103-637: Elobey Grande , or Great Elobey , is an island of Equatorial Guinea , lying at the mouth of the Mitémélé River . It is sparsely inhabited. Elobey Chico is a smaller island offshore, now uninhabited but once the colonial capital of the Río Muni . The island is located in the Gulf of Guinea . This Equatorial Guinea location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea , officially
206-531: A coup in 1979 by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo , who has served as the country's president since. Both presidents have been widely characterized as dictators 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, and its gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita ranks 43rd in
309-530: A government-in-exile , many branches of government do not fully function, and has affected the constitutional roles of the institutions. Institutions parallel to government structures also have arisen within the Polisario Front, which is fused with the SADR's governing apparatus, and with operational competences overlapping between these party and governmental institutions and offices. A 2012 report mentioned
412-537: A Council of Ministers (a cabinet led by the Prime Minister), a judicial branch (with judges appointed by the President) and the parliamentary Sahrawi National Council (SNC; the present speaker is Hamma Salama ). Since its inception in 1976, the various constitutional revisions have transformed the republic from an ad hoc managerial structure into something approaching an actual governing apparatus. From
515-488: A March 2004 BBC profile, politics within the country were dominated by tensions with Obiang's son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue . In 2004, a planeload of suspected mercenaries was intercepted in Zimbabwe while allegedly on the way to overthrow Obiang. A November 2004 report named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt organized by Simon Mann . Various accounts also named
618-562: A US-based international private military company , has worked in Equatorial Guinea to train police forces in appropriate human rights practices. In 2006, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed Obiang as a "good friend" despite repeated criticism of his human rights and civil liberties record. The US Agency for International Development entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Obiang in April 2006 to establish
721-623: A ban on the death penalty to the constitution, and brought down the government in 1999 through a vote of no-confidence . The Sahrawi National Council is composed of 53 members, all from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro . The Sahrawi People's Liberation Army is the defence force of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and previously served as the armed wing of
824-424: A bloody coup d'état ; over two weeks of civil war ensued until Macías Nguema was captured. He was tried and executed soon afterward, with Obiang succeeding him as a less bloody, but still authoritarian president. In 1995, Mobil , an American oil company, discovered oil in Equatorial Guinea. The country subsequently experienced rapid economic development, but earnings from the country's oil wealth have not reached
927-579: A commitment to the principles of human rights and to the concept of a Greater Maghreb , as a regional variant of Pan-Arabism . Since August 1982, the highest office of the republic has been the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , a post held by the secretary-general of the Polisario Front, presently Brahim Ghali , who appoints the Prime Minister , presently Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun . The SADR's government structure consists of
1030-746: A government administration in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf Province of western Algeria. It is headquartered in Camp Rabouni, south of Tindouf , although some official events have taken place in towns in the Free Zone , including the provisional capitals, first Bir Lehlou until 2008, then Tifariti. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, but has control only within
1133-525: A loss of privileges and 'swamping' by the Fang majority, and the Río Muni Fang nationalists on the other. At the conference, the leading Fang figure, the later first president Francisco Macías Nguema , gave a controversial speech in which he claimed that Adolf Hitler had "saved Africa". After nine sessions, the conference was suspended due to deadlock between the "unionists" and "separatists" who wanted
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#17327752738881236-792: A major toll on European settlers from the beginning, and it would be centuries before attempts restarted. In 1778, Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Charles III of Spain signed the Treaty of El Pardo which ceded Bioko , adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the Bight of Biafra between the Niger and Ogoue rivers to Spain in exchange for large areas in South America that are now Western Brazil. Brigadier Felipe José, Count of Arjelejos formally took possession of Bioko from Portugal on 21 October 1778. After sailing for Annobón to take possession,
