Equatorial Guinea Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Equatorial Guinea Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial, FAGE): Equatorial Guinea National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, GNGE (Army)), Navy, Air Force; Gendarmerie (2022)

note: the Gendarmerie reports to the Ministry of National Defense and is responsible for security outside cities and for special events; military personnel also fulfill some police functions in border areas, sensitive sites, and high-traffic areas

Military expenditures

1.3% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.5% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $270 million)

1.1% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $230 million)

1.1% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $250 million)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 1,500 active duty troops; approximately 500 Gendarmerie (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the FAGE is armed with mostly older (typically Soviet-era) and second-hand weapons systems; in recent years, it has sought to modernize its naval inventory; Ukraine has been the leading provider of equipment since 2010 (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for selective compulsory military service, although conscription is rare in practice; 2-year service obligation; women hold only administrative positions in the Navy (2021)

Military - note

as of 2022, the FAGE’s National Guard (Army) had only three small infantry battalions with limited combat capabilities; the country has invested heavily in naval capabilities in the 2010s to protect its oil installations and combat piracy and crime in the Gulf of Guinea; while the Navy was small, it was well-equipped with an inventory that included a light frigate and a corvette, as well as several off-shore patrol boats; the Air Force possessed only a few operational combat aircraft and ground attack-capable helicopters

Maritime threats

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea remain a very high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships; in 2021, there were 34 reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea region; although a significant decrease from the total number of 81 incidents in 2020, it included the one hijacking and three of five ships fired upon worldwide; while boarding and attempted boarding to steal valuables from ships and crews are the most common types of incidents, almost a third of all incidents involve a hijacking and/or kidnapping; in 2021, 57 crew members were kidnapped in seven separate incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, representing 100% of kidnappings worldwide; Nigerian pirates in particular are well armed and very aggressive, operating as far as 200 nm offshore; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2022-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 4 January 2022, which states in part, "Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea"

NOTE: The information regarding Equatorial Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Equatorial Guinea 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Equatorial Guinea 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.