| Key Demographic
Features of Equatorial Guinea* |
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Equatorial_Guinea
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Cameroon and Gabon
Map references: Africa
People
Population: 431,282 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 93,319; female 92,753)
15-64 years: 53% (male 108,706; female 120,129)
65 years and over: 4% (male 7,235; female 9,140) (July
1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.58% (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1,000 live births
(1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.01 years
male: 50.79 years
female: 55.29 years (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some
Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than
1,000, mostly Spanish
Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman
Catholic, pagan practices
Languages: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang,
Bubi, Ibo
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995
est.)
total population: 78.5%
male: 89.6%
female: 68.1%
Government
Country Abbreviation: EK
Type of government: republic in transition to
multiparty democracy
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Constitution: new constitution 17 November 1991
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and
tribal custom
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
\i House of People's Representatives: (Camara de
Representantes del Pueblo) elections last held 21 November
1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party
NA; seats - (82 total) PDGE 72, various opposition parties 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party: Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE),
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, party leader
opposition parties: Progressive Democratic Alliance
(ADP), Antonio-Ebang Mbele Abang, president; Popular Action of
Equatorial Guinea (APGE),Casiano Masi Edu, leader; Liberal
Democratic Convention (CLD), Alfonso Nsue MIFUMU, president;
Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), Santiago Obama Ndong,
president; Social Democratic and Popular Convergence (CSDP),
Secundino Oyono Agueng Ada, general secretary; Party of the
Social Democratic Coalition (PCSD), Buenaventura Moswi M'Asumu,
general coordinater; Liberal Party (PL), Santos PASCUAL; Party
of Progress (PP), Severo MOTO Nsa, president; Social
Democratic Party (PSD), Benjamin-Gabriel Balingha Balinga
Alene, general secretary; Socialist Party of Equatorial Guinea
(PSGE), Tomas MICHEBE Fernandez, general secretary; National
Democratic Union (UDENA), Jose MECHEBA Ikaka, president;
Democratic Social Union (UDS), Camelo Modu, general secretary;
Popular Union (UP), Juan Bitui, president
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP,
AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, UDEAC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: (temporary) 57 Magnolia Avenue, Mount Vernon,
NY 10553
telephone: [1] (914) 738-9584, 667-6913
FAX: [1] (914) 667-6838
US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an
embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995);
US relations with Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US
Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon
Flag: 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)
Economy
Economic overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
account for about half of GDP and nearly all exports.
Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence
Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard
currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy
under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for
agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by
the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993
because of the government's gross corruption and
mismanagement. 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. Oil exploration, taking place
under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms,
has been moderately successful. In 1995, exports responded to
the devaluation of 12 January 1994, apparently resulting in a
sizable surplus and strong GDP growth. Increased production
from recently discovered oil and natural gas fields will
provide a greater share of exports in 1996-97.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $325 million (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 10% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Communications
Telephones: 2,000 (1987 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 4,000 (1992 est.)
*Source: World Factbook 1996, U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The World Factbook contains many additional demographic
variables that may be of interest to persons who wish to
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