1339-657: A measure of influence there. For the USSR, there was an advantage to be gained in the war in Angola from access to Luba base and later on to Malabo International Airport . In 1974, the World Council of Churches affirmed that large numbers of people had been murdered since 1968 in an ongoing reign of terror . A quarter of the entire population had fled abroad, they said, while 'the prisons are overflowing and to all intents and purposes form one vast concentration camp'. Out of
1442-455: A military base near the city of Bata , causing 98 deaths and 600 people being injured and treated at the hospital. In November 2022, Obiang was re-elected in the 2022 Equatorial Guinean general election with 99.7% of the vote amid accusations of fraud by the opposition. The current president of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang. The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea gives him extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of
1545-417: A population of 300,000, an estimated 80,000 were killed. Apart from allegedly committing genocide against the ethnic minority Bubi people , Macias Nguema ordered the deaths of thousands of suspected opponents, closed down churches and presided over the economy's collapse as skilled citizens and foreigners fled the country. The nephew of Macías Nguema, Teodoro Obiang deposed his uncle on 3 August 1979, in
1648-575: A purge on Christmas Eve 1969, all of whom were political opponents. Macias Nguema further consolidated his totalitarian powers by outlawing opposition political parties in July 1970 and making 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 special relations with communist states , notably China, Cuba, East Germany and
1751-562: A referendum of 15 December 1963, gave the territory a measure of autonomy and the administrative promotion of a 'moderate' group, the Movimiento de Unión Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial [ es ] (MUNGE). This was unsuccessful, and, with growing pressure for change from the UN, Madrid was gradually forced to give way to the currents of nationalism. Two General Assembly resolutions were passed in 1965 ordering Spain to grant independence to
1854-599: A referendum on independence. It was endorsed by the UN in 2003. As Morocco has declined to participate, however, the plan appears dead. In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. A stalemate over
1957-508: A separate Fernando Pó. Macías resolved to travel to the UN to bolster international awareness of the issue, and his firebrand speeches in New York contributed to Spain naming a date for both independence and general elections. In July 1968 virtually all Bubi leaders went to the UN in New York to try and raise awareness for their cause, but the world community was uninterested in quibbling over the specifics of colonial independence. The 1960s were
2060-651: A social development fund in the country, implementing projects in the areas of health, education, women's affairs and the environment. In 2006, Obiang signed an anti-torture decree banning all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea, and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners. However, human rights abuses have continued. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other non-governmental organizations have documented severe human rights abuses in prisons, including torture, beatings, unexplained deaths and illegal detention. Obiang
2163-778: A socialist party called the Popular Front in the enclave which served to oppose the interests of the Fernando Pó plantation owners. When the War broke out Francisco Franco ordered Nationalist forces based in the Canaries to ensure control over Equatorial Guinea. In September 1936, Nationalist forces backed by Falangists from Fernando Pó, similarly to what happened in Spain proper, took control of Río Muni, which under Governor-General Luiz Sanchez Guerra Saez and his deputy Porcel had backed
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#17327752738882266-510: A time of great optimism over the future of the former African colonies, and groups that had been close to European rulers, like the Bubi, were not viewed positively. Independence from Spain was gained on 12 October 1968, at noon in the capital, Malabo. The new country became the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (the date is celebrated as the country's Independence Day ). Macías became president in
2369-610: Is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language. French and (as of 2010 ) Portuguese have also been made official, but they are not as widely used. Aside from the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , it is the only country situated in Mainland Africa where Spanish is an official language (Spanish is also spoken in the African parts of Spain: the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla). It
2472-472: 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 report also noted that Equatorial Guinea "does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so." Pygmies probably once lived in the continental region that
2575-661: Is also the most widely spoken language (considerably more than the other two official languages); according to the Instituto Cervantes , 87.7% of the population has a good command of Spanish. Equatorial Guinea's government is totalitarian 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
