1,737,695 (2023 est.)
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Fang 78.1%, Bubi 9.4%, Ndowe 2.8%, Nanguedambo 2.7%, Bisio 0.9%, foreigner 5.3%, other 0.7%, unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)
Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes Fang, Bubi, Portuguese (official), French (official), Fa d'Ambo spoken in Annobon) 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:
Roman Catholic 88%, Protestant 5%, Muslim 2%, other 5% (animist, Baha'i, Jewish) (2015 est.)
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.
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)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 72.2
youth dependency ratio: 66.7
elderly dependency ratio: 5.4
potential support ratio: 18.5 (2021 est.)
total: 21.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 22.5 years
female: 21.3 years
3.36% (2023 est.)
29.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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 
urban population: 74.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
297,000 MALABO (capital) (2018)
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.)
212 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 77.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 83.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 71.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 63.8 years (2023 est.)
male: 61.5 years
female: 66.1 years
4.19 children born/woman (2023 est.)
2.06 (2023 est.)
N/A
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.)
3.8% of GDP (2020)
0.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
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.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024)
animal contact diseases: rabies
8% (2016)
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.)
60.2% (2023 est.)
N/A
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.3%
male: 97.4%
female: 93% (2015)
NOTE: The information regarding Equatorial Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Equatorial Guinea 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Equatorial Guinea 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
