Which continent is equatorial guinea

Population 1. Area 28, sq km 10, sq miles. Major languages Spanish, French, Portuguese. Major religion Christianity. Life expectancy 58 years. Currency Central African franc.

Mr Obiang Nguema is Africa's longest serving leader and has been described by rights organisations as one Africa's most brutal dictators. According to Human Rights Watch, the ''dictatorship under President Obiang has used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people''. He has been pursued in French courts for allegedly plundering state coffers to buy luxury homes and cars in France.

His son and vice-president, Teodoro 'Teodorin' Nguema Obiang, has been resisting attempts by the US administration to seize his assets, denying charges that they were obtained with allegedly corrupt funds taken from his country.

It is a neighboring country of Cameroon and Gabon. The residents of Rio Muni speak two main languages, Fang-Ntumu in the northern region and Fang-Okah in the southern part. Besides, they can communicate in Spanish.

The most prominent city in Equatorial Guinea, Bata, is situated at this mainland. The insular region is made up of two islands namely Bioko formerly Fernando Po until the s and Annobon. Bioko covers an area of 2, square kilometers, and it is apparently 40km away from Cameroon. Annobon, on the other hand, stretches an area of 17 square kilometers and is kilometers from the capital city, Malabo. It is a volcanic island and constitutes one of the most remote regions of Equatorial Guinea.

Corisco Bay is an island, but it does not form part of the insular region of the continental area. Equatorial Guinea's electricity generating capacity is more than adequate to meet demand on both the continent and the island of Bioko, although the power supply has been unreliable.

The country's distribution network has been incapable of delivering reliable electricity to end users, due to aging equipment and poor management, as demonstrated by regular blackouts in Malabo.

As a result, small diesel generators have been widely used as a back-up power source. A project to modernize the grid was scheduled for completion by Equatorial Guinea is estimated to have 2, megawatts MW of hydropower potential. Potable water is available in the major towns but is not always reliable because of poor maintenance and aging infrastructure; consequently, supply interruptions are frequent and prolonged in some neighborhoods.

A major project to upgrade the public water system in the cities of Malabo and Bata was expected to be completed in Some villages and rural areas are equipped with generators and water pumps, usually owned by private individuals.

Telecommunications have improved dramatically in recent years. Internet access is widely available and is increasing, providing improved access to information.

Equatorial Guinea has two of the deepest Atlantic seaports of the region, including the main business and commercial port city of Bata. The ports of both Malabo and Bata have been severely overextended. A half-billion dollar renovation project for the Port of Malabo is nearing completion, and a renovation of the Bata port was scheduled to begin soon.

In partnership with the U. Luba has become a major transportation hub for offshore oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Guinea. Luba is located some 50 kilometers from Malabo and was previously virtually inactive except for minor fishing activities and occasional use to ease congestion in Malabo.

The influx of oil workers has increased international air activity. Major international carriers now connect Malabo directly to Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, and Casablanca.

A major American airline announced that it is interested in beginning service to the airport in the capital, Malabo. The runway at Malabo's international airport 3, meters is equipped with lights and can service Boeing s. The runway at Bata 2, meters does not currently operate at night but can accommodate aircraft as large as Bs.

Bata is undergoing an upgrade with runway extension and expansion. Two minor airstrips meters located at Mongomo and on the island of Annobon have been extended and can now accommodate Bs. Air service between the island and continental territories is restricted to 5 small airlines.

Equatorial Guinea's oil reserves are located mainly in the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf of Guinea. Large amounts of foreign investment primarily by U. Equatorial Guinea's total proven oil reserves are estimated at 1. With the addition of LNG production that came on line in , total hydrocarbon production peaked in It is now in decline.

Three fields--Zafiro, Ceiba, and Alba--currently account for the majority of the country's oil output. It was originally to be the primary state-run institution responsible for the country's downstream oil sector activities. However, since its primary focus has become managing the government's stakes in various Production Sharing Contracts PSCs with foreign oil companies.

GEPetrol also partners with foreign firms to undertake exploration projects and has a say in the country's environmental policy implementation. In its recent block-licensing negotiations, Equatorial Guinea has pursued increases in the government's stake in new PSCs. Ceiba, Equatorial Guinea's second major producing oil field, is located just offshore of Rio Muni and is estimated to contain million barrels of oil. Production at Ceiba rose dramatically during the year period following improvements and upgrades to the facility.

Alba, Equatorial Guinea's third significant field was discovered in Original estimates of reserves at Alba were around 68 million barrels of oil equivalent BOE , but recent exploration has increased estimates significantly to almost 1 billion BOE.

Unlike the Zafiro or Ceiba fields, exploration and production at Alba has focused on natural gas, including condensates. Ceiba's discovery has significantly increased interest in petroleum exploration of surrounding areas, with many new companies acquiring licenses in exploration blocks further offshore in the Rio Muni basin.

International companies with interests in one or more exploration blocks include Chevron U. Equatorial Guinea's natural gas reserves are located offshore Bioko Island, primarily in the Alba and Zafiro oil and gas fields. Natural gas and condensate production in Equatorial Guinea expanded rapidly in the 5-year period following new investments by major stakeholders in the Alba natural gas field.

Alba, the country's largest natural gas field, contains 1. The world-class facility shipped its first product in May In early Marathon and the government announced tentative plans to construct and operate LNG trains 2 and 3, pending confirmation of feedstock gas from national and neighboring gas fields. GDP est. Real GDP growth rate est. Inflation rate est. Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, timber, small, unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, and uranium.

Agriculture est. Products --coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava tapioca , bananas, palm oil nuts, manioc, livestock, and timber. Industry est. Types --petroleum, natural gas, fishing, lumber. Services : 3. Trade: Exports est. Imports est. The constitution gives the president extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and calling legislative elections.

The president retains his role as commander in chief of the armed forces and maintains close supervision of military activity.

The prime minister is appointed by the president and operates under powers designated by the president. The prime minister coordinates government activities. The Chamber of Representatives is comprised of members elected by direct suffrage for 5-year terms. In practice, the Chamber has not demonstrated independence, and it rarely acts without presidential approval or direction. In July , the government appointed a new cabinet, including a new Prime Minister.

Following the presidential election results additional, though minor, changes to the cabinet were made in February The president appoints the governors of the seven provinces. Each province is divided administratively into districts and municipalities. The internal administrative system falls under the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Administration; several other ministries are represented at the provincial and district levels. The judicial system follows similar administrative levels.

At the top are the president and his judicial advisors the Supreme Court. In descending rank are the appeals courts, chief judges for the divisions, and local magistrates. Tribal laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict with national law.

The current court system, which often uses customary law, is a combination of traditional, civil, and military justice, and it operates in an ad hoc manner for lack of established procedures and experienced judicial personnel. The other official branch of the government is the State Council. The State Council's main function is to serve as caretaker in case of death or physical incapacity of the president. It comprises the following ex officio members: the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the President of the national assembly, and the Chairman of the Social and Economic Council.

Although the many abuses and atrocities that characterized the Macias years have been eliminated, the government continues to be dominated by the presidency.

Religious freedom is tolerated. Bubi and Fernandino parties on the island preferred separation from Rio Muni or a loose federation. Ethnically based parties in Rio Muni favored independence for a united country comprising Bioko and Rio Muni, an approach that ultimately won out.

The Movimiento para la Auto-determinacion de la Isla de Bioko MAIB , which advocates independence for the island under Bubi control, is one of the offshoots of the era immediately preceding independence. After the accession of Macias to power, political activity largely ceased in Equatorial Guinea. Opposition figures who lived among the exile communities in Spain and elsewhere agitated for reforms; some of them had been employed in the Macias and Obiang governments.

After political activities in Equatorial Guinea were legalized in the early s, some opposition leaders returned, but repressive actions continued sporadically. The country's first freely contested municipal elections were held in September Most observers agree that the elections themselves were relatively free and transparent and that the opposition parties garnered between two-thirds and three-quarters of the total vote.

In early January Obiang called for presidential elections. International observers agreed that the campaign was marred by fraud, and most of the opposition candidates withdrew in the final week.