Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, 1979 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa and the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew his uncle in a coup in 1979 and has served as the country's president since. Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of the largest oil producers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The capital, since January 2026, is Ciudad de la Paz, and Bata is the largest city.
Seat of power: Ciudad de la Paz
Rulers
Teodoro Obiang
President of Equatorial Guinea, 1979 to today
He has led Equatorial Guinea since 1979, including as its second president since 1982. He ousted Macías in a military coup in 1979 and took control of the country as president and chairman of the Supreme Military Council. In 1987 Obiang founded the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), which was the country's sole legal party until 1992.
Portrait of Teodoro Obiang: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, file
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Culture
- Since Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language. French and (as of 2010) Portuguese have also been made official.
- As of 2025, the country has a population of 1,853,559, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the dominant ethnic group of the country.
- The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko Island, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
- Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts, and the mainland region, Río Muni, is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east.
Picture
Malabo is the oldest city in Equatorial Guinea and served as its former capital.
Image: Jmhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.