Equatorial Guinea

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Country summary

Capital

Malabo

Borders

Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Government type

republic

Population

633,441 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

2.703% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

61.61 years[1]

Unemployment

30% (1998 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

151[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

168[3]

Doing Business ranking

170[4]


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 Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996, 2002, and 2009 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. 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 population's living standards.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Central African CFA franc (ISO code: XAF)
  • Central bank discount rate: 4.75% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: NA% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $1.11 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $132.1 million (31 December 2008)[1]

Notable events:

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[6] 872 1 254 1 736 2 147 2 952 5 241 8 217 9 603 12 576 18 525
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Equatorial Guinea", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  2. Heritage Foundation. "Equatorial Guinea", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  3. Transparency International. "Equatorial Guinea", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  4. Doing Business. "Equatorial Guinea", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  5. Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 362. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.
  6. World Bank. "Equatorial Guinea: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  7. World Bank. "Equatorial Guinea: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  8. World Bank. "Equatorial Guinea: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-01.
  9. World Bank. "Equatorial Guinea: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-01.

Links