Equatorial Guinea

• only two large cities over 30,000 people (Bata on the mainland, and the capital Malabo on the island of Bioko);
• small communities are scattered throughout the mainland and the five inhabited islands

• violent windstorms;
• flash floods volcanism: Santa Isabel (3,007 m), which last erupted in 1923, is the country's only historically active volcano;
• Santa Isabel, along with two dormant volcanoes, form Bioko Island in the Gulf of Guinea

• deforestation (forests are threatened by agricultural expansion, fires, and grazing);
• desertification;
• water pollution (tap water is non-potable);
• wildlife preservation

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• insular and continental regions widely separated;
• despite its name, no part of the Equator passes through Equatorial Guinea;
• the mainland part of the country is located just north of the Equator

noun:

Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)

adjective:

Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

0-14 years:

39.46% (male 159,814 /female 154,860)

15-24 years:

19.8% (male 80,368 /female 77,515)

25-54 years:

32.34% (male 129,248 /female 128,664)

55-64 years:

4.46% (male 15,428 /female 20,176)

65 years and over:

3.94% (male 13,000 /female 18,384) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

67.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

62.7 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

4.8 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

20.6 (2015 est.)

total:

19.9 years (2018 est.)

male:

19.5 years

female:

20.4 years

• only two large cities over 30,000 people (Bata on the mainland, and the capital Malabo on the island of Bioko);
• small communities are scattered throughout the mainland and the five inhabited islands

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.76 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

63.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

64.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

62.2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

65 years (2018 est.)

male:

63.8 years

female:

66.2 years

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Equatorial Guinea

conventional short form:

Equatorial Guinea

local long form:

Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee Equatoriale

local short form:

Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee Equatoriale

former:

Spanish Guinea

etymology:

• the country is named for the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel;
• the "equatorial" refers to the fact that the country lies just north of the Equator

name:

• Malabo;
• note - a new capital of Oyala is being built on the mainland near Djibloho;
• Malabo is on the island of Bioko

geographic coordinates:

3 45 N, 8 47 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

named after Malabo Lopelo Melaka (1837–1937), the last king of the Bubi, the ethnic group indigenous to the island of Bioko

history:

previous 1968, 1973, 1982; approved by referendum 17 November 1991

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or supported by three fourths of the membership in either house of the National Assembly;
• passage requires three-fourths majority vote by both houses of the Assembly and approval in a referendum if requested by the president;
• amended several times, last in 2012 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Equatorial Guinea

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG Nguema Mbasogo (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup); Vice President Teodoro OBIANG Nguema Mangue(since 2012)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Francisco Pascual Eyegue OBAMA Asue (since 23 June 2016);
• First Deputy Prime Minister Clemente Engonga NGUEMA Onguene (since 23 June 2016);
• Second Deputy Prime Minister Angel MESIE Mibuy (since 5 February 2018);
• Third Deputy Prime Minister Alfonso Nsue MOKUY (since 23 June 2016)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president and overseen by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 24 April 2016 (next to be held in 2023);
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

Teodoro OBIANG Nguema Mbasogo reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG Nguema Mbasogo (PDGE) 93.5%, other 6.5%

highest courts:

• Supreme Court of Justice (consists of the chief justice - who is also chief of state - and 9 judges organized into civil, criminal, commercial, labor, administrative, and customary sections);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the court president and 4 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges appointed by the president for 5-year terms;
• Constitutional Court members appointed by the president, 2 of whom are nominated by the Chamber of Deputies;
• note - judges subject to dismissal by the president at any time

subordinate courts:

• Court of Guarantees;
• military courts;
• Courts of Appeal;
• first instance tribunals;
• district and county tribunals

chief of mission:

Ambassador Susan N. STEVENSON (since 7 May 2019)

telephone:

[240] 333 09 57 41 or 1-301-985-8750

embassy:

Malabo II Highway (between the Headquarters of Sonagas and the offices of the United Nations)

mailing address:

US Embassy Malabo, 2320 Malabo Place, Washington, DC 20521-2520

• 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

name:

"Caminemos pisando la senda" (Let Us Tread the Path)

lyrics/music:

Atanasio Ndongo MIYONO/Atanasio Ndongo MIYONO or Ramiro Sanchez LOPEZ (disputed)

note: adopted 1968

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

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and decent mobile cellular coverage;
• 3G technology has allowed for estimated growth of 9.5% during 2016 -2021;
• mobile data will be the fastest-growing segment 2016-2021 (2018)

domestic:

fixed-line density is about 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2016 stood at about 70 percent (2018)

international:

• country code - 240;
• landing points for the ACE, Ceiba-1, and Ceiba-2 submarine cables providing communication from Bata and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to numerous Western African and European countries;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)

• the state maintains control of broadcast media with domestic broadcast media limited to 1 state-owned TV station, 1 private TV station owned by the president's eldest son (who is the Vice President), 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 generally accessible (2019)

• 18 years of age for selective compulsory military service, although conscription is rare in practice;
• 2-year service obligation;
• women hold only administrative positions in the Navy (2013)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 15 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

400,759 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

461,650 mt-km (2015)

major seaport(s):

Bata, Luba, Malabo

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Bioko Island

• 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 delayed final delimitation;
• UN urged 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

current situation:

• Equatorial Guinea is a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor;
• Equatorial Guinean girls may be encouraged by their parents to engage in the sex trade in urban centers to receive groceries, gifts, housing, and money;
• children are also trafficked from nearby countries for work as domestic servants, market laborers, ambulant vendors, and launderers;
• women are trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for forced labor or prostitution

tier rating:

• Tier 3 – Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards on the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, the government made no efforts to investigate or prosecute any suspected trafficking offenders or to identify or protect victims, despite its 2004 law prohibiting all forms of trafficking and mandating the provision of services to victims;
• undocumented migrants continued to be deported without being screened to assess whether any were trafficking victims;
• authorities did not undertake any trafficking awareness campaigns, implement any programs to address forced child labor, or make any other efforts to prevent trafficking (2015)