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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2024[update], the country had a population of 1,795,834, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts. The mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east. It has the majority of the population and is the location of Bata, Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Ciudad de la Paz, the country's planned future capital. Río Muni's small offshore islands include Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico. The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón. Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country's capital, Malabo. The Portuguese-speaking island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón.
Pygmies are the first confirmed inhabitants to settle in the area of present-day Equatorial Guinea, followed by a migration of Bantu-speaking groups in the 6th century BC. The Portuguese explorer Fernando Pó explored the area in 1472. Via the 1778 Treaty of El Pardo, Portugal ceded territories in the Bight of Biafra to Spain; the new territory was declared Spanish Guinea during the Scramble for Africa. Nearly 200 years later, it gained independence in 1968 under the bloody dictatorship of President Francisco Macías Nguema. He declared himself president for life in 1972, but was overthrown in a coup in 1979 by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has served as the country's president since. Obiang's regime has also been widely characterized as a dictatorship by foreign observers.
Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers. It has subsequently become the richest country per capita in Africa; however, the wealth is extremely unevenly distributed, with few people benefiting from the oil riches. The country ranks 133rd on the 2023 Human Development Index, with less than half the population having access to clean drinking water and 7.9% of children dying before the age of five.
Since Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language. French and (as of 2010[update]) Portuguese have also been made official. It is the only sovereign country in Africa where Spanish is an official language. Equatorial Guinea's government is authoritarian and sultanist and has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights. Reporters Without Borders ranks Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom. Human trafficking is a significant problem, with the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report identifying Equatorial Guinea as a source and destination country for forced labour and sex trafficking. The country is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Francophonie, OPEC, and the CPLP.
Pygmies likely once lived in the continental region that is now Equatorial Guinea, but are today found only in isolated pockets in southern Río Muni. Bantu migrations likely started around 2,000 BC from between south-east Nigeria and north-west Cameroon (the Grassfields). They must have settled continental Equatorial Guinea around 500 BC at the latest. The earliest settlements on Bioko Island are dated to AD 530. The Annobón population, originally native to Angola, was introduced by the Portuguese via São Tomé island.
The Portuguese explorer Fernando Pó, seeking a path to India, is credited as being the first European to see the island of Bioko, in 1472. He called it Formosa ("Beautiful"), but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer. Fernando Pó and Annobón were colonized by Portugal in 1474. The first factories were established on the islands around 1500 as the Portuguese quickly recognized the positives of the islands including volcanic soil and disease-resistant highlands. Despite natural advantages, initial Portuguese efforts in 1507 to establish a sugarcane plantation and town near what is now Concepción on Fernando Pó failed due to Bubi hostility and fever.
In 1778, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of El Pardo. The treaty ceded Bioko and adjacent islets along with commercial rights to the Bight of Biafra between the Niger and Ogoue rivers to Spain in exchange for large areas of modern-day western Brazil being ceded to Portugal. Brigadier Felipe José, Count of Arjelejos of the Spanish Navy formally took possession of Bioko from Portugal on 21 October 1778. While sailing to Annobón to take possession of it, Arjelejos died from a tropical disease contracted on Bioko and his fever-ridden crew mutinied. The crew, after having lost over 80% of their men to sickness, instead landed on São Tomé where they were imprisoned by Portuguese colonial authorities.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2024[update], the country had a population of 1,795,834, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts. The mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east. It has the majority of the population and is the location of Bata, Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Ciudad de la Paz, the country's planned future capital. Río Muni's small offshore islands include Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico. The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón. Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country's capital, Malabo. The Portuguese-speaking island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón.
Pygmies are the first confirmed inhabitants to settle in the area of present-day Equatorial Guinea, followed by a migration of Bantu-speaking groups in the 6th century BC. The Portuguese explorer Fernando Pó explored the area in 1472. Via the 1778 Treaty of El Pardo, Portugal ceded territories in the Bight of Biafra to Spain; the new territory was declared Spanish Guinea during the Scramble for Africa. Nearly 200 years later, it gained independence in 1968 under the bloody dictatorship of President Francisco Macías Nguema. He declared himself president for life in 1972, but was overthrown in a coup in 1979 by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has served as the country's president since. Obiang's regime has also been widely characterized as a dictatorship by foreign observers.
Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers. It has subsequently become the richest country per capita in Africa; however, the wealth is extremely unevenly distributed, with few people benefiting from the oil riches. The country ranks 133rd on the 2023 Human Development Index, with less than half the population having access to clean drinking water and 7.9% of children dying before the age of five.
Since Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language. French and (as of 2010[update]) Portuguese have also been made official. It is the only sovereign country in Africa where Spanish is an official language. Equatorial Guinea's government is authoritarian and sultanist and has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights. Reporters Without Borders ranks Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom. Human trafficking is a significant problem, with the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report identifying Equatorial Guinea as a source and destination country for forced labour and sex trafficking. The country is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Francophonie, OPEC, and the CPLP.
Pygmies likely once lived in the continental region that is now Equatorial Guinea, but are today found only in isolated pockets in southern Río Muni. Bantu migrations likely started around 2,000 BC from between south-east Nigeria and north-west Cameroon (the Grassfields). They must have settled continental Equatorial Guinea around 500 BC at the latest. The earliest settlements on Bioko Island are dated to AD 530. The Annobón population, originally native to Angola, was introduced by the Portuguese via São Tomé island.
The Portuguese explorer Fernando Pó, seeking a path to India, is credited as being the first European to see the island of Bioko, in 1472. He called it Formosa ("Beautiful"), but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer. Fernando Pó and Annobón were colonized by Portugal in 1474. The first factories were established on the islands around 1500 as the Portuguese quickly recognized the positives of the islands including volcanic soil and disease-resistant highlands. Despite natural advantages, initial Portuguese efforts in 1507 to establish a sugarcane plantation and town near what is now Concepción on Fernando Pó failed due to Bubi hostility and fever.
In 1778, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of El Pardo. The treaty ceded Bioko and adjacent islets along with commercial rights to the Bight of Biafra between the Niger and Ogoue rivers to Spain in exchange for large areas of modern-day western Brazil being ceded to Portugal. Brigadier Felipe José, Count of Arjelejos of the Spanish Navy formally took possession of Bioko from Portugal on 21 October 1778. While sailing to Annobón to take possession of it, Arjelejos died from a tropical disease contracted on Bioko and his fever-ridden crew mutinied. The crew, after having lost over 80% of their men to sickness, instead landed on São Tomé where they were imprisoned by Portuguese colonial authorities.
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