQ
Internet TLD.gq
  1. Including Equatoguinean Spanish (Español ecuatoguineano).

Equatorial Guinea,[a] officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,[b] is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2024, the country had a population of 1,795,834,[7] over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.

Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts, an insular and a mainland region. The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Pó) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón, a small volcanic island which is the only part of the country south of the equator. Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country's capital, Malabo. The Portuguese-speaking island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón.

The mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east. It is the location of Bata, Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Ciudad de la Paz, the country's planned future capital. Río Muni also includes several small offshore islands, such as Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico. The country is a member of the African Union, Francophonie, OPEC, and the CPLP.

After becoming independent from Spain in 1968, Equatorial Guinea was ruled by Francisco Macías Nguema. He declared himself president for life in 1972, but was overthrown in a coup in 1979 by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has served as the country's president since. Both presidents have been widely characterized as dictators by foreign observers. Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers.[10] It has subsequently become the richest country per capita in Africa,[11] and its gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita ranks 43rd in the world;[12] however, the wealth is distributed extremely unevenly, with few people benefiting from the oil riches. The country ranks 144th on the 2019 Human Development Index,[13] with less than half the population having access to clean drinking water and 7.9% of children dying before the age of five.[14][15] Equatorial Guinea's nominal GDP per capita is $10,982 in 2021 according to OPEC.[16]

Since Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language. French and (as of 2010) Portuguese have also been made official,[17] but they are not as widely used. Aside from the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, it is the only country situated in Mainland Africa where Spanish is an official language (Spanish is also spoken in the African parts of Spain: the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla).[18] It is also the most widely spoken language (considerably more than the other two official languages); according to the Instituto Cervantes, 87.7% of the population has a good command of Spanish.[19]

Equatorial Guinea's government is totalitarian and has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights.[20] Reporters Without Borders ranks Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom.[21] Human trafficking is a significant problem, with the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report identifying Equatorial Guinea as a source and destination country for forced labour and sex trafficking. The report also noted that Equatorial Guinea "does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so."[22]

  1. ^ "History, language and culture in Equatorial Guinea". Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Equatorial Guinea Adds Portuguese as the Country's Third Official Language". 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  3. ^ Equatorial Guinea Archived 9 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Cia World Factbook.
  4. ^ "Religions in Equatorial Guinea | PEW-GRF". Global Religious Futures. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process". Equatorial Guinea 2020 Human Rights Report (PDF). U.S. Embassy in Equatorial Guinea (Report). 2020. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Democracy Index 2020". Economist Intelligence Unit. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Equatorial Guinea". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (GQ)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ Appel, Hannah (13 December 2019). The Licit Life of Capitalism. Duke University Press. doi:10.1515/9781478004578. ISBN 978-1-4780-0457-8. S2CID 242248625.
  11. ^ GDP – per capita (PPP) – Country Comparison Archived 10 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Indexmundi.com. Retrieved on 5 May 2013.
  12. ^ GDP – per capita (PPP) Archived 24 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency.
  13. ^ "2019 Human Development Index Ranking | Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Equatorial Guinea profile". BBC. 21 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  16. ^ "OPEC: Equatorial Guinea". Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Guiné Equatorial oficializa português – Portugal – DN". 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020 – via web.archive.org.
  18. ^ "Guinea Ecuatorial se convierte en el valedor del español en África". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Gloria Nistal Rosique: El caso del español en Guinea ecuatorial, Instituto Cervantes" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  20. ^ Worst of the Worst 2010. The World's Most Repressive Societies. freedomhouse.org
  21. ^ Equatorial Guinea – Reporters Without Borders Archived 15 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. En.rsf.org. Retrieved on 5 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Equatorial Guinea". Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 Archived 17 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Department of State (16 June 2020). This source is in the public domain.


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