According to ezinereligion, in 2007, the population of Equatorial Guinea was estimated to be over 1 million people, composed mainly of Fang, Bubi and Ndowe ethnic groups. The official language was Spanish but several other languages were also spoken. The economy was largely based on exports of petroleum products, timber and cocoa. In terms of foreign relations, Equatorial Guinea had close ties with its neighbors Cameroon and Gabon and maintained diplomatic relations with several other countries such as the United States, China and Spain. Politically, Equatorial Guinea was a presidential republic led by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo since 1979 until his term ended in 2016. Following his term his vice president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo became President in 2016 and is still in power today.
Yearbook 2007
Equatorial Guinea. With the help of new production fields, Equatorial Guinea expected to increase oil production in 2007 from approximately 395,000 barrels per day to 570,000. China, which is very actively looking for raw materials in Africa, repaid a debt of US $ 75 million. China often offers low-cost loans, cheap industrial goods and large construction projects to enter the African markets, which have so far been dominated by former colonial powers and the United States.
According to CountryAAH, Malabo is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea also started negotiations on oil deliveries to Zimbabwe during the year, plagued by severe fuel shortages. The message was given shortly after the government of Zimbabwe decided to extradite British mercenary Simon Mann, who is convicted in Equatorial Guinea in his absence for participation in a coup attempt in 2004. Mann was arrested in Zimbabwe and sentenced to seven years in prison. The disclosure was postponed following an appeal.
Equatorial Guinea Geopolitics
Equatorial Guinea is a central African state whose territory includes two distinct zones: a continental one (Rio Muni) and an insular one, made up of the Annobón archipelago and the Bioko island (Ferdinando Poo), on which the capital is located., Malabo.
- According to abbreviationfinder: GQ is the 2-letter acronym for the country of Equatorial Guinea.
Independent of Spain since 1968, Equatorial Guinea has been governed since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, a high-ranking army officer and former defense minister who, in a coup, deposed the authoritarian regime of his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema.
Although a multi-party system has been formally in force in Equatorial Guinea since 1991, the government and administration of the main municipalities remain firmly in the hands of the president, his reference party (the Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, Pdge) and those of his restricted circle. of relatives and loyalists, all members of the Esangi clan, originally from the city of Mongomo. President Obiang, re-elected for the fourth time in 2009 with 95.4% of the votes, is, like the Angolan José Eduardo dos Santos, the head of state in office for several years in all of sub-Saharan Africa. In the legislative elections of May 26, 2013, the allies of the regime won almost all the seats. The current government structure is made up of 88 people including ministers and deputy ministers. His leadership policy has been consolidated over the years on the basis of the substantial marginalization of internal political opposition and the limitation of civil liberties and, at the same time, of the wealth that derives from the monopoly in the management of the huge proceeds of the extractive industry.
From the mid-1990s onwards, the discovery of significant oil and gas fields has given way to an extractive activity that currently covers almost all exports and has a weight on GDP – which has grown 60 times over the a decade – around 90%. This makes Equatorial Guinea the third largest producer in the sub-Saharan area. The country’s economy is therefore subject to fluctuations in the production and value of crude oil and the collapse in the price of oil had a strong negative impact on GDP, which reached -10.2%. Other minor components of GDP are forestry and agriculture, still practiced at a subsistence level. The government has declared that it wants to reinvest part of its oil revenues in agriculture, at the same time trying to solicit investments from abroad to diversify the economy. The country has other natural resources that are not exploited: gold, zinc, diamonds, columbite, tantalite and other base metals. The wealth of hydrocarbons also guides external relations: the exploitation of new fields has inaugurated new relations with Western powers and with the major industrialized countries. The companies that dominate the national oil industry are mainly American, although in recent years there has been a growing presence of Russia and China. Precisely the latter, guided by a principle of non-interference in the political affairs of its partners and strengthened by an unparalleled availability of credit, is proving to be an ideal ally for Malabo. Spain, on the European front,
Equatorial Guinea is one of the most corrupt countries in the world – 163 out of 177 countries in 2013, the latest figure available for the country – and also one of the poorest, as more than 50% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Furthermore, only 51% of its residents have access to drinking water and the infant mortality rate reaches 69.3%.