2678-606: Is not a member of the Arab League , nor of the Arab Maghreb Union , both of which include Morocco as a full member. Under the Baker Plan created by James Baker , former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan 's personal envoy to Western Sahara, the SADR would have been replaced with a five-year transitional Western Sahara Authority (WSA), a non-sovereign autonomous region supervised by Morocco, to be followed by
2781-482: 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 ,
2884-728: Is one of the two African states in which Spanish is a significant language, the other being Equatorial Guinea . The SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlou , Western Sahara. The SADR government calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone . Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory, and calls these lands its Southern Provinces . The claimed capital city of
2987-411: Is the 7th least democratic country in Africa . The Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea consists of approximately 2,500 service members. The army has almost 1,400 soldiers, the police 400 paramilitary men, the navy 200 service members, and the air force about 120 members. There is also a gendarmerie , but the number of members is unknown. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index , Equatorial Guinea
3090-450: Is the 94th most peaceful country in the world. Equatorial Guinea is on the west coast of 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
3193-465: Is very corrupt and 100 is extremely clean. Equatorial Guinea was the 174th lowest scoring nation out of a total of 180 countries. Freedom House, a pro-democracy and human rights NGO, described Obiang as one of the world's "most kleptocratic living autocrats", and complained about the US government welcoming his administration and buying oil from it. According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices , Equatorial Guinea
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3296-725: The Caudillo ' s paternal hand in Cameroun and Gabon. They formed two bodies: the Movimiento Nacional de Liberación de la Guinea (MONALIGE), and the Idea Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial (IPGE). By the late 1960s, much of the African continent had been granted independence. Aware of this trend, the Spanish began to increase efforts to prepare the country for independence. The gross national product per capita in 1965
3399-691: The African Union . With a population of about half a million, it is the most sparsely populated in Africa, and the second-most sparsely populated in the world. The name Sahrawi is the romanization of the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي , meaning 'Inhabitant of the Desert ', derived from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāʼ ( صحراء ), meaning 'desert'. Following the evacuation of the Spaniards, due to
3502-542: The CIA World Factbook , which makes the country one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The Catholic Church had an important presence during Spanish rule , with 20,000 Spanish Catholics present before Spain abandoned the territory (30% of the population). Today around 300 people in the Moroccan-controlled areas are Catholic (mostly of Spanish origin), being able to attend
3605-516: The Fang people in the 1920s, at the time that Liberia was beginning to cut back on recruitment. There were garrisons of the colonial guard throughout the enclave by 1926, and the whole colony was considered 'pacified' by 1929. The Spanish Civil War had a major impact on the colony. A group of 150 Spanish whites, including the Governor-General and Vice-Governor-General of Río Muni, created
3708-414: 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, 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 which is the only part of
3811-562: The Republic of Equatorial Guinea , is a country on the west coast of Central Africa , with 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 near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea . As of 2024 , the country had a population of 1,795,834, over 85% of whom are members of
3914-503: The Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara , is a partially recognized state , located in the western Maghreb , which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara , but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory . It is recognized by 44 UN member states and South Ossetia . Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as Spanish Sahara , a Spanish colony (later an overseas province). The SADR
4017-597: The Spanish colonisation in the late 19th century, and remains as the preferred second language of the Sahrawi, also enjoying a de facto working language status. In 2018, President Brahim Gali stated that the SADR is the only Arab country in the world where Spanish is an official language. Instituto Cervantes estimates that around 20,000 Sahrawis have limited competencies in Spanish The SADR acted as
4120-694: The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in El Aaiún and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Dakhla . Modern Standard Arabic is the sole constitutionally recognized official and national language of the Sahrawi Republic. Hassaniya , a variety of Arabic also spoken in neighbouring countries such as Mauritania , is the common vernacular language of the Sahrawi people . Spanish was introduced during
4223-641: The USSR . Macias Nguema signed a preferential trade agreement and a shipping treaty with the Soviet Union. The Soviets also made loans to Equatorial Guinea. The shipping agreement gave the Soviets permission for a pilot fishery development project and also a naval base at Luba . In return, the USSR was to supply fish to Equatorial Guinea. China and Cuba also gave different forms of financial, military, and technical assistance to Equatorial Guinea, which got them
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4326-567: The Windward coast continued. The Fernandinos became traders and middlemen between the natives and Europeans. A freed slave from the West Indies by way of Sierra Leone named William Pratt established the cocoa crop on Fernando Pó. Spain had not occupied the large area in the Bight of Biafra to which it had right by treaty , and the French had expanded their occupation at the expense of
4429-472: The 1991 ceasefire (see Settlement Plan ). On 27 February 2008, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti . Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province , Algeria , which house most of the Sahrawi exile community. A new 1999 Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic took a form similar to the parliamentary constitutions of many European states, but with some paragraphs suspended until
4532-708: The 26 May elections on 25 June. Interior minister Clemente Engonga refused to authorise the protest on the grounds that it could "destabilize" the country and CPDS decided to go forward, claiming constitutional right. On the night of 24 June, the CPDS headquarters in Malabo were surrounded by heavily armed police officers to keep those inside from leaving and thus effectively blocking the protest. Several leading members of CPDS were detained in Malabo and others in Bata were kept from boarding several local flights to Malabo. In 2016, Obiang
4635-570: The 500,000 inhabitants. Under international law , Morocco's transfer of its own civilians into Non-Self-Governing territory is in direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention . The predominant religion practiced by Sahrawis is the Maliki school of Sunni Islam , which is constitutionally recognized as the official religion of the SADR and a source of law. Virtually all Sahrawis identify as Muslim according to
4738-657: The British moved the headquarters of the Mixed Commission for the Suppression of Slave Traffic to Fernando Pó in 1827, before moving it back to Sierra Leone under an agreement with Spain in 1843. Spain's decision to abolish slavery in 1817 at British insistence damaged the colony's perceived value to the authorities and so leasing naval bases was an effective revenue earner from an otherwise unprofitable possession. An agreement by Spain to sell its African colony to
4841-487: The British was cancelled in 1841 due to metropolitan public opinion and opposition by Spanish Congress. In 1844, the British returned the island to Spanish control and the area became known as the "Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea". Due to epidemics, Spain did not invest much in the colony, and in 1862, an outbreak of yellow fever killed many of the whites that had settled on the island. Despite this, plantations continued to be established by private citizens through
4944-529: The Christy Report which brought down the country's president Charles D. B. King in 1930. By the late nineteenth century, the Bubi were protected from the demands of the planters by Spanish Claretian missionaries, who were very influential in the colony and eventually organised the Bubi into little mission theocracies reminiscent of the famous Jesuit reductions in Paraguay . Catholic penetration
5047-419: The Count died of disease caught on Bioko and the fever-ridden crew mutinied. The crew landed on São Tomé instead where they were imprisoned by the Portuguese authorities after having lost over 80% of their men to sickness. As a result of this disaster, Spain was thereafter hesitant to invest heavily in its new possession. However, despite the setback Spaniards began to use the island as a base for slave trading on
5150-446: The Free Zone. Several foreign aid agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and non-governmental organizations , are continually active in the camps. As of September 2022, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 85 states, at one time or another. Of these, 39 have "frozen" or "withdrawn" recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 29 UN states maintain an embassy from
5253-567: The Latin American and the Caribbean ( COPPPAL ) in 2006; the SADR ambassador to Nicaragua participated in the opening conference of the Central American Parliament in 2010, and a SADR delegation participated in the meeting of COPPPAL and International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Mexico City in 2012. On 27 February 2011, the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of SADR was held in Tifariti, Western Sahara. Delegations, including parliamentarians, ambassadors, NGOs and activists from many countries participated in this event. The SADR
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#17327752738885356-416: The Moroccan Green March , Spain , Morocco , and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on 14 November 1975, six days before Francisco Franco died. Morocco and Mauritania responded by annexing the territory of Western Sahara . On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the United Nations (UN) that as of that date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities, which left
