]! ^! 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 NGUEMA 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. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon ^# 2 00 N, 10 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 28,051 sq km `" 28,051 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Maryland ^' `! 539 km `U Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km ^( 296 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; always hot, humid ^+ coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Pico Basile 3,008 m ^- petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay ^. `' 4.63% `( 3.57% `) 91.8% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 violent windstorms, flash floods ^1 tap water is not potable; deforestation _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution `L none of the selected agreements ^2 insular and continental regions rather widely separated 
]# ^3 535,881 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 41.7% (male 112,326/female 111,244) `+ 54.5% (male 140,568/female 151,500) `, 3.8% (male 8,900/female 11,343) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.83 years `- 18.2 years `. 19.46 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.42% (2005 est.) ^7 36.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 12 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.93 male(s)/female `, 0.78 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 85.13 deaths/1,000 live births `- 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births `. 78.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 49.7 years `- 48.01 years `. 51.44 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.62 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 3.4% (2001 est.) ^? 5,900 (2001 est.) ^@ 370 (2001 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2004) ^A `2 Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) `3 Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean ^B Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish ^C nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices ^D Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 85.7% `- 93.3% `. 78.4% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Equatorial Guinea `5 Equatorial Guinea `V Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial `W Guinea Ecuatorial `X Spanish Guinea ^H republic ^I Malabo ^J 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas ^K 12 October 1968 (from Spain) ^L Independence Day, 12 October (1968) ^M approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 ^N partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom ^O 18 years of age; universal adult ^P `6 President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) `7 Prime Minister Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since 14 June 2004); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 15 June 2004) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president `9 president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president `: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud ^Q unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `9 last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) `: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, NA 2 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president ^R Supreme Tribunal ^S Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTO (observer) ^V `N Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE `O 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 `P [1] (202) 518-5700 `Q [1] (202) 518-5252 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo ^X 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) 
]% ^Y 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 presumably remained strong in 2004, led by oil. ^Z $1.27 billion (2002 est.) ^[ 20% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) ^] `; 3% `< 95.7% `= 1.3% (2004 est.) ^^ NA ^` 30% (1998 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 8.5% (2004 est.) _P 50.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $813.2 million `A $375.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber _% petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas _& 30% (2002 est.) _' 26.69 million kWh (2002) _( 24.82 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 350,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 563.5 million bbl (1 January 2002) _S 20 million cu m (2001 est.) _T 20 million cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 68.53 billion cu m (1 January 2002) _X $-578.6 million (2004 est.) _/ $2.771 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa _1 US 29.3%, China 22.8%, Spain 16%, Taiwan 14.9%, Canada 6.8% (2004) _2 $1.167 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 petroleum sector equipment, other equipment _4 US 26.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 21.4%, Spain 13.6%, France 8.8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 4.4% (2004) _Y $235.2 million (2004 est.) _5 $248 million (2000 est.) _6 $33.8 million (1995) _7 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States _8 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) _9 1 January - 31 December 
]& _: 9,600 (2003) _; 41,500 (2003) _< `B poor system with adequate government services `C NA `D country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) _= AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) _> 1 (2002) _? .gq _@ 3 (2004) _A 1,800 (2002) 
]' _B `! 2,880 km (1999 est.) _[ condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2004) _C Malabo _K `! 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2005) _D 4 (2004 est.) _E `! 3 `G 1 `^ 1 less than 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) _M 18 years of age (est.) (2004) _] males age 18-49: 106,571 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 66,379 (2005 est.) _N $126.2 million (2004) _O 2.5% (2004) 
]) _H 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 