Country Research: Equatorial Guinea
General Description
Guinea is officially the "Republic of Guinea". It is a nation in West Africa. Its initial name was French Guinea. It is also called " Guinea-Conakry" sometimes to separate it from its neighboring Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The population of this nation is around ten million living in the area of two hundred forty-six thousand square miles. It has a crescent-like shape, and it curves by its limits from the west near the Atlantic Ocean. The country shares its borders with Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal in the north. The southern border has nations Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia. Rivers Niger, Senegal and Gambia, have their sources in the Guinea Highlands. It is a republic. In this nation, the President is the head of the Government.
Image 1 – National Flag and Motto of Equatorial Guinea
The nation follows the laws made by the Unicameral National Association. The people elect the members of this assembly directly. The Guinea Supreme Court leads the judicial branch and is the highest ad final Court in the country. There are eight regions of administration. These regions subdivided into thirty-three zones. The largest capital city is Conakry. It is also the biggest economic center. The second largest city is Nzerekore, which is in Southern guinea. (Usa, 2005) The other cities having a population of more than hundred thousand are Kaka, Boke, Labe, Gueckedou, Mamou and Kissidougou. The French is the language for expression in colleges, schools and agency of Government, media and security forces. It is predominantly an Islamic nation. They represent eighty-five percent of the population. Roman Catholics and Christians makeup ten percent of the population. The population is present in southern Guinee region. The Muslim and the Christian community interact with each other in a peaceful manner. (Usa, 2009)
Image 2 – Location of Equatorial Guinea In African Subcontinent
Products and Trade
For several decades, oil is the important constituent of exports of Equatorial Guinea's exports, imports and trade. The major role of it is in the export sector. The country can earn billions of dollars by exporting oil for the benefit of the national economy. Experts predict that the export of oil will have a significant role in export and import for the country as it is a major bread earner of the nation. By 2008, the nation exports included both goods and services like timber, methanol, cocoa and petroleum. The total financial value of the imports for Guinea is about five billion dollars. It also exports machines related to the oil industry. Other equipment's are in the import list. The United States of America is a gigantic trade partner for Guinea. It buys twenty percent of the export items of the nation. At the same time, Guinea imports nineteen percent of goods from the United States of America. China follows next to US being the second biggest trade partner for Guinea. It accounts for eighteen percent of the exports from the nation. It accounts for thirteen percent of its exports and imports. (Waters, 2009)
Image 3 – Major Export Partners of Equatorial Guinea
Economic Details and Analysis
Image 4- GDP of the Country in the years
Equatorial Guineas saw a major economic change in 1983 when it became a part of Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa.After this change, the country has its currency become the CFA or Communaute Financiere Africaine and linked it to French Franc. As the Frac phased out in 1999 to 2002, the CFA is not liked to Euro. The economic freedom score for Guinea is 44.4. In the 2014 index, the economy holds the 168th position. Now, it is 2.1 points more than the previous year. The per capita income is twenty-six thousand per annum. The unemployment rate is twenty-two percent and is growing at the speed of two percent. The money inflow from foreign investment is nearly two billion. The country is also suffering an inflation rate of six percent. Equatorial Guinea has made it possible by overcoming corruption, trade malpractices and changes in property rights. For nearly two decades, the economy of the nation is stagnant. The country is adapting financial freedom, monetary freedom, investment freedom and freedom from corruption to reach a double-digit growth. It also adapts business freedom and reduction in government spending. But still, the jurisdiction is weak and allows political interference making the execution of the law slightly weaker. A reform is needed to encourage the economic development. (Hull, 1986)
Social Indicators
The country had a noticeable increase in the population in the last decade. Guinea is a nation that has a number of 131 births per thousand adolescent girls between ages fifteen to nineteen. Equatorial Guinea is a high-income country in comparison to other countries in this continent. Forty-Four percent of the population in this nation is below eighteen in this nation. The primary school enrollment in this nation is ninety-one percent, which tells the country is making progress in child education.
Image 5 – Life Expectancy at Equatorial Guinea
The average life expectancy is fifty-three years as in the year 2012, making it an average amount. For males the life expectancy goes sixty years while for the female population it is sixty-two years, which is slightly higher. The infant mortality rate has become less from seventy-eight per thousand births to sixty-nine per thousand. This difference is not huge but suggests that efforts are being taken to reduce the deaths of children. This reduction will contribute to the base of the population pyramid of African continent has per female whereas overall it is 0.96 males per female. Total eighty-seven percent of the population can read and write. The Roman Catholic Church has had their influence in both religion and education. More educated resident speak English and hence it also becomes the most important foreign language to learn.
Current Political Situation
President Obiang Nguema Mbazogo ruled the nation since 1979. He is the head of the democratic party of Equatorial Guinea or PDGE. Ninety-Eight percent of the people gave their votes in his favor. He came to power after the terrorizing reign of Francisco Macias Nguema. Since 1990, the country is the biggest oil producer for the continent. The Transparency international has put Equatorial Guinea in the top 12 ranks in its list of most corrupt states. The president has long put revenues from oil as the state secret. The nation hit the headlines when a group of suspected mercenaries were travelling with a motive of overthrowing the President. The country is also infamous for limited press freedom. The freedom of expression did not exist till 2011 as the people were not allowed to criticize the government. It also welcomes views from abroad. There is extensive surveillance in visa and gives detention and harassment to foreign journalists. Majority of political parties are in association with PDGE. Independent parties like Peoples Union (UP) are put to harassment, pressure and arbitrary arrests. The US is a major partner for Equatorial Guinea and has taken multiple steps to put the nation in Global standards.
Cultural Norms
The ten million population of Guinea consists of twenty-four ethnic groups. The most prominent groups are the Fula group that consists of forty percent of the population. They are present in Fouta Djallon in Central Guinea. Thirty percent of the population is Mandinka or Malinke or Mandingo. These reside around the Kissidougou or Kaka prefectures. The western area inhabitants have Soussou comprising of twenty percent of the population. Other smaller ethnic groups make up ten percent of the population. About ten thousand non-Africans like Europeans, Lebanese and French, live in Guinea. Islam is the religion of the majority of people. Approximately eighty-five percent of the population is Muslim. Christians comprise of eight percent while other seven percent believe in traditional animist ideology. Muslims in Guinea are Sufi and Sunni. Shia has a relatively low population. The Christian groups comprise of Roman Catholics Baptists, Anglicans and other Evangelical groups. (Fegley, 1989)
International Relations
Equatorial Guinea is a complete member of International Community. It is in alliance with the UN as well as the nation of Africa. It is well-respected nation in African sub-Saharan region. It has a close relationship with USA. This diplomatic relationship is continuing since its independence from Spain in 1968. Since then, it is also a member of the UN. It is also a member of the UN agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO. The government of Equatorial Guinea sponsors the Research in Life Sciences. This award distinguishes organizations, individuals and institutions for research that contributes in the improvement of quality of human life. Equatorial Guinea also works with the Economic Community of Central African States or ECCAS, which promotes regional economic relations. The policy of the government is that of Non-Alignment. It is a part of the International Monetary fund, World trade organizations and the World Bank. It successfully hosted the African Summit in 2011. The nation uses its oil wealth to establish its international relational. It has established diplomatic undertakings in many countries. It is working with France, and other countries in the European Union to solve the conflict of Central African Republic. It has sent the armed forces to support humanitarian relations at an international level. The aim also includes programs to support education, sports and youth activities. Minister Monkey conforms continuation of military activities as a measure of peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts. (Fegley, 1989)
Recommendations
Equatorial Guinea most often goes unnoticed, in broader media coverage of the African continent. Businesses from foreign nations are bent towards this region as it is abundant with natural resources. Under the leadership of President Obiang, the nation is flourishing and transforming towards becoming a developed nation. However, there are recommendations to further speeding up this process. These are:
- Bringing various international bodies to work in Equatorial Guinea so that the people have international exposure.
- Need for revolution in productivity in agriculture that will help meeting the food requirements and also add to exports of the nation, boosting the economy.
- More focus on employment of youth as a majority of the population the in Equatorial Guinea in the ages of 18-35 years. This focus will help to advance towards a better future.
- For short and medium term, the country needs to aim at fishing industry. Good quality fish will establish Equatorial Guinea in international markets and reduce its dependency on other nations for fishing imports.
- The nation needs to reduce the effects of poverty through strategic long-term planning.
- The nation also needs a transparent social environment, which will reinstate the trust of people in its law structure and jurisdiction.
The above recommendations are also present in the Horizon 2020 vision for Equatorial Guinea. Many other plans related to education, healthcare, infrastructure, medicine, sciences are also present in the Millennium Development Goals.
Conclusion
A decade ago, the nation was placed amongst the poorest of the nations of the world. Now, it has made its point in the class of developing nations. This progress is a giant leap for Equatorial Guinea. The country is rapidly evolving. The nation has started its revival and were focusing only on the development and harnessing of its resources. The country is opening up to the modernization of its technology, human resources and training. It also adapts business freedom and reduction in government spending. But still, the jurisdiction is weak and allows political interference making the execution of the law slightly weaker. A reform is needed to encourage the economic development. Under the leadership of President Obiang, the nation is flourishing and transforming towards becoming a developed nation. However, there are recommendations to further speeding up this process. As the nation is concentrating on foundations of its Horizon 2020 plan, it is also aiding as a yardstick for both regional and national initiatives. Africa is adapting a changing ideology and perception, and Equatorial Guinea is playing a major role in this progress. (Browning, 2012)
References
Browning, Renee, (2012), Equatorial Guinea: Including Its History, the Annob N, the Cisco, and More, Earth Eyes Travel Guide
Corportae Author, (2014). Equatorial Guinea, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Fegley, Randall. (1989). Equatorial Guinea: An African Tragedy (American University Studies. Series XI: Anthropology and Sociology, Vol 39). Peter Lang Pub Inc.
Hull, Galen Spencer. (1986). A Small Business Agenda: The Story of Equatorial Guinea. University Press of America
Usa, Ibp, (2009). Equatorial Guinea: A ""Spy"" Guide (World ""Spy"" Guide Library). International Business Communications Publishing.
Usa, Ibp.(2005). Equatorial Guinea Country Study Guide, International Business Communications Publishing.
Waters, Mary Alice. (2009). Capitalism And Transformation of Africa, Pathfinder Press Publishing
