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Equatorial Guinea (capital Malabo) consisting of Bioko Island and land between Cameroon and Gabon
Country Comparisons:
2010: see chart
Oil production, 2009: 346,000 barrels per day. It ranks 35th in oil production. In barrels per population Equatorial Guinea leads top-ranked producer Saudi Arabia. But little of the profits from the sale of petroleum has accrued to the common people of Equatorial Guinea.
Equitorial Guinea has a worse corruption index figure than a lot of poor countries and a birth rate and health figures to match. The country has been described in Wikipedia as "one of the most corrupt, ethnocentric, oppressive and undemocratic states in the world."
The government almost balances its budget, however.
World Factbook: "The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP."
Public debt
2010: 4.1% of GDP
Living in an urban area
2010: 40%
Population density: 16.6 per square kilometer. (2005)
Central Africa bordering the Atlantic Coast (facing the Americas), equivalent to 167 by 167 kilometers (105 by 105 miles).
A republic with a constitution approved by national referendum 17 November 1991 and amended January 1995. Chief of state is called "president." Legal system is party based on Spanish civil law and partly tribal custom. Capital: Malabo
Independence from Spain in 1968.
One-man rule by President Obiang Nguema since he came to power in a bloody military coup in 1978. Phony elections gave him a 99 percent win in elections in 1996 -- the country's first multi-party elections. Nguema's government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses and of suppressing political.
Wikipedia describes a United States State Department 2008 Human Rights Report as follows: "...unlawful killings by security forces; government-sanctioned kidnappings; systematic torture of prisoners and detainees by security forces; life threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities; impunity; arbitrary arrest, detention, and incommunicado detention."
June 2011: President Obiang has been described as one of the most wealthy of heads of state. His son owns property in Malibu California that is of the highest-assessed value in that area.
Copyright © 2009-2011 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.