Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996, 2002, and 2009 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards.

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon

slightly smaller than Maryland

tropical; always hot, humid

coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay

violent windstorms; flash floods

tap water is not potable; deforestation

insular and continental regions widely separated

633,441 (July 2010 est.)

36.52 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

9.49 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

5 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)

nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices

Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)

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

12 October 1968 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995

partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MICO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO] (ruling party); Electoral Coalition or EC; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Avelino MOCACHE]; Popular Union or UP

ASODEGUE (Madrid-based pressure group for democratic reform); Global Witness (anti-corruption)

ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, CPLP (associate), FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO (observer)

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); green symbolizes the jungle and natural resources, blue represents the sea that connects the mainland to the islands, white stands for peace, and red recalls the fight for independence

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 trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Government officials and their family members own most businesses. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2008, led by oil, but dropped in 2009, as the price of oil fell.

$23.73 billion (2009 est.)

$22.54 billion (2008 est.)

$20.36 billion (2007 est.)

$12.22 billion (2009 est.)

46.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

5% of GDP (2009 est.)

1% of GDP (2008 est.)

4.75% (31 December 2008)

5.25% (31 December 2007)

NA% (31 December 2008)

15% (31 December 2007)

$1.11 billion (31 December 2008)

$835.2 million (31 December 2007)

$132.1 million (31 December 2008)

$174.5 million (31 December 2007)

coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber

petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas

28 million kWh (2007 est.)

26.04 million kWh (2007 est.)

346,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

362,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1,114 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1.1 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

6.67 billion cu m (2008 est.)

1.5 billion cu m (2008 est.)

5.17 billion cu m (2008 est.)

36.81 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$904 million (2009 est.)

$1.198 billion (2008 est.)

$8.898 billion (2009 est.)

$14.73 billion (2008 est.)

petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa

US 30.31%, China 12.54%, Japan 9.21%, Spain 7.5%, South Korea 7.01%, Taiwan 5.63%, Italy 5.38%, Netherlands 4.09% (2009)

$3.346 billion (2009 est.)

$3.529 billion (2008 est.)

petroleum sector equipment, other equipment

China 19.97%, US 17.28%, Spain 14.94%, France 9.49%, Cote d'Ivoire 6.34%, Italy 5.02% (2009)

$3.146 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.431 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$174 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$190 million (31 December 2008 est.)

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.35 (2009), 447.81 (2008), 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005)

state maintains control of broadcast media with domestic broadcast media limited to 1 state-owned TV station, 1 state-owned radio station, and 1 private radio station owned by the president's eldest son; satellite TV service is available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible (2007)

National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Guinea Ecuatoria, GNGE (Army), with Coast Guard (Navy) and Air Wing) (2009)

18 years of age for selective compulsory military service; service obligation 2 years; women hold only administrative positions in the Coast Guard (2009)

in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation; UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay