Equatorial Guinea Map - Equatorial Guinea

Political Map of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea Map - Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Guinea Ecuatorial,[a] French: Guinée équatoriale, Portuguese: Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: República de Guinea Ecuatorial, French: République de Guinée équatoriale, Portuguese: República da Guiné Equatorial),[b] is a country located in Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name evokes its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Equatorial Guinea is the only sovereign African state in which Spanish is an official language. As of 2012, the country has a population of 1.6 million.[9]

Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts, an insular and a mainland region. The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko (formerly Fernando Pó) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón, a small volcanic island south of the equator. Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country's capital, Malabo. The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. The mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon on the north and Gabon on the south and east. It is the location of Bata, Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Oyala, the country's planned future capital. Rio Muni also includes several small offshore islands, such as Corisco, Elobey Grande, and Elobey Chico.

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Equatorial Guinea Map - Equatorial Guinea Satellite Image ...

Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers. With a population of almost three quarters of a million, it is the richest country per capita in Africa,[10] and its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita ranks 69th in the world;[11] However, the wealth is distributed very unevenly and few people have benefited from the oil riches. The country ranks 144th on the UN's 2014 Human Development Index. The UN says that less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and that 20% of children die before reaching the age of five.

Physical Map of Equatorial Guinea 

The authoritarian regime ruling Equatorial Guinea 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.[12] Reporters Without Borders ranks President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo among its "predators" of press freedom.[13] Human trafficking is a significant problem, with the US Trafficking in Persons Report, 2012, stating that "Equatorial Guinea is a source and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking." The report rates Equatorial Guinea as a "Tier 3" country, the lowest (worst) ranking: "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so."[14]

Equatorial Guinea Map / Geography of Equatorial Guinea 

Equatorial Guinea is in west central Africa. The country consists of a mainland territory, Río Muni, which is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south, and five small islands, Bioko, Corisco, Annobón, Elobey Chico (Small Elobey), and Elobey Grande (Great Elobey). Bioko, the site of the capital, Malabo, lies about 40 kilometers (25 mi) off the coast of Cameroon. Annobón Island is about 350 kilometers (220 mi) west-south-west of Cape Lopez in Gabon. Corisco and the two Elobey islands are in Corisco Bay, on the border of Río Muni and Gabon.

Equatorial Guinea lies between latitudes 4°N and 2°S, and longitudes 5° and 12°E. Despite its name, no part of the country's territory lies on the equator—it is in the northern hemisphere, except for the insular Annobón Province, which is about 155 km south of the equator. 

Atlas: Equatorial Guinea

Independence was conceded on 12 October 1968 and became the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with Francisco Macías Nguema elected as president.[21]

In July 1970, Macias Nguema created a single-party state and made himself president for life in 1972. He broke off ties with Spain and the West. In spite of his condemnation of Marxism, which he deemed "neo-colonialist", Equatorial Guinea maintained very special relations with socialist countries, notably China, Cuba, and the USSR. He signed a preferential trade agreement and a shipping treaty with the Soviet Union. The Soviets also granted loans to Equatorial Guinea.[22]

The shipping agreement granted the Soviets permission to establish a pilot project of fishery development and a naval base at Luba. The USSR was in return to supply fish to Equatorial Guinea. China and Cuba also gave different forms on financial, military, and technical assistance to Equatorial Guinea, which gave them a measure of influence in Equatorial Guinea. For the USSR, despite the unsavoury background of Macias Nguema, there was an advantage to be gained in the War in Angola by having access to Luba base and later on to Malabo International Airport.[22]

Political Map of Equatorial Guinea  

Towards the middle 1970s the Macias regime came under grave accusations of being guilty of mass killings. In 1974 the World Council of Churches affirmed that large numbers of people had been murdered since 1968 in a 'reign of terror' which continued. The same body claimed that a quarter of the whole population had fled abroad, while 'the prisons are overflowing and to all intents and purposes form one vast concentration camp'. On Christmas 1975, Macías Nguema had 150 alleged coup plotters executed.[23] Out of a population of 300,000, an estimated 80,000 were killed.[24][25] Apart from allegedly committing genocide against the ethnic minority Bubi people, he ordered the deaths of thousands of suspected opponents, closed down churches and presided over the economy's collapse as skilled citizens and foreigners left the country.[26]

Equatorial Guinea Travel Guide and Country Information

Teodoro Obiang deposed Macías Nguema on 3 August 1979, in a bloody coup d'état. Macias Nguema was tried and executed soon after.[27]

In 1995 an American company discovered oil in Equatorial Guinea and the country has subsequently experienced rapid economic development. Nevertheless, the earnings from the country's oil wealth have not been distributed amongst the population and the country ranks low on the UN human development index, 20% of children die before age 5 and more than 50% of the population lack access to clean drinking water.[28] President Teodoro Obiang is widely suspected of using the country's oil wealth to enrich himself[29] and his associates and in 2006 Forbes estimated his personal wealth at $600 million.[30]

In 2011, the government announced it was planning a new capital in the country, named Oyala.[31][32][33][34]

As of July 2014 President Teodoro Obiang is Africa's longest serving dictator.[35]