5459-438: The Moroccan proposal led the UN, in an April 2007 "Report of the UN Secretary-General", to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution. The SADR was invited to participate in the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville , which would have been the country's debut at a major international sporting event. However, its thirteen athletes were not allowed to compete by
5562-482: The Movimiento de Protesta Popular (People's Protest Movement), were arrested. They were detained on 13 May. They called for a peaceful protest at the Plaza de la Mujer square on 15 May. Coordinator Enrique Nsolo Nzo was also arrested and taken to Malabo Central Police Station. Nsolo Nzo was released later that day without charge. Shortly after the elections, opposition party Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) announced that they were going to protest peacefully against
5665-597: The Polisario Front prior to the foundation of the Republic . The official currency of the SADR is the Sahrawi peseta ; though, in practice, the Algerian dinar and Mauritanian ouguiya are the main currencies used within the controlled territories. The Moroccan dirham is also accepted, though it is mainly only used in the Moroccan-occupied territories. All data about demographic information regarding Western Sahara are extremely error-prone, regardless of source. Most countries take censuses every ten years, and some every five in order to stay abreast of change and miscounts;
5768-408: The Republican government. By November, the Popular Front and its supporters had been defeated and Equatorial Guinea secured for Franco. The commander in charge of the occupation, Juan Fontán Lobé, was appointed Governor-General by Franco and began to exert more Spanish control over the enclave interior. Río Muni officially had a little over 100,000 people in the 1930s; escape into Cameroun or Gabon
5871-406: The SADR is El Aaiún (the capital of the territory of Western Sahara). Since the SADR does not control El Aaiún, it has established a temporary capital in Tifariti , although most of the day-to-day administration happens in Rabuni , one of the Sahrawi refugee camps located in Tindouf , Algeria . The SADR maintains diplomatic relations with 46 United Nations states, and is a full member of
5974-420: The SADR, with Vietnam being the only nation not hosting an embassy but only sending their own mission Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states . Six UN states have other diplomatic relations, while a further nine UN nations and South Ossetia also recognize the state either by previous regimes or through international agreements in the past, but do not have any active relations at the moment (see foreign relations of
6077-416: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for more details). Paraguay, Australia, Brazil, and Sweden have all internally voted to recognize the SADR, but none have yet ratified it. Although it is not recognized by the UN, the SADR has held full membership of the African Union (AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity , OAU) since 1982. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest during 1984, and from
6180-477: The United Kingdom's MI6 , the United States' CIA , and Spain as tacit supporters of the coup attempt. Nevertheless, the Amnesty International report released in June 2005 on the ensuing trial of those allegedly involved highlighted the prosecution's failure to produce conclusive evidence that a coup attempt had actually taken place. Simon Mann was released from prison on 3 November 2009 for humanitarian reasons. Since 2005, Military Professional Resources Inc. ,
6283-438: The achievement of "full independence". Among key points, the head of state is constitutionally the Secretary General of the Polisario Front during what is referred to as the "pre-independence phase", with provision in the constitution that on independence, Polisario is supposed to be dismantled or separated completely from the government structure. Provisions are detailed for a transitory phase beginning with independence, in which
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#17327752738886386-517: The breakaway state fled to the island. The International Committee of the Red Cross began running relief flights out of Equatorial Guinea, but Macías quickly shut the flights down, refusing to allow them to fly diesel fuel for their trucks nor oxygen tanks for medical operations. The Biafran separatists were starved into submission without international backing. After the Public Prosecutor complained about "excesses and maltreatment" by government officials, Macías had 150 alleged coup-plotters executed in
6489-432: The cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and serving as commander in chief of the armed forces. According to Human Rights Watch , the dictatorship of President Obiang used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people. Since August 1979, some 12 perceived unsuccessful coup attempts have occurred. According to
6592-419: 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
6695-551: The coast, especially in the Muni River estuary. The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests ecoregion covers most of Bioko and the adjacent portions of Cameroon and Nigeria on the African mainland, and the Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests ecoregion covers the highlands of Bioko and nearby Mount Cameroon . The São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests ecoregion covers all of Annobón, as well as São Tomé and Príncipe. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , also known as
6798-475: The colony of Spanish Guinea . The economy was based on large cacao and coffee plantations and logging concessions and the workforce was mostly immigrant contract labour from Liberia , Nigeria , and Cameroun . Between 1914 and 1930, an estimated 10,000 Liberians went to Fernando Po under a labour treaty that was stopped altogether in 1930. With Liberian workers no longer available, planters of Fernando Po turned to Río Muni. Campaigns were mounted to subdue
6901-426: The colony, and in 1966, a UN Commission toured the country before recommending the same thing. In response, the Spanish declared that they would hold a constitutional convention on 27 October 1967 to negotiate a new constitution for an independent Equatorial Guinea. The conference was attended by 41 local delegates and 25 Spaniards. The Africans were principally divided between Fernandinos and Bubi on one side, who feared
7004-423: The colony, where they quickly began to join the new group. To the local mix were added Cubans, Filipinos, Jews and Spaniards of various colours, many of whom had been deported to Africa for political or other crimes, as well as some settlers backed by the government. By 1870, the prognosis of whites that lived on the island was much improved after recommendations that they live in the highlands, and by 1884 much of
7107-437: The continental enclave of Río Muni, only 26,000 km out of the 300,000km stretching east to the Ubangi river which the Spaniards had initially claimed. The humiliation of the Franco-Spanish negotiations, combined with the disaster in Cuba led to the head of the Spanish negotiating team, Pedro Gover y Tovar , committing suicide on the voyage home on 21 October 1901. Iradier himself died in despair in 1911; decades later,
7210-473: The country and is organized from Spain mainly within the social-democratic Convergence for Social Democracy. Most of the media are under state control; the private television channels, those of the Asonga group, belong to the president's family. In their 2020 publishing, Transparency International awarded Equatorial Guinea a total score of 16 on their Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). CPI ranks countries by their perceived level of public corruptionwhere zero
7313-446: The country south of the equator . 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. The mainland region, Río Muni , is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east. It is the location of Bata , Equatorial Guinea's largest city, and Ciudad de la Paz ,
7416-520: The country's only free and fair election to date . The Spanish (ruled by Franco ) had backed Macías in the election; much of his campaigning involved visiting rural areas of Río Muni and promising that they would have the houses and wives of the Spanish if they voted for him. He had won in the second round of voting. During the Nigerian Civil War , Fernando Pó was inhabited by many Biafra-supporting Ibo migrant workers and many refugees from
7519-466: The country's planned future capital. Río Muni also includes several small offshore islands, such as Corisco , Elobey Grande , and Elobey Chico . The country is a member of the African Union , Francophonie , OPEC , and the CPLP . After becoming independent from Spain in 1968, Equatorial Guinea was ruled by Francisco Macías Nguema . He declared himself president for life in 1972, but was overthrown in
7622-680: The existence of the Sahrawi Bar Association. In 2016, the bar association (going by the name Union of Sahrawi Lawyers) issued a report calling for the implementation of political and civil rights. Unfortunately, there is no clear indication as to how certain demographic groups, such as women, have fared in the legal field. The SNC is weak in its legislative role, having been instituted as a mainly consultative and consensus -building institution, but it has strengthened its theoretical legislative and controlling powers during later constitutional revisions. Among other things, it has added
7725-511: The insular Annobón Province , which is about 155 km (96 mi) south of the equator. Equatorial Guinea has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. From June to August, Río Muni is dry and Bioko wet; from December to February, the reverse occurs. In between it, there is a gradual transition. Rain or mist occurs daily on Annobón, where a cloudless day has never been registered. The temperature at Malabo, Bioko, ranges from 16 °C (61 °F) to 33 °C (91 °F), though on
7828-475: 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. The main island's rainy climate, extreme humidity and temperature swings took
7931-543: The last count was conducted in 1970, and even that data by colonial Spain is considered unreliable due to large nomadic populations. Following the 1975 Green March , the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of
