Yearbook 1999
Equatorial Guinea. Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of Equatorial Guinea. The ruling Democratic Party (Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, PDGE), won as expected in the March elections, but the victory became so overwhelming, with 75 seats out of 80, that even the former colonial power of Spain supported the opposition’s allegations of gross fraud. The largest opposition party, the Folkunionen (Unión Popular, UP), refused to take its four seats in parliament, and it was spoken within the opposition to call for an alternative government abroad.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of GNQ which stands for Equatorial Guinea and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
West African state, in the innermost part of the Gulf of Guinea. At a 2005 estimate, the population was 504,000. The concentration of extractive activities in the insular part has generated growing imbalances in the distribution of the population to the advantage of this region. The rate of demographic increase, despite the decrease in the birth rate, has slightly increased due to the increase in life expectancy at birth; however, international organizations still classify GE as a high health risk country.
After the recent entry into production of the new oil fields, the economy has seen strong growth and a decisive change in the production structure. In 2003 the GDP grew by 15 % and in 2004 by 20 %; industrial production has shown a huge rise (only in 2002 it has registered a growth of 30 %) as has the relative employment. In 2004 the secondary sector contributed 92.1% to the formation of GDP. Almost all the companies that manage this rapid process of productive transformation are in any case in foreign hands, as well as a large part of the infrastructure network, which is under construction. In terms of economic weight, agriculture has lost much of its importance. From a statistical point of view, the per capita income has increased (in 2004 it was 3698dollars), even if social and territorial imbalances have strongly accentuated. The gap between the traditional sectors (agriculture, mainly subsistence, and crafts) and those of very recent settlement linked to the oil sector is considerable, and a very large part of the population has remained extraneous to the new dynamics of development. Continued deforestation is generating serious environmental problems whose costs are completely incompatible with the scarce income from exporting timber.
Equatorial Guinea – Malabo
Malabo
Malabo, until 1973 Santa Isabel, capital of Equatorial Guinea; 187,300 residents (2012). Malabo, located on the island of Bioko (formerly Fernando Póo), is the country’s commercial and financial center. The city has a port with exports of cocoa, wood products and coffee as well as an international airport. Malabo has experienced an economic upswing since the country’s oil recovery took off in the mid-1990s.
Malabo was founded in 1827.
