|
People
Population
Equatorial Guinea, a country approximately the size of Hawaii with a population of more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, is located in the bend of the west coast of Africa. The continental portion of the country, known as Rio Muni, constitutes 92 percent of the landmass. Approximately 75 percent of the population reside there; 22 percent of the population live on Bioko Island. About 25 percent live in the urban centers of Malabo and Bata, which together comprise about 40 percent of Equatorial Guinea's urban population.
Ethnicity
Most of the population trace their ethnic origins to Bantu roots, however, there is one dominant ethnic group in Equatorial Guinea. The Fang from the mainland constitutes approximately 75 to 80 percent of the population; consequently, they dominate politics and economics. On Bioko, the Bubi ethnic groups comprise about 15 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups, sometimes referred to as "Playeros," are found on the coast of Rio Muni and nearby islands; they include the Ndowe, the Kombe, the Balengues, the Bujebas, and the Bengas. Fernandinos -- a Creole community -- also reside on Bioko. The Annabonese, on the island of Pagalu (previously known as Annabon), are estimated at about 3,000 in number. Europeans -- most of whom are Spanish -- number less than 1,000. Together, these various groups make up the remaining 5 to 10 percent of the population.
Language
Spanish is the official language although French is also noted as an official language by some sources. Fang dominates everyday speech and can roughly be divided into Fang-Ntumu, which is spoken in the north of Rio Muni, and Fang-Okah, which is spoken in the south. Numerous African languages from the Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo and Bantoid linguistic families are also spoken within ethnic communities. Creole English (also known as "pidgin" English) is spoken.
Religion
About eighty percent of the population is Roman Catholic, however, other Christian denominations are also represented. There are also a number of animist religions practiced.
Health and Welfare
The population of Equatorial Guinea has a life expectancy at birth of approximately 62.37 years of age (61.4 years for males and 63.36 for females) and an infant mortality rate of 83.75 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to recent estimates. The HIV/AIDs infection rate is 3.4 percent. In terms of literacy, 85.5 percent of the population -- 78 percent of the female population and 93 percent of the male population -- age 15 and over, can read and write.
About 0.6 percent of GDP in this country is spent on educational expenditures. About 2.2 percent of GDP in this country is spent on health expenditures. The risk of infectious diseases in this country is very high. Food or waterborne diseases include bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; vectorborne diseases include malaria and yellow fever; animal contact diseases include rabies.
The discovery of oil in Equatorial Guinea in 1990 has increased the GNP dramatically. Increased production precipitated an increase in the GNP increase from 1999. Nonetheless, the standard of living for the average citizen has not seen much change as incomes continue to stagnate, despite oil wealth.
Equatorial Guinea has the dubious distinction of sharing being one of the few, along with Nigeria, Cameroon and Angola, significant oil producing countries that remain among the worst places in the world to live. Not surprisingly, these countries share both significant private investment initiatives and the highest corruption rates in the world.
Human Development
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries and territories, the HDI places Equatorial Guinea in the medium human development category, at 117th place. Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliograpy for list of research sources.
|