8034-401: The late 1980s the parliament began to take steps to institute a division of powers and to disentangle the republic's structures from those of the Polisario Front, although without clear effect to date. Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions. The judiciary , complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court , operates in the same areas. As
8137-468: The minimal administrative machinery and key plantations had moved to Basile hundreds of meters above sea level. Henry Morton Stanley had labeled Fernando Pó "a jewel which Spain did not polish" for refusing to enact such a policy. Despite the improved survival chances of Europeans living on the island, Mary Kingsley , who was staying on the island, still described Fernando Pó as "a more uncomfortable form of execution" for Spaniards appointed there. There
8240-681: The nearby mainland. Between 1778 and 1810, the territory of what became Equatorial Guinea was administered by the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , based in Buenos Aires . Unwilling to invest heavily in the development of Fernando Pó, from 1827 to 1843, the Spanish leased a base at Malabo on Bioko to the United Kingdom which it had sought as part of its efforts to suppress the transatlantic slave trade . Without Spanish permission,
8343-479: The new constitution was not retroactive and the two-term limit would only become applicable from 2016. The elections on 26 May 2013 combined the senate, lower house and mayoral contests in a single package. Like all previous elections, this was denounced by the opposition, and it too was won by Obiang's PDGE. During the electoral contest, the ruling party hosted internal elections, which were later scrapped. Clara Nsegue Eyi and Natalia Angue Edjodjomo, coordinators of
8446-438: The policies of Portugal and France, notably in dividing the population into a vast majority governed as 'natives' or non-citizens, and a very small minority (together with whites) admitted to civic status as emancipados , assimilation to the metropolitan culture being the only permissible means of advancement. This "provincial" phase saw the beginnings of nationalism , but chiefly among small groups who had taken refuge from
8549-419: The population and the country ranks low on the UN human development index. 7.9% of children die before the age of 5, and more than 50% of the population lacks access to clean drinking water . President Teodoro Obiang is widely suspected of using the country's oil wealth to enrich himself and his associates. In 2006, Forbes estimated his personal wealth at $ 600 million. In 2011, the government announced it
8652-461: The port of Cogo was renamed Puerto Iradier in his honour. Land regulations issued in 1904–1905 favoured Spaniards, and most of the later big planters arrived from Spain after that. An agreement was made with Liberia in 1914 to import cheap labor. Due to malpractice however, the Liberian government eventually ended the treaty after revelations about the state of Liberian workers on Fernando Pó in
8755-461: The present SADR is supposed to act as Western Sahara's government, ending with a constitutional reform and eventual establishment of a state along the lines specified in the constitution. The broad guidelines laid down in the constitution for an eventual Western Saharan state include eventual multi-party democracy with a market economy . The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim , African and Arab people. The Constitution also declares
8858-434: The region devoid of any Administering Power. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking Polisario Front . The UN considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people , and maintains that the people of Western Sahara have a right to " self-determination and independence". The creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
8961-466: The second half of the 19th century. The plantations of Fernando Pó were mostly run by a black Creole elite , later known as Fernandinos . The British settled some 2,000 Sierra Leoneans and freed slaves there during their rule, and a trickle of immigration from West Africa and the West Indies continued after the British left. A number of freed Angolan slaves, Portuguese-African creoles and immigrants from Nigeria, and Liberia also began to be settled in
9064-557: The southern Moka Plateau, normal high temperatures are only 21 °C (70 °F). In Río Muni, the average temperature is about 27 °C (81 °F). Annual rainfall varies from 1,930 mm (76 in) at Malabo to 10,920 mm (430 in) at Ureka , Bioko, but Río Muni is somewhat drier. Equatorial Guinea spans several ecoregions . Río Muni region lies within the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion except for patches of Central African mangroves on
9167-527: The territory claimed by Spain. Madrid only partly backed the explorations of men like Manuel Iradier who had signed treaties in the interior as far as Gabon and Cameroon, leaving much of the land out of "effective occupation" as demanded by the terms of the 1885 Berlin Conference . Minimal government backing for mainland annexation came as a result of public opinion and a need for labour on Fernando Pó. The eventual treaty of Paris in 1900 left Spain with
9270-760: The time of South Africa 's admittance to the OAU in 1994 was the only African UN member not also a member of the AU, until it was readmitted on 30 January 2017. The SADR participates as a guest in meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement and the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership , over Moroccan objections to SADR participation. The SADR also participated in a conference of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of
