Equatorial Guinea

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Around 1.5 percent of its GDP, or around US$150 million is spent annually on its military. This makes Equatorial Guinea the 129th highest military spender in the world.

The military of Equatorial Guinea consists of a Navy, an Air Force and Land forces. It is also supported by the national gendarmerie.

Military membership

It is a member of four international military organizations which makes it the 110th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Equatorial Guinea has not partaken in any international wars.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

It is a member of eight international political organizations which makes it the 173rd most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
African Union
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Community of Portuguese Language Countries
Organization of Ibero-American States
Interpol
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite being a presidential republic, the politics have been dominated the by one single political party since the military coup of 1979. This makes Equatorial Guinea the 168th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

After gaining its independence in 1963, its political system has been based on a presidential republic where the president is head of state as well as head of government. Shortly after its independence, calls for autonomy by different areas and different people within Equatorial Guinea are repressed and are still politically relevant today.

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Eritrea.

Despite being named after the equator, Equatorial Guinea is not located on the equator. Its first contacts between the native pygmies and the Europeans were in 1472 by Portuguese explorers. At the end of the 19th century, the territory of Equatorial Guinea was handed over to Spain. At the start of the 20th century, colonization mainly started on the coastal area has later moved inland. In the second half of the 20th century, Equatorial Guinea gained its independence. Since its independence until the turn of the 21st century, Spanish natives were expelled, and several coups have taken place. At the start of the 21st century, elections have taken place, but these elections are mainly symbolical due to a single party rule. .

The geography of Equatorial Guinea is made up of a low-lying plane located on its coast, a mountain range in its center and a high plateau in its in-land area. Most of the territory is covered by densely forested terrain with the exception of several swamp areas near its coast. It borders Cameroon to the north and Gabon to its east and south and is located on the Atlantic Ocean to its west.

It has a total surface of 28,191 square kilometers or 10,885 square miles which makes it the 141st largest state in the world making it slightly smaller than Albania and slightly larger than Burundi.

Despite not having large lakes, Equatorial Guinea is rich of its many rivers, the Utamboni river being its largest, that replenishes its rain forest.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Because of its location in the tropical zone and being packed with tropical forest, Equatorial Guinea receives plenty of rainfall throughout the year. Tap water is not potable and is known to be contaminated.

The climate of Equatorial Guinea is characterized by a wet and dry season. It is the 73rd warmest state in the world with an average temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius or 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

During the wet season, which spans from April to October, the average temperature goes up to 29.1 degrees Celsius or 84.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 19.7 degrees Celsius, or 76.5 degrees Fahrenheit occurs during the dry season from December to March.

With an annual precipitation of 246 centimetres or 96.9 inches, Equatorial Guinea is the 15th state with the highest amount of rainfall. The highest amount of rainfall occurs along the coast, but is fairly evenly spread out.

The capital, Malabo, is home to approximately 200,000 people. The capital that this closest located to Malabo is Yaoundé Cameroon with a distance of 304 kilometers or 189 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Malabo is Apia Samoa with a distance of 18,898 kilometers or 11,742 miles.

Before the turn of the 21st century, the economy of Equatorial Guinea has been mainly focused on the extraction of minerals. However, at the end of the 20th century, large oil reserves have been discovered. With the help of foreign investment from the United States, the oil sector has passed the mining sector and is currently the largest contributor to the economy and makes Equatorial Guinea the third largest oil producer of Africa.

It is a member of eight international economic organizations which makes Equatorial Guinea the 176th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World Bank Group
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77

Its GDP is estimated to be just over US$11 billion which is the 143rd largest in the world.

Its GDP per square kilometer is just under US$400,000 or just over US$1 million per square mile making it the 103rd largest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is around US$8100 which is the 78th highest in the world in the fourth highest in Africa.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is around US$24,000 which is the 62nd highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Spanish is the official language spoken in Equatorial Guinea and covers around two thirds of the population. The remaining one first speaks French Portuguese as well as native languages. The two largest tribes within Equatorial Guinea are the Fang and the Bantu tribes. The Fang tribe mainly occupies the inland area while the Bantu occupy the coastal area. It has a population of 1.4 million people making it the 152nd most populous state in the world.

It is the 132nd most densely populated state with 48 people per square kilometer or 125 people per square mile.

Around 150,000 people, or 12 percent of the population, has migrated from Equatorial Guinea. Around 70 percent of the population has migrated to neighbouring states such as Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo. The remaining 30 percent has mainly migrated to the states with developed economies such as the United States and Spain.

Around 10,000 people, or 0.7 percent of the population have migrated to Equatorial Guinea. These mainly consists of people that re-migrated from France and Spain and around 10 percent from Cameroon.

With a literacy rate of 94.5 percent, Equatorial Guinea is the 99th most literate state in the world. This is mainly due to the presence of an educational system since its colonial times. During which, the Catholic Church provided education free of charge. After independence, the educational system received less funding, but still represented a large portion of its GDP expenditure.

Because of the large investments in its healthcare system, healthcare system of Equatorial Guinea has started to progress from an underdeveloped health care system to a medium developed healthcare system. The main health threats to the population are in form of communicable diseases, the most prevalent being malaria and HIV AIDS. Despite this, it has the 181st highest life expectancy in the world standing at 59.8 years. Women reach the average age of 61.1 years while men reach the average age of 58.8 years.

Religion has been present before colonization. However, at the start of colonization, many inhabitants had started to convert to Christianity. This was mainly done by Catholic missionaries as well as institutions that were financed by the Catholic church.

Around 88.7 percent of the population adheres to Christianity with the vast majority being Roman Catholic and less than five percent being Protestant. With this percentage, Equatorial Guinea is the 21st most Christian state in the world.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is the second largest religion in Equatorial Guinea and represents eight percent of the population. This makes Equatorial Guinea the 79th most Islamic state in the world. Most of the Muslims arrived in the form of traders during the Islamic expansion. Some of these have settled there and converted other locals to Islam.

There are no official organizations related to Buddhism in Equatorial Guinea.

There are no official organizations in Equatorial Guinea related to Hinduism.

Less than 0.03 percent of the population adheres to Judaism. The Jews population that resides in Equatorial Guinea is mainly made up of military personnel that provides training and instruction to the military of Equatorial Guinea.

Around 1.47 percent of the population adheres to other religions. These are mainly the Baha'i faith as well as animism.

After independence, Equatorial Guinea was ruled by the dictatorial regime which actively promoted atheism and repressed Christianity. At present, around 3.34 percent of the population is considered to be irreligious.