Equatorial Guinea (2001) | Libya (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.56% (male 103,909; female 102,946) 15-64 years: 53.68% (male 124,808; female 136,088) 65 years and over: 3.76% (male 8,178; female 10,131) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by ruthless leaders who have badly mismanaged the economy since independence from 190 years of Spanish rule in 1968. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 presidential and 1999 legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 37.72 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $43 million, including capital expenditures of $7 million (1996 est.) |
revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Malabo | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 296 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $290 million (1999 est.) | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John M. YATES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); US relations with Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Teodoro BIYOGO NSUEA chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $33.8 million (1995) | $8.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of the government's gross corruption and mismanagement. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. The country responded favorably to the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Boosts in production and high world oil prices stimulated growth in 2000, with oil accounting for 90% of greatly increased exports. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. |
Electricity - consumption | 19.5 million kWh (1999) | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 21 million kWh (1999) | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
85.71% hydro: 14.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; desertification | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote to a seven-year term; election last held 25 February 1996 (next to be held NA February 2003); prime minister and vice prime ministers appointed by the president election results: President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected with 98% of popular vote in elections marred by widespread fraud |
chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $860 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, timber, cocoa | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | US 62%, Spain 17%, China 9%, France 3%, Japan 3%, (1997) | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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) | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $960 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 12% (2000 est.) | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | insular and continental regions rather widely separated | - |
Highways | total:
2,880 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $300 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods and equipment | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 35%, France 15%, Spain 10%, Cameroon 10%, UK 6% (1997) | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Independence | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (1994 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 92.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (1999 est.) | 18.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.95 years male: 51.89 years female: 56.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total:
12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 26,035 GRT/27,927 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, combination bulk 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3 million (FY97/98) | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY97/98) | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
108,973 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
55,347 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun:
Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | violent windstorms, flash floods | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido Miko ABOGO]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY, mayor of Malabo]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 486,060 (July 2001 est.) | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.46% (2001 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 180,000 (1997) | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
0 km |
note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
Religions | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
poor system with adequate government services domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,000 (1996) | 380,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) |
Terrain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 4.88 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1998 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |