Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is a country on the west coast of Central Africa with an area of ​​28,000 square kilometers (11,000 square miles). Formerly a colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is reminiscent of places close to both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. As of 2015, the country's population is 1,225,367.

Equatorial Guinea consists of two regions, the island and the mainland. The island region consists of Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Po) in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobon, a small volcanic island south of the equator that is the only part of the country. Bioko Island is located at the northernmost tip of Equatorial Guinea and is home to Malabo, the capital of the country. The Portuguese-speaking island nation of Sao Tome and Principe lies between Bioko and Annobon. The mainland region of Riomni is adjacent to Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east. This is the location of Bata, the largest city in Equatorial Guinea, and Ciudad de Lapas, which is planned to be the country's future capital. Riomni also includes several small offshore islands such as Corisco, Erobay Grande and Erobay Chico. This country is a member of the African Union, Francophone, OPEC and CPLP.

After independence from Spain in 1968, Equatorial Guinea was ruled by the president for life Francisco Macías Nguema until his nephew Teodoro Obiang Guema Mubasogo became president of the country in a coup d'etat in 1979. Both presidents are widely characterized as dictators by foreign observers. Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of the largest oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, it has become Africa's wealthiest country, with a per capita purchasing power parity (PPP) adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) ranked 43rd in the world. However, wealth is so unevenly distributed that few people benefit from the wealth of oil. The country is ranked 144th in the 2019 Human Development Index, with less than half of the population having access to clean drinking water and one in twelve children dying under the age of five.

Equatorial Guinea became independent of Spain on October 12, 1968, but maintains Spanish as its official language, French and recently (as of 2010) Portuguese. Currently, it is the only African country where Spanish is the official language. It is also the most widely spoken language (much more than the other two official languages). According to the Cervantes Cultural Center, 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish.

The Equatorial Guinea government is authoritarian, holds one of the worst human rights records in the world, and is consistently ranked as the "worst and worst" in the Freedom House's annual political and civil rights survey. Reporters Without Borders ranks President Obiang among the "predators" of press freedom. Trafficking is a serious issue in the US Trafficking Report, which identifies Equator Guinea as the source and destination of forced labor and sexual trafficking. The report also said that Equatorial Guinea "does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, but is making great efforts to do so."