Equatorial Guinea
OFFICIAL NAME: Guinea Equatorial
CAPITAL CITY: Malabo
POPULATION: 722,000 (2014)
AREA: 28,051 km²
OFFICIAL/OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Bantu language, English-Creole, Portuguese-Creole
RELIGION: Catholics 93%, other 7%
CURRENCY: CFA
CURRENCY CODE: XOF
ENGLISH NAME: Equatorial Guinea
INDEPENDENCE: 1968
POPULATION COMPOSITION: catch 83%, bube 10%, other 7%
GDP PER CAPITA INH.: $ 20,581 (2013)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 64.4 years, women 64.6 years (2014)
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, HDI: 0556
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, POSITION: 144
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .gq
Equatorial Guinea, formerly Spanish Guinea, Republic of the West
Coast of Central Africa, located in the rainforest belt. The country includes
the Mbini area on the mainland and two islands, Bioko and Annobón, in the Gulf
of Guinea. It is one of Africa's smallest and countries, and for most years
since independence from Spain (1968) it has been almost completely closed to the
outside world as a brutal dictatorship that drove large sections of the
population into exile. The discovery of oil in the 1990's has given the country
greatly increased revenues, but has only benefited the general population to a
limited extent.
- Countryaah:
Do you know how many people there are in Equatorial
Guinea? Check this site to see population pyramid and resident density about
this country.
Equatorial Guinea - national flag
Equatorial Guinea - National Flag, The flag was first raised in 1968. From
1969 it has shown the coat of arms in the middle; it was replaced 1978-79. The
tree is a silk cotton tree. The six stars represent the state's six parts, the
mainland and five islands. The motto is 'Unity, Peace, Justice'. Blue stands for
the water that binds the land together, green for the vegetation, white for
peace and red for the struggle for independence.
Equatorial Guinea - Geography
Equatorial Guinea - Geography, Mbini (formerly Río Muni) on the mainland
makes up most of the area, and here lives about. 80% of the population. The
natural vegetation is rainforest, which still covers most of the area. The
island of Bioko with the country's capital, Malabo, holds approximately 60,000 homes,
while the remote Annobón has approximately 2000 in. At Bioko's northern part there are
several cocoa plantations, while the uneven southern part is covered by
rainforest. The climate is tropical throughout the country; the annual rainfall
is very large and reaches over 10,000 mm per year at Bioko.
The majority of the population is employed in agriculture, forestry or
fishing. The main crops are sweet potatoes and cassava; the most important
export crop is cocoa, which was also the traditional export crop during the
colonial period. After independence, cocoa production collapsed, but some
plantations have slowly been re-established throughout the 1990's. For many
years, wood was the most important export product with varieties such as okoumé and akoga. The
logging takes place in Mbini and is run by foreign companies. In total, over 50%
of the forest area is leased to lumber companies. There is a modest fishery
along the coast and in the rivers. Annobón is operated by licensed fishermen
from the EU.
In 1984, oil was found for Bioko, and in 1991 production began. In 1993,
Mobil Oil found large oil reserves in Mbini, production started in 1996, and
then oil became the country's main export commodity; in 1998, the oil's share of
exports was thus 90%. In 2001, a large new oil port was established at Luba on
the west coast of Bioko. The industrial sector is extremely limited. This also
applies to the tourism industry, which has lacked infrastructure, service
providers and, not least, political stability. However, the country has some
potential in the form of pristine natural areas.
Growing oil revenues have significantly improved the country's economy; the
country's GDP has grown 16% a year in the 1990's, and in 2001 Equatorial Guinea,
from its starting point as one of the world's poorest countries, had one of the
fastest growing economies; the country has the world's second highest GDP per
capita. oil revenues, however, have only benefited the population to a modest
extent. Child mortality remains high, even when compared to other low-income
countries, and life expectancy is below 50 years (2006). The country's most
important ethnic group is fangs, which make up 80-90% of the
population. The rest consists of many different small groups, the largest of
which is bubi, the original population of Bioko. During periods under
Macías Nguema's rule, a third of the population had fled to neighboring
countries, and many still live in exile.
The territorial boundaries of neighboring countries have not been
established, which has caused conflict with Nigeria and Gabon.
Equatorial Guinea - language
Equatorial Guinea - language, The most common are the bantu languages catch and bube spoken
by respectively. approximately 260,000 (2000) on the mainland and approximately 40,000 (1995) on
Bioko. The descendants of the slaves in the islands speak Creole languages based
on European languages, in Annobón the Portuguese- based fá d'ambô and
in Bioko the English-based Fernando Póo crisis. The official language
is Spanish, but is only the native language of a small minority.
Equatorial Guinea - Constitution
Equatorial Guinea Constitution, Constitution of the Republic of Equatorial
Guinea is from 1991. The legislative power formally resides with a parliament
with a chamber, the House of Representatives, which has 100
members. Members are elected by direct election for a five-year term. The
Constitution does not give Parliament many means to counterbalance the
president.
The executive power lies with the president, who is elected by direct
election for a seven-year term, and can be re-elected an unlimited number of
times. The President has immunity from offenses committed before, during and
after the term of office. The President appoints, among members of Parliament, a
prime minister to lead the government and its members. The president appoints a
governor for each of the provinces.
Equatorial Guinea - History
Equatorial Guinea - History, The earliest traces of the country's history are
few and uncertain, but it is known that the Fang people immigrated to
the area in the 1700's; Bioko was populated by the bubi people in the
1800's. The first Europeans in the area were Portuguese, who entered the islands
of Bioko (formerly Fernando Póo after discovering the island)
and Annobónabout 1471. They did not colonize the area, and in 1778 they swapped
the islands and an area on the mainland between the rivers Ogooué and Niger to
Spain. Thus Spain gained its first colony in Africa since its conclusion in 1494
of the Tordesilla Treaty, which granted Portugal exclusive rights to
Africa. However, Spain abandoned colonization of Bioko due to high mortality and
leased it out to the British Navy in 1827-43. Only then did an actual
colonization commence, where coffee and cocoa plantations were established on
the island. The mainland was colonized even later, really only after Franco's
takeover of Spain.
By independence in 1968, the country's economy had developed very little. The
first president, Francisco Macías Nguema, ruled the country dictatorially until
he was overthrown in 1979 by a coup led by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and
then executed. Under Macías Nguema, the country almost completely collapsed
economically, politically and socially; borders, schools and churches were
closed, and freedom of speech and human rights were suppressed. Under Obiang
Nguema, who has been president since, the situation has not improved
significantly; the country formally became a multi-party democracy in 1991, but
the opposition is still suppressed and boycotted the elections. Obiang Nguema
was re-elected in 2002, according to government information with a staggering
100% of the vote. Opposition candidates had by then withdrawn from the election
because of fraud, or were imprisoned under indictment for interference in a coup
attempt. A coup attempt with bl. a. South African mercenaries were averted in
2004. There are frequent rumors of new coup plans, and they are often linked
with the self-proclaimed exile government leader, Severo Moto. In addition to
political instability, the country is heavily affected by corruption. Also in
the 2009 elections, Nguema gained about 100% of the vote. There are ongoing
unrest in the country with Obiang Nguema as a particularly wealthy
dictator. Despite substantial revenues from the country's oil, the majority of
the population lives in poverty and only the elite benefit from the income.
|
