Official name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Capital city: Malabo
Internet country code: .gq
Flag description: 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)
Geographical description: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Total area: 10,827 sq. mi. (28,050 sq. km.)
Climate: Tropical; always hot, humid
Nationality: noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s); adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Population: 551,201 (July 2007 CIA est.)
Ethnic groups: Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba1.1%, other 1.4%
Languages spoken: Spanish (official) 67.6%, French (official) and others, including Fang and Bubi 32.4%
Religions: Christian 93%, indigenous religions 5%, other (including Muslim and Baha’i) 2%
| Christmas Day | Dec 25 |
| Constitution Day | Aug 15 |
| Freedom Day | Aug 3 |
| Good Friday | Apr 22, 2011; Apr 6, 2012; Mar 29, 2013; Apr 18, 2014; Apr 3, 2015; Mar 25, 2016; Apr 14, 2017; Mar 30, 2018; Apr 19, 2019; Apr 10, 2020; Apr 2, 2021; Apr 15, 2022; Apr 7, 2023 |
| Immaculate Conception | Dec 8 |
| Independence Day | Oct 12 |
| New Year's Day | Jan 1 |
| Palm Sunday | Apr 24, 2011; Apr 8, 2012; Mar 31, 2013; Apr 20, 2014; Apr 5, 2015; Mar 27, 2016; Apr 16, 2017; Apr 1, 2018; Apr 21, 2019; Apr 12, 2020; Apr 4, 2021; Apr 17, 2022; Apr 9, 2023 |
| President's Day | Jun 5 |
(Republic of Equatorial Guinea [República de Guinea Ecuatorial]), a country in Central Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. It comprises the mainland territory of Río Muni and the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Póo), Coriseo, and Palagu (formerly Annobón). Area, 28,000 sq km. Population, 320,000 (1976). Río Muni borders on Cameroon in the north and Gabon in the east and south. The capital is the city of Malabo. Equatorial Guinea is divided into two provinces.
Constitution and government. Equatorial Guinea is a republic. As a result of the military coup of Aug. 3,1979, all legislative and executive power rests with the Supreme Military Council. The chairman of the council is also the chief of state.
Natural features. Equatorial Guinea is situated near the equator in the natural region of Lower Guinea. Río Muni is a highland, with elevations of 600–900 m; the maximum elevation is 1,500 m. A low-lying strip of land extends along the coast. The climate is equatorial and is humid throughout the year. The average monthly temperature is 24°–28°C, and annual precipitation exceeds 2,000 mm, reaching 2,500 mm on the islands. The country has a dense network of broad rivers, which have many rapids and can be navigated only in their lower courses. The principal river is the Mbini.
Flora is represented by evergreen equatorial rain forests on red-yellow lateritic soils. More than 150 valuable wood species grow in the forests, including oil and coconut palms, Persian parrotia, and okume. The fauna of Equatorial Guinea is abundant and varied.
Population. More than 90 percent of the population of Equatorial Guinea is made up of members of the Fang and Bube (Bubi) peoples, who belong to the northwestern Bantu. The Fang inhabit primarily continental Guinea (Río Muni); the Bube constitute the indigenous population of Bioko. The coast of Río Muni is inhabited by a group of tribes known collectively as the playeros, who include the Benga, Balenge, Bujeba, Kombe (Combe), and Indowe. Although the dominant religion is Roman Catholicism, there are some Protestants, and part of the population still adheres to traditional forms of worship. The official language is Spanish. Equatorial Guinea uses the Gregorian calendar.
The average annual population increase between 1970 and 1974 was 1.7 percent. The economically active population numbers 103,000, of whom 78.7 percent are employed in agriculture (1970). The average population density exceeds 11 persons per sq km. The most populous regions are Bioko and the coastal area of Río Muni. The main cities are Malabo, with 45,000 inhabitants (1975), and Bata.
Historical survey. The island of Bioko was discovered by the Portuguese in the early 1470’s and named after its discoverer, the navigator Fernão do Po. In 1778 it passed to the Spanish, who did not permanently establish themselves on the island until 1843. At the same time, the Spanish fought with the local population for control over continental Guinea—Río Muni. In 1900, borders between the Spanish and French possessions on the mainland were drawn.
The Spanish colonialists cruelly exploited the local population, drove it from the most fertile lands, and introduced a system of forced labor. To deal with the labor shortage, the Spanish plantation owners recruited African workers from other African countries, chiefly Nigeria. For many years the people of Equatorial Guinea fought to liberate themselves, a struggle that intensified in the late 1930’s; in 1937, 1947, and 1959 mass demonstrations demanding independence took place. The first political parties, formed in 1959, devoted their energies to achieving national independence. In December 1960 Nigerian workers on Fernando Póo struck in protest against the tyrannical rule of the Spanish plantation owners.
In an attempt to disguise the colonial regime, Spain announced in 1960 the abolition of colonial status and the transformation of Fernando Póo and Río Muni into an overseas province. In January 1964 the regions were granted “internal autonomy,” and an autonomous government council and an autonomous general assembly were created in the colony. Four years later, the growth of the national liberation movement forced Spain to grant political independence to Spanish Equatorial Guinea. The independent Republic of Equatorial Guinea (REG) was proclaimed on Oct. 12,1968.
