Top Exports |
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Planes, Helicopters and Spacecraft |
Acyclic Alcohols |
Petroleum Gas |
Crude Petroleum |
Rough Wood |
Top Imports |
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Iron Structures |
Excavation Machinery |
Special Purpose Ships |
Beer |
Refined Petroleum |
Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Guinea Ecuatorial, French: Guinée équatoriale, Portuguese: Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: República de Guinea Ecuatorial, French: République de Guinée équatoriale, Portuguese: República da Guiné Equatorial), is a country located in Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometers (11,000 sq. mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name evokes its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Equatorial Guinea is the only sovereign African state in which Spanish is an official language. As of 2015, the country has an estimated population of over 1.2 million. Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts, an insular and a mainland region. The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Pó) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón, a small volcanic island south of the equator. Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country's capital, Malabo. The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. The mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon on the north and Gabon on the south and east. It is the location of Bata, Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Oyala, the country's planned future capital. Rio Muni also includes several small offshore islands, such as Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico. The country is a member of the African Union, Francophonie and the CPLP.
Equatorial Guinea's financial system is small and relatively underdeveloped, but generally sound. Although the sector has been expanding in recent years with the introduction of new technologies and products in the market, access to finance is limited, consumer credit remains low, and the high cost of financing hinders entrepreneurial activity. By 2011, 259 out of every 1000 adults were depositors in a commercial bank, while only 39 out of every 1000 were borrowers.
The financial system is largely dominated by the banking sector which has expanded in recent years as a result of high economic growth. To date, there are only four banks operating in the country, for the most part, subsidiaries of international banks. The global economic and financial crisis appears to have had only a limited impact on the sector, as banks had virtually no exposure to complex derivatives and the system did not experience any significant capital repatriation from foreign banks.
Agriculture | Cassava, coffee, cocoa, rice, bananas, palm oil, yams, timber |
Manufacture | Petroleum, fishing, saw-milling, natural gas |
Agriculture | 4.6% |
Industry | 87.3% |
Services (Including financial) | 8.1% (2013 estimate) |
Company | Industry |
---|---|
Afriland First Bank | Financial |
EG LNG | Oil & Gas |
GEPetrol | Oil & Gas |
Sonagas | Oil & Gas |
Ceiba Intercontinental Airlines | Airline |
Segesa | Utilities |
Cronos Airlines | Airline |
Ecuato Guineana | State |
Guinea Ecuatorial Airlines | Airline |
Top Exports |
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Planes, Helicopters and Spacecraft |
Acyclic Alcohols |
Petroleum Gas |
Crude Petroleum |
Rough Wood |
Top Imports |
---|
Iron Structures |
Excavation Machinery |
Special Purpose Ships |
Beer |
Refined Petroleum |
The Global Financial Crisis had a serious impact on the oil-dominated economy of Equatorial Guinea, immediately leading to a negative growth rate in 2009 of -8%. Equatorial Guinea’s economy again went into recession in 2013, with growth estimated at -1.4% GDP with further negative forecasts for 2014 and 2015. This was the result of a change in oil prices, as well as an overall reduction in gas and oil production as the Zafiro oilfield gradually runs dry and newer finds fail to make up for the shortfall.
The drop in oil prices since July 2014 has caused a recession. Oil and gas production fell by 10%, compared to 2014, to around 165 000 barrels a day in 2015. The non-oil economy, although in relative growth with respect to the rest of the economy, is nonetheless in decline. The recession, corresponding to a drop of 10.2% of GDP in 2015, is likely to continue until 2020 because of unfavorable forecasts for crude oil prices. While difficult to quantify, domestic government arrears and lower public investment tend to reduce fiscal space and constrict growth in the non oil economy.
Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers. It is the richest country per capita in Africa, and its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita ranks 69th in the world; however, the wealth is distributed very unevenly and few people have benefited from the oil riches. The country ranks 144th on the UN's 2014 Human Development Index. The UN says that less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and that 20% of children die before reaching the age of five.
The country's authoritarian government has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights. Reporters without Borders ranks President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo among its "predators" of press freedom. Human trafficking is a significant problem, with the US Trafficking in Persons Report, 2012, stating that "Equatorial Guinea is a source and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking." The report rates Equatorial Guinea as a "Tier 3" country, the lowest (worst) ranking: "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. .
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (President) | Francisco Pascual Obama Asue?Prime Minister) | Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue (First Vice-President) | Teresa Efua (President of Senate) |
CFA stands for Coopération financière en Afrique centrale ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale, "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the members of the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale, "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"). The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued.
The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in Equatorial Africa in 1945, replacing the French Equatorial African franc. The Equatorial African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Chad, French Cameroun, French Congo, Gabon and Ubangi-Shari.
The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence. Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA franc in 1984, replacing the Equatorial Guinean ekwele at a rate of 1 franc = 4 bipkwele.
National Song | "Caminemos pisando las sendas de nuestra inmensa felicidad" |
Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) |
Languages | Spanish,French |
Population | 0.821 Millions |
GDP / GDP Rank | 31.72 Billion USD |
GDP Growth Rate | -12.2 Percent |
GDP Per Captial | $38639.066 (PPP) |
Size | 28,051 km² |
Inflation | 1.4 Percent |
Time Zone | UTC+01:00 (WAT) |
Interest Rate | 3.50% |
Religion | 88.7% Christians 4.0% Muslims < 1.0% Hindus < 1.0% Buddhists < 1.0% Jews < 1.0% Other Religions |
Ethnic Group | Fang 85.7% Bubi 6.5% Mdowe 3.6% Annobon 1.6% |
Government | Republic President – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo[α] Prime Minister – Francisco Pascual Obama Asue |
Website | Go to the web |
Driving Side | RIGHT |
Public Debt | 21.655 Percent |
Import | $2.555 Billion |
Export | $5.412 Billion |
Unemployment Rate | 7.334 Percent |
Labor Force | 195200 |
Labor Force (Occupation) | - |
Culture | - |