Equatorial Guinea Location : Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Capital City : Malabo
Curreny : Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Languages Spoken : Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Climate : tropical; always hot, humid
National Holiday : Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Background Information
Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea, which gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule, 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 presidential and 1999 legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed.
Geographical Note
insular and continental regions rather widely separated
Economy
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.
Religions
nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Ports : Bata, Luba, Malabo
International Disputes - Risks to travellers
: 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
flight Nav: cheapest-flights-to.com
>
Equatorial Guinea
flights
|
|
|
