Republic of Equatorial Guinea

National name: Républica de Guinea Ecuatorial

President: Col. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (1979)

Prime Minister: Ricardo Mangue Obama Nfubea (2006)

Total area: 10,830 sq mi (28,050 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 540,109 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 35.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 89.2/1000; life expectancy: 49.5; density per sq mi: 50

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Malabo, 92,900

Monetary unit: CFA Franc

Languages: Spanish, French (both official); pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Ethnicity/race: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Río Muni (primarily Fang); less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly Spanish

Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices

Literacy rate: 86% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $25.69 billion; per capita $50,200. Real growth rate: 18.6%. Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 30% (1998 est.). Arable land: 5%. Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber. Labor force: n.a. Industries: petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay. Exports: $6.727 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa. Imports: $1.864 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum sector equipment, other equipment. Major trading partners: U.S., China, Spain, Taiwan, Canada, France, UK, Côte d'Ivoire, Italy (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 9,600 (2003); mobile cellular: 41,500 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002). Television broadcast stations: 1 (2002). Internet hosts: 3 (2004). Internet users: 1,800 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 0 km. Highways: total: 2,880 km (1999 est.). Ports and harbors: Malabo. Airports: 4 (2004 est.).

International disputes: 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, imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has been pressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay.

 

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