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Equatorial Guinea
Intro Official Name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea Government Type: Republic Former Name: Spanish Guinea Capital: Malabo (pop: 31,630) (1983) Size: 10,830 sq miles or slightly smaller than Maryland Internet Service Providers: NA Equatorial Guinea possesses some of central Africa's most diverse rainforests. Spanish colonists, in the area since 1778, were more interested in cocoa production on the island of Bioko, and only made inroads into the mainland's forests in the 1920s. For centuries, the country has been dominated by the Fang, who pushed out native forest tribes some 800 years ago. Left bankrupt by Spain, Equatorial Guinea has struggled to gain its political and economic footing since independence in 1968. For several years in the 1970s, the country underwent a nightmarish reign of terror at the hands of President Francisco Macias Nguema that left dead or exiled two-thirds of its population. Equatorial Guinea is still trying to throw off the past. Rampant government corruption, vote-rigging and persecution of opposition leaders led the World Bank and IMF to cut off aid programs in the early 1990s and the U.S. State Department to class its first presidential elections in 1993 as "a parody of democracy." Although businesses remain in the hands of government officials and their families, the discovery of off-shore oil deposits in the late 1990s and the existence of undeveloped natural resources such as titanium, manganese and uranium have fueled hopes that Equatorial Guinea will somehow manage to experience an economic renaissance. People Population: 474,214 Life Expectancy: 54 years HIV/AIDS Rate Of Infection: 0.51% (1999) Infant Mortality Rate: 94.83 deaths/1,000 live births Fertility Rate: 4.94 children born/woman Ethnic Groups: Bioko (primarily Bubi), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans (primarily Spanish) less than 1,000 Religions: Nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs widespread Languages: Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo Literacy Rate: 78.5% Cell Phones: 0 (1995) Telephones: 3,000 (1995) Radios: 180,000 (1997) Televisions: 4,000 (1997) Economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP):$960 million (1999 est.) GDP per capita: $2,000 (1999 est.) GDP Growth Rate: 15% (1999 est.) Inflation: 6% (1999 est.) Unemployment: 30% (1998 est.) Exports: $555 million (f.o.b., 1999) Major Exports: Coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber Economic Aid Recipient: $33.8 million (1995) External Debt: $290 million (1999 est.) Currency: Communauté Financière Africaine franc Environment Physical Description: Equatorial Guinea is made up of the island of Bioko and, on the continent, a narrow coastal plain running into low-lying hills that abut onto a plateau bordering Gabon. The inland region is divided by the Benito River. Rainforest vegetation occurs throughout the inland plateau. The Bight of Biafra separates mainland Equatorial Guinea from Bioko, which also houses the country's capital. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south. Climate: Tropical Irrigated Land: NA Land Use: Arable Land: 5% Permanent Crops: 4% Permanent Pastures: 4% Forests And Woodland: 46% Other: 41% (1993 est.) Natural Resources: oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium Natural Hazards: Violent windstorms, flash floods Eco-alerts: Desertification and deforestation threaten Equatorial Guinea's forest lands. (Statistics Sources: CIA World Factbook 2000, UNAIDS, Encyclopedia Britannica) |
