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Equatorial Guinea
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| Short Information | Capital: Malabo
Language: Spanish
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF, XAF) | |
| Cities of Equatorial Guinea | | Malabo , | |
 General details about Equatorial Guinea |  CAPITAL CITY OF Equatorial Guinea: Malabo
LANGUAGE OF Equatorial Guinea: Spanish
CURRENCY OF Equatorial Guinea: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF, XAF)
COMMENTS ABOUT Equatorial Guinea:
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country in West Middle Africa.
Cities : Malabo (capital), Acalayong, Bata, Ebebiyin, Evinayong, Luba, Mbini, Mongomo
Time zone : WAT (UTC+1)
Calling code :+240
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the country for over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. The president controls most opposition parties through the judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the country's living standards.
CLIMATE OF Equatorial Guinea: tropical; always hot, humid
RELIGION OF Equatorial Guinea: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
POPULATION OF Equatorial Guinea: 523,051 (July 2004 est.)
HISTORY OF Equatorial Guinea: Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Franco's Spain in October 1968. Since then, it has been ruled by two men. Francisco Macías Nguema, the first president, was a brutal dictator who despised intellectuals, killed a large number of the ethnic Bubi minority, banned fishing, and awarded himself a huge number of grandiose titles (including President for Life). He was overthrown by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in 1979 and later captured and executed. Obiang's rule has seen less violence, but his regime is still brutally repressive. Political power is centralized in his small mainland clan, and most senior members of the government are related. The majority of the people are extremely poor.
CULTURA OF Equatorial Guinea: Several cultural dispersion and literacy organizations are located in the country, founded chiefly with the financial support of the Spanish government. The country has one university, the Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (UNGE) with a campus in Malabo and a Faculty of Medicine located in Bata on the mainland. The Bata Medical School is supported principally by the government of Cuba and staffed by Cuban medical educators and physicians.
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Equatorial Guinea: 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. Growth will remain strong in 2004, led by oil.
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