The economy of Equatorial Guinea has traditionally been dependent on commodities such as cocoa and coffee, but is now heavily dependent on petroleum due to the discovery and exploitation of significant oil reserves in the 1980s.[11] In 2017, it graduated from "Least Developed Country" status, one of six Sub-Saharan African nations that managed to do so.
However, despite the economic growth and improving infrastructure, the country has been ranked only 138th out of 188 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index in 2015 and despite its impressive GNI figure, it is still plagued by extreme poverty because its Gini coefficient of 65.0 is the highest in the entire world [citation needed]. After the oil pricecollapsed in 2014, the economy went into a free fall which put growth in a downward spiral from around 15% to −10%.
Pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings. In 1959 it had the highest per capita income of Africa which it still has, after several decades as one of the poorest countries in the world.
The discovery of large oil reserves in 1996 and their subsequent exploitation have contributed to a dramatic increase in government revenue. As of 2004,[12] Equatorial Guinea was the third-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its oil production had then risen to 360,000 barrels per day (57,000m3/d), up from 220,000 barrels per day (35,000m3/d) only two years earlier.
Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. However, the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture.[citation needed] A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvialgold (Mining in Equatorial Guinea). Growth remained strong in 2005 and 2006, led by oil.[citation needed]
In greater depth
Oil and gas exports have increased substantially and will drive the economy for years to come.[13] Real GDP growth reached 23% in 1999, and initial estimates suggested growth of about 15% in 2001, according to IMF 2001 forecast.[13] Per capita income grew from about $1,000 in 1998 to about $2,000 in 2000.[13] The energy export sector is responsible for this rapid growth.[13] Oil production has increased from 81,000 barrels per day (12,900m3/d) to 210,000 barrels per day (33,000m3/d) between 1998 and early 2001.[13] There is ongoing additional development of existing commercially viable oil and gas deposits as well as new exploration in other offshore concessions.[13]
Equatorial Guinea has other largely unexploited human and natural resources, including a tropical climate, fertile soils, rich expanses of water, deepwater ports, and an untapped, if unskilled, source of labor.[13] Following independence in 1968, the country suffered under a repressive dictatorship for 11 years, which devastated the economy.[13] The agricultural sector, which historically was known for cocoa of the highest quality, has never fully recovered.[13] In 1969 Equatorial Guinea produced 36,161 tons of highly bid cocoa, but production dropped to 4,800 tons in 2000.[13] Coffee production also dropped sharply during this period to bounce back to 100,000 metric tons in 2000.[13] Timber is the main source of foreign exchange after oil, accounting for about 12.4% of total export earnings in 1996–99.[13] Timber production increased steadily during the 1990s; wood exports reached a record 789,000 cubic meters in 1999 as demand in Asia (mainly China) gathered pace after the 1998 economic crisis.[13] Most of the production (mainly Okoume) goes to exports, and only 3% is processed locally. Environmentalists fear that exploitation at this level is unsustainable and point out to the permanent damage already inflicted on the forestry reserves on Bioko.[13]
Consumer price inflation has declined from the 38.8% experienced in 1994 following the CFA franc devaluation, to 7.8% in 1998, and 1.0% in 1999, according to BEAC data.[13] Consumer prices rose about 6% in 2000, according to initial estimates, and there was anecdotal evidence that price inflation was accelerating in 2001.[13]
Equatorial Guinea's policies, as defined by law, comprise an open investment regime.[13] Qualitative restrictions on imports, non-tariff protection, and many import licensing requirements were lifted when in 1992 the government adopted a public investment program endorsed by the World Bank.[13] The Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea has sold some state enterprises.[13] It is attempting to create a more favourable investment climate, and its investment code contains numerous incentives for job creation, training, promotion of non-traditional exports, support of development projects and indigenous capital participation, freedom for repatriation of profits, exemption from certain taxes and capital, and other benefits.[13] Trade regulations have been further liberalized since implementation in 1994 of the ICN turnover tax, in conformity with Central African tax and custom reform codes.[13] The reform included elimination of quota restrictions and reductions in the range and amounts of tariffs.[13] The CEMAC countries agreed to replace the ICN with a value added tax (VAT) in 1999.[13]
While business laws promote a liberalized economy, the business climate remains difficult. Application of the laws remains selective.[13] Corruption among officials is widespread, and many business deals are concluded under non-transparent circumstances.[13]
There is little industry in the country, and the local market for industrial products is small.[13] The government seeks to expand the role of free enterprise and to promote foreign investment but has had little success in creating an atmosphere conducive to investor interest.[13]
The Equato-Guinean budget has grown enormously in the past 3 years as royalties and taxes on foreign company oil and gas production have provided new resources to a once poor government.[13] The 2001 budget foresaw revenues of about 154 billion CFA francs (154 GCFAF) (about U.S.$200 million), up about 50% from 2000 levels.[13] Oil revenues account for about two-thirds of government revenue, and VAT and trade taxes are the other large revenue sources.[13]
Year 2001 government expenditures were planned to reach 158 billion CFA francs, up about 50% from 2000 levels.[13] New investment projects represented about 40% of the budget, and personnel and internal and external debt payments represented about one-third of planned expenditures.[13]
The Equato-Guinean Government has undertaken a number of reforms since 1991 to reduce its predominant role in the economy and promote private sector development.[13] Its role is a diminishing one, although many government interactions with the private sector are at times capricious.[13] Beginning in early 1997, the government initiated efforts to attract significant private sector involvement through a Corporate Council on Africa visit and numerous ministerial efforts.[13] In 1998, the government privatized distribution of petroleum products.[13] There are now Total and Mobil stations in the country.[13] The government has expressed interest in privatizing the outmoded electricity utility.[13] A French company operates cellular telephone service in cooperation with a state enterprise.[13] The government is anxious for greater U.S. investment, and President Obiang visited the U.S. three times between 1999 and 2001 to encourage greater U.S. corporate interest.[13] Investment in agriculture, fishing, livestock, and tourism are among sectors the government would like targeted.[13]
Equatorial Guinea's balance-of-payments situation has improved substantially since the mid-1990s because of new oil and gas production and favorable world energy prices.[13] Exports totaled about francs CFA 915 billion in 2000 (1.25 G$US), up from CFA 437 billion (700 M$US) in 1999. Crude oil exports accounted for more than 90% of export earnings in 2000.[13] Timber exports, by contrast, represented only about 5% of export revenues in 2000.[13] Additional oil production coming on line in 2001, combined with methanol gas exports from the new CMS-Nomeco plant, should increase export earnings substantially.[13]
Imports into Equatorial Guinea also are growing very quickly.[13] Imports totaled francs CFA 380 billion (530 M$US), up from franc CFA 261 million (420 M$US) in 1999.[13] Imports of equipment used for the oil and gas sector accounted for about three-quarters of imports in 2000.[13] Imports of capital equipment for public investment projects reached francs CFA 30 billion in 2000, up 40% from 1999 levels.[13]
Equatorial Guinea's foreign