Hello, everyone. Today, I’m going to introduce Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea is a small country in West Africa, located along the Gulf of Guinea. It consists of a mainland region and several islands. Its capital, Malabo, is located on Bioko Island, rather than on the mainland. The country has a population of about 1.8 to 1.9 million people.
You might be confused about Guinea and Equatorial Guinea. The reason is that they are two different countries, but long ago, Europeans called the western coast of Africa “Guinea.” Later, several countries were established in this region, and some of them included “Guinea” in their names. So, remember that Guinea and Equatorial Guinea are two different countries.
One interesting fact is that in 2026, the government officially designated Ciudad de la Paz on the mainland as the new capital. However, many government ministries and offices are still operating in Malabo and Bata.
To understand Equatorial Guinea, oil is a key part of its story.
In the 1990s, large amounts of oil and natural gas were discovered, and the country's economy grew extremely quickly. At one point, Equatorial Guinea became one of the major oil-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. From 1996 to 2004, its GDP per capita grew by an average of about 40% per year.
Because of this rapid growth, Equatorial Guinea was once known as a country with a relatively high income per person compared with other African countries.
However, there was a major problem. The economy became too dependent on oil. Oil and gas accounted for more than 80% of government revenue, and as the country's oil fields became older, oil production declined significantly.
So, in simple terms, Equatorial Guinea is a country that made a huge amount of money from oil, but has faced economic difficulties as oil production has declined.
Another interesting fact is that Spanish is one of its official languages, even though it is an African country. This is because Equatorial Guinea was once a Spanish colony. As a result, it is one of the very few countries in Africa where Spanish is an official language.
About its politics?
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been president since 1979. He was re-elected in 2022, and his ruling party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), maintains a dominant position in the country's national and local governments.
