Airports [time series]

4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

1 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

Rio Muni--1,024 km; Bioko--216 km

Merchant marine [time series]

2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413 GRT/6,699 DWT; includes 1 cargo and 1 passenger-cargo

Ports [time series]

Malabo, Bata

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

poor system with adequate government services; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; 2,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, and possibly Air Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

11% of GNP (FY81 est.)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 77,363; 39,174 fit for military service

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

cash crops--timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa from Bioko; food crops--rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-88), $11 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $100 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $55 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $23 million; expenditures $31 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1988)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Electricity [time series]

23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced, 170 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$30 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--coffee, timber, cocoa beans; partners--Spain 44%, FRG 19%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11% (1987)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$191 million (December 1988)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April-31 March

GNP [time series]

$103 million, per capita $293; real growth rate NA% (1987)

Imports [time series]

$50 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery; partners--Spain 34%, Italy 16%, France 14%, Netherlands 8% (1987)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%

Industries [time series]

fishing, sawmilling

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

- 6.0% (1988 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The economy, destroyed during the regime of former President Macias Nguema, is now based on agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which account for about 60% of GNP and nearly all exports. Subsistence agriculture predominates, with cocoa, coffee, and wood products providing income, foreign exchange, and government revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts for about 10% of GNP, and the construction, public works, and service sectors for about 34%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration is taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Climate [time series]

tropical; always hot, humid

Coastline [time series]

296 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Maryland

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

maritime boundary dispute with Gabon

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to violent windstorms

Exclusive economic zone [time series]

200 nm;

Land boundaries [time series]

539 km total; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Land use [time series]

8% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 51% forest and woodland; 33% other

Natural resources [time series]

timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium

Note [time series]

insular and continental regions rather widely separated

Terrain [time series]

coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

12 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

28,050 km2; land area: 28,050 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

2 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Bioko, Rio Muni; note--there may now be 6 provinces named Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele Nzas

Capital [time series]

Malabo

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no significant number but some sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

15 August 1982

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1403, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 599-1523; US--Ambassador Chester E. NORRIS, Jr.; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros, Malabo (mailing address is P. O. Box 597, Malabo); telephone 2406 or 2507

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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)

Independence [time series]

12 October 1968 (from Spain; formerly Spanish Guinea)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Tribunal Chief of State--President Brig. Gen. Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979); Head of Government--Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE Bioko Malabo (since 15 August 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi Monsuy Andeme (since 15 August 1989)

Legal system [time series]

in transition; partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Chamber of People's Representatives (Camara de Representantes del Pueblo)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Equatorial Guinea

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, AfDB, Conference of East and Central African States, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDEG), Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, party leader

Suffrage [time series]

universal adult at age NA President--last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996); results--President Brig. Gen. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was reelected without opposition; Chamber of Deputies--last held 10 July 1988 (next to be held 10 July 1993); results--PDEG is the only party; seats--(41 total) PDEG 41

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

43 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos; Rio Muni, primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly Spanish

Infant mortality rate [time series]

118 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

172,000 (1986 est.); 66% agriculture, 23% services, 11% industry (1980); labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population of working age (1985)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

48 years male, 52 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

40%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s); adjective--Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

no formal trade unions

Population [time series]

368,935 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic; some pagan practices retained

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.5 children born/woman (1990)