Equatorial Guinea People - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

1,737,695 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)

adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Ethnic groups

Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Ndowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 est.)

Languages

Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes Fang, Bubi, Portuguese (official), French (official), Portuguese-based Creoles spoken in Ano Bom) 32.4% (1994 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Spanish audio sample:

Religions

Roman Catholic 88%, Protestant 5%, Muslim 2%, other 5% (animist, Baha'i, Jewish) (2015 est.)

Demographic profile

Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest and least populated countries in continental Africa and is the only independent African country where Spanish is an official language. Despite a boom in oil production in the 1990s, authoritarianism, corruption, and resource mismanagement have concentrated the benefits among a small elite. These practices have perpetuated income inequality and unbalanced development, such as low public spending on education and health care. Unemployment remains problematic because the oil-dominated economy employs a small labor force dependent on skilled foreign workers. The agricultural sector, Equatorial Guinea’s main employer, continues to deteriorate because of a lack of investment and the migration of rural workers to urban areas. About two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line as of 2020.

Equatorial Guinea’s large and growing youth population – about 60% are under the age of 25 as of 2022 – is particularly affected because job creation in the non-oil sectors is limited, and young people often do not have the skills needed in the labor market. Equatorial Guinean children frequently enter school late, have poor attendance, and have high dropout rates. Thousands of Equatorial Guineans fled across the border to Gabon in the 1970s to escape the dictatorship of Francisco MACIAS NGUEMA; smaller numbers have followed in the decades since. Continued inequitable economic growth and high youth unemployment increases the likelihood of ethnic and regional violence.

Age structure

0-14 years: 36.05% (male 323,846/female 302,666)

15-64 years: 59.01% (male 561,260/female 464,130)

65 years and over: 4.94% (2023 est.) (male 44,561/female 41,232)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 72.2

youth dependency ratio: 66.7

elderly dependency ratio: 5.4

potential support ratio: 18.5 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 20.3 years

male: 19.9 years

female: 20.7 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

3.36% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

29.46 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

8.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

13.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

only two large cities over 30,000 people (Bata on the mainland, and the capital Malabo on the island of Bioko); small communities are scattered throughout the mainland and the five inhabited islands as shown in this population distribution map

Urbanization

urban population: 74.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

297,000 MALABO (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.21 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female

total population: 1.15 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

212 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 83.76 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 71.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.8 years

male: 61.53 years

female: 66.13 years (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.19 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

2.06 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

N/A

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 81.7% of population

rural: 32.1% of population

total: 67.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.3% of population

rural: 67.9% of population

total: 32.4% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure

3.8% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 81.2% of population

rural: 63.4% of population

total: 76.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.8% of population

rural: 36.6% of population

total: 23.8% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

animal contact diseases: rabies

note: on 27 March 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for Equatorial Guinea for an outbreak of Marburg virus disease; Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever spread by contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from Marburg; it is also spread by contact with contaminated objects (such as clothing, bedding, needles, and medical equipment) or by contact with animals, such as bats and nonhuman primates, who are infected with Marburg virus; infection with Marburg virus is often fatal and there are no approved vaccines or treatments for Marburg; avoid non-essential travel to mainland Equatorial Guinea; watch your health for symptoms of Marburg while in the outbreak area and for 21 days after leaving the outbreak area; consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health Notices for additional guidance (see attached map)

On 13 February 2023, Equatorial Guinea declared an outbreak of Marburg virus disease. Confirmed cases have been reported in multiple districts (see map). Avoid non-essential travel to the districts where the outbreak is occurring. Map courtesy of CDC.:

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 6.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 3.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 1.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

5.6% (2011)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

60.2% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

N/A

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.4%

female: 93% (2015)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 18.3%

male: 17.1%

female: 19.9% (2021 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Equatorial Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Equatorial Guinea 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Equatorial Guinea 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.