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For years, the official languages were Spanish (the local variant is Equatoguinean Spanish) and French,[5] Portuguese also being adopted as an official language later.[66][67] Spanish has been an official language since 1844. It is still the language of education and administration. 67.6% of Equatorial Guineans can speak it, especially those living in the capital, Malabo.[68]

Aboriginal languages are recognized as integral parts of the "national culture" (Constitutional Law No. 1/1998 January 21). Indigenous languages include Fang, Bube, Benga, Ndowe, Balengue, Bujeba, Bissio, Gumu, Pichinglis, Fa d’Ambô and the nearly extinct Baseke. Most African ethnic groups speak Bantu languages."[69]

Fa d’Ambô, a Portuguese creole, has vigorous use in Annobón Province, in Malabo (the capital), and among some speakers in Equatorial Guinea's mainland. Many residents of Bioko can also speak Spanish, particularly in the capital, and the local trade language Pichinglis, an English-based creole. Spanish is not much spoken in Annobón. In government and education Spanish is used. Noncreolized Portuguese is used as liturgical language by local Catholics.[70] The Annobonese ethnic community tried to gain membership in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). The government financed an Instituto Internacional da Língua Portuguesa (IILP) sociolinguistic study in Annobon. It documented strong links with the Portuguese creole populations in São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.[67]

Road Map of Equatorial Guinea 

Due to historical and cultural ties, in 2010 the legislature amended article four of the Constitution of Equatorial Guinea, to establish Portuguese as an official language of the Republic. This was an effort by the government to improve its communications, trade, and bilateral relations with Portuguese-speaking countries.[71][72][73] It also recognizes long historical ties with Portugal, and with Portuguese-speaking peoples of Brazil, São Tomé and Principe, and Cape Verde.

If accepted into the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), Equatorial Guinea would be able to access several professional and academic exchange programs and the facilitate cross-border circulation of citizens.[68] The adoption of Portuguese was one requirement to apply for CPLP acceptance. In addition, the nation has been told it has to adopt political reforms allowing for effective democracy and the respect for human rights.[74] The national parliament discussed this law in October 2011.[75]

Equatorial Guinea Guide -- 

Official Equatorial Guinean sources still do not treat Portuguese as an official language.[76] Furthermore, the introduction and presence of Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea has been minimal, with initial steps of limited television programs and introduction into education as a second language.[67]

In February 2012, Equatorial Guinea's foreign minister signed an agreement with the IILP on the promotion of Portuguese in the country.[77][78]

Equatorial Guinea State Map, State Map of Equatorial Guinea

But in July 2012 the CPLP again refused Equatorial Guinea full membership, primarily because of its continued serious violations of human rights. The government responded by legalizing political parties, declaring a moratorium on the death penalty, and starting a dialog with all political forces.[67][79] IILP secured land from the government for the construction of Portuguese language cultural centers in Bata and Malabo.[67] At its 10th summit in Dili in July 2014, Equatorial Guinea was admitted as a CPLP member. Abolition of the death penalty and the promotion of Portuguese as an official language were recommendations of that approval.[80]

Equatorial Guinea Map / Geography of Equatorial Guinea  

Under the regime of dictator Francisco Macias, education had been significantly neglected, with few children receiving any type of education. Under President Obiang, the illiteracy rate dropped from 73% to 13%,[5] and the number of primary school students has risen from 65,000 in 1986 to more than 100,000 in 1994. Education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14.[56]

The Equatorial Guinea government has partnered with Hess Corporation and The Academy for Educational Development (AED) to establish a $20 million education program through which primary school teachers participate in a training program to teach modern child development techniques.[85] There are now 51 Model Schools. The active pedagogy in the Model Schools will be a national reform.

Map of Equatorial Guinea

In recent years, with change in economic/political climate and government social agendas, several cultural dispersion and literacy organizations have been founded in the country, chiefly with the financial support of the Spanish government. The country has one university, the Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (UNGE), with a campus in Malabo and a Faculty of Medicine located in Bata on the mainland. In 2009 the university produced the first 110 national doctors.[51] The Bata Medical School is supported principally by the government of Cuba and staffed by Cuban medical educators and physicians. Equatorial Guinea predicts that it will have enough national doctors in the country to be self-sufficient within the next five years.[51]

Equatorial Guinea Political Map, Political Map of Equatorial  

Further information: Equatorial Guinea at the Olympics, Equatorial Guinea national football team, Equatorial Guinea women's national football team and Equatorial Guinea national under-16 basketball team

Equatorial Guinea was chosen to co-host the 2012 African Cup of Nations in partnership with Gabon, and hosted the 2015 edition. The country was also chosen to host the 2008 Women's African Football Championship, which they won. The women's national team qualified for the 2011 World Cup in Germany.

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Equatorial Guinea is famous for the swimmers Eric Moussambani, nicknamed "Eric the Eel",[93] and Paula Barila Bolopa, "Paula the Crawler", who had astoundingly slow times at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[94]

Equatorial Guinea Maps  

Equatorial Guinea Map - Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea Map - Equatorial Guinea