9373-412: The world; however, the wealth is distributed extremely unevenly, with few people benefiting from the oil riches. The country ranks 144th on the 2019 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. Equatorial Guinea's nominal GDP per capita is $ 10,982 in 2021 according to OPEC. Since Equatorial Guinea
9476-453: Was $ 466, which was the highest in black Africa; the Spanish constructed an international airport at Santa Isabel, a television station and increased the literacy rate to 89%. In 1967, the number of hospital beds per capita in Equatorial Guinea was higher than Spain itself, with 1637 beds in 16 hospitals. By the end of colonial rule, the number of Africans in higher education was in only the double digits. A decision of 9 August 1963, approved by
9579-616: Was also a trickle of immigration from the neighboring Portuguese islands, escaped slaves, and prospective planters. Although a few of the Fernandinos were Catholic and Spanish-speaking, about nine-tenths of them were Protestant and English-speaking on the eve of the First World War, and pidgin English was the lingua franca of the island. The Sierra Leoneans were particularly well placed as planters while labor recruitment on
9682-440: Was announced that there would be two vice-presidents in clear violation of the constitution that was just taking effect. In October 2012, during an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN , Obiang was asked whether he would step down at the end of the current term (2009–2016) since the new constitution limited the number of terms to two and he has been reelected at least 4 times. Obiang answered he refused to step aside because
9785-573: Was easy. Fernando Pó thus continued to suffer from labour shortages. The French only briefly permitted recruitment in Cameroun, and the main source of labour came to be Igbo smuggled in canoes from Calabar in Nigeria . This resolution led to Fernando Pó becoming one of Africa's most productive agricultural areas after the Second World War . Politically, post-war colonial history has three fairly distinct phases: up to 1959, when its status
9888-450: Was furthered by two small insurrections in 1898 and 1910 protesting conscription of forced labour for the plantations. The Bubi were disarmed in 1917, and left dependent on the missionaries. Serious labour shortages were temporarily solved by a massive influx of refugees from German Kamerun , along with thousands of white German soldiers who stayed on the island for several years. Between 1926 and 1959, Bioko and Río Muni were united as
9991-401: 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
10094-400: Was limited to a maximum of two seven-year terms and would be both the head of state and head of the government, therefore eliminating the prime minister. The new constitution also introduced the figure of a vice president and called for the creation of a 70-member senate with 55 senators elected by the people and the 15 remaining designated by the president. In the following cabinet reshuffle, it
10197-491: Was planning a new capital for the country, named Oyala . The city was renamed Ciudad de la Paz ("City of Peace") in 2017. As of February 2016 , Obiang was Africa's second-longest serving dictator after Cameroon 's Paul Biya . Equatorial Guinea was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council 2018–2019. On 7 March 2021, there were munition explosions at
10300-568: Was proclaimed on 27 February 1976, as the Polisario declared the need for a new entity to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonial administration. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún (which is in Moroccan-controlled territory), the proclamation was made in the government-in-exile 's provisional capital, Bir Lehlou , which remained in Polisario-held territory under
10403-474: Was raised from "colonial" to "provincial", following the approach of the Portuguese Empire ; between 1960 and 1968, when Madrid attempted a partial decolonisation aimed at keeping the territory as part of the Spanish system; and from 1968 on, after the territory became an independent republic . The first phase consisted of little more than a continuation of previous policies; these closely resembled
10506-407: Was re-elected to serve an additional term in 2009 in an election the African Union deemed "in line with electoral law". Obiang re-appointed Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang in 2010. In November 2011, a new constitution was approved. The vote on the constitution was taken, though neither the text nor its content was revealed to the public before the vote. Under the new constitution, the president
10609-520: Was reelected for an additional seven-year term in an election that, according to Freedom House , was plagued by police violence, detentions and torture against opposition factions. Following the 2022 general elections , President Obiang's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea holds all of the 100 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and all of those in the Senate. The opposition is almost non-existent in
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