Equatorial Guinea (2002) | Swaziland (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
45.53% (male 250,327; female 252,479) 15-64 years: 51.88% (male 276,186; female 296,728) 65 years and over: 2.59% (male 11,687; female 16,936) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. |
Birth rate | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
Capital | Malabo | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 296 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted |
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:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $225 million (2000 est.) | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo | chief of mission:
Ambassador Gregory L. JOHNSON embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
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 | Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) | $55 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 neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. 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. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports. | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 60% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives four-fifths of its imports and to which it sends two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2001 are strengthened by government millennium projects for a new convention center, additional hotels, an amusement park, a new airport, and stepped-up roadbuilding and factory construction plans. |
Electricity - consumption | 20.46 million kWh (2000) | 198 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 852 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 22 million kWh (2000) | 375 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; deforestation | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.7803 (January 2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997), 4.2706 (1996); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni |
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 for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
chief of state:
King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, timber, cocoa | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 January - 31 December | 1 April - 31 March |
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) | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 N, 10 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | insular and continental regions rather widely separated | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) |
Independence | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (1994 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates |
Infant mortality rate | 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2001 est.) | 6.4% (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, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 670 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | private sector 70%, public sector 30% |
Land boundaries | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; 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 March 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 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: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27.5 million (FY01) | $19.198 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (FY01) | 4.75% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
248,084 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
143,618 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | violent windstorms, flash floods | NA |
Natural resources | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] | Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president]; Swaziland Progressive Party or SPP [J. J. NQUKU, president]; Swaziland United Front or SUF [Matsapa SHONGWE, leader]
note: political parties are banned by the constitution promulgated on 13 October 1978; illegal parties are prohibited from holding large public gatherings; the organizations listed are political associations |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) | 1,104,343
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.45% (2002 est.) | 1.83% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bata, Luba, Malabo | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) | AM 7, FM 6 (2000) |
Radios | 180,000 (1997) | 155,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 0 km | total:
297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age |
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:
not a modern system domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1998) | 33,500 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 300 (1998) | 30,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 10 (2000) |
Terrain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1998 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |