Overview of EQ. Guinea
A country in central Africa, Equatorial Guinea is situated between Gabon and Cameroon to the north and south, respectively. As of 2021, this coastal nation had a population of roughly 1.5 million people, with Malabo serving as its capital. Originally known as the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence moniker refers to its proximity to both the Gulf of Guinea and the Equator. Before gaining its independence, Equatorial Guinea supplied timber, coffee, and cocoa, primarily to Spain, its colonial
overlord, but also to Germany and the UK.
The 1996 discovery of significant oil reserves and the subsequent exploitation of those reserves led to a sharp rise in government revenue. Equatorial Guinea ranked third in SubSaharan Africa for oil production as of 2004. The World Bank reports that Equatorial Guinea has the highest GNI.
Economic Snapshots
A small coastal nation with more than 200 kilometers of coastline, Equatorial Guinea. The nation of sub-Saharan Africa is one of those in Africa’s upper middle-income income group of nations. She shares this status with Cape Verde Island as one of the few nations in Africa.
Equatorial Guinea’s Gross Domestic Product (2019 est.) is above $10 billion, and it is ranked 178 (41.1%) in terms of how easy it is to do business there. Equatorial Guinea has a GDP ranking of 131 and a 136 on the economic complexity index. Spanish is the official language of the nation, and 67.6% of the population speaks it.
French, Fang, Bubi, Portuguese, and other languages are also spoken. The majority of people in the country are Christians, however, there are also Muslims and other faiths. Equatorial Guinea’s industry generates petroleum, natural gas, and sawmills mills, while its agriculture produces coffee, cocoa, rice, yam, cassava, banana, palm oil, livestock, and tubers. Almost 57% of the population is under 25 years old, according to the age distribution. Agriculture contributed 2.5%, industry 54.6%, and services 42.9% to the GDP in 2017.