The United National Party was founded in 1970 and renamed the United National Workers’ Party in July 1972. AH previously existing political parties and mass organizations were dissolved. According to the new constitution of the Republic of Guinea, adopted in July 1973, the party “develops general policy for the nation” and sets the task of “abolishing once and for all the exploitation of man by man.” The role of the state in the economy is increasing. As a result of a military coup in August 1979, all power passed to the Supreme Military Council, which banned all political activity in the country.
In foreign policy, the REG has declared itself a nonaligned nation. It is a member of the UN and the Organization of African Unity. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and the REG were established on Dec. 7, 1968, and the two countries have signed agreements on economic and technological cooperation, cooperation in ocean fishing, and trade.
Political parties. The United National Workers’ Party (Partido Unico Nacional de los Trabajadores, or PUNT) was founded in 1970 and called the United National Party until July 1972. It is the only party in the country, and, in accordance with its charter, it unites the entire adult population of the REG. A youth and a women’s organization function under the auspices of PUNT.
Economic geography. Equatorial Guinea is an agricultural country, with two main economic sectors: the state sector and the private capitalist sector. In addition to encouraging private enterprise and attracting foreign capital, the government is committed to establishing state intervention in the national economy. A decree adopted in 1974 gave the state control over plantations abandoned by the Spanish. According to a law on foreign investments passed in 1975 the state must control more than 50 percent of the capital in any company. The 1973 constitution introduced a state monopoly over foreign trade; domestic trade is also in the hands of the state. A national monetary system and a central national bank have been created.
AGRICULTURE. The economy of Equatorial Guinea is based on agriculture. The main branches are land cultivation, which produces chiefly for export, and timber felling. Shifting hoe farming predominates in Río Muni, and a plantation economy predominates on the island of Bioko. The cultivated land takes up more than 150,000 hectares (ha), including 90,000 ha in Río Muni (approximately 4 percent of the mainland area) and more than 60,000 ha on Bioko (25 percent of the island’s area).
The principal export crops are cocoa and coffee. Cocoa is grown primarily on Bioko, which produces 90 percent of the harvest; cocoa plantings occupy 52,000 ha, including 42,000 ha on Bioko, which produced a harvest of 12,000 tons in 1976. Coffee, (of which 6,000 tons were harvested in 1977, is grown mainly in, Río Muni, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the total harvest. Oil palms produced 2,000 tons of seed kernels in 1976. The country’s 3,000 ha of banana trees yield a harvest of 12,000 tons. In addition to yams and other vegetables, crops grown for local consumption include rice, peanuts, sugarcane, and citrus fruits.
Animal husbandry is poorly developed. In 1975 there were 4,000 head of cattle, 32,000 sheep, and 8,000 goats. Commercial fishing, with a catch of 2,000 tons in 1976, and shrimping are of local importance. Río Muni is the principal timber region; 100,000 cu m were cut in 1975, primarily valuable wood species. Also of some economic importance are the fruit of wild oil palms and the sap of rubber trees.
INDUSTRY. Industry, which is little developed, is represented mainly by small cottage enterprises. Small plants for the production of palm oil produced 2,400 liters in 1976; there are also sawmills and wood-products enterprises. The output of electric power was 15.8 million kilowatt-hours in 1970.
TRANSPORTATION. Equatorial Guinea has 1,200 km of roads, including 400 km of tarred roads. There is maritime navigation. The country’s chief ports are Malabo, Bata, and Luba.
FOREIGN TRADE. In addition to cocoa, which accounts, on the average, for 40 percent of all exports, Equatorial Guinea exports coffee (20 percent of all exports), lumber, bananas, and oil-palm products. The country imports petroleum products, cement, textiles, food products, and other necessary commodities. The monetary unit is the ekuele.
S. IU. SOROKINA
Education. Education is compulsory for children from six to 14, and all educational institutions are state-run. There is little preschool education; elementary education continues for six years. In the 1973–74 school year more than 35,900 pupils were enrolled in elementary schools. Secondary education lasts four years at the partial secondary school and six years at the full secondary school. In the 1972–73 academic year more than 4,700 students were enrolled in the secondary schools. In that same year, 586 students attended vocational-technical schools, which have a course of instruction lasting three and one-half years. Elementary school teachers are trained at two three-year pedagogical schools, which had more than 200 students in the 1972–73 academic year. Citizens of Equatorial Guinea must go abroad for higher education. There is a library in Malabo.
V. Z. KLEPIKOV
Press and radio. Until mid-1975, Equatorial Guinea had two newspapers which were state owned and published in Spanish: Unidad de la Guinea Ecuatorial (founded 1937), a daily newspaper with a circulation of 1,000, and Libertad (founded 1970), a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 800. In mid-1975 publication of both papers was suspended because of national economic difficulties. At the end of 1975 the state-owned daily Diario de la Guinea Ecuatorial and Guinea Ecuatorial Revolucionaria al Dia, issued irregularly, first appeared; publication of Libertad was resumed.
The country’s two state-owned radio stations are Radio Malabo, located in the city of Malabo, and Radio Ecuatorial, located in the city of Bata. Broadcasts are in Spanish and Fang. There is a television station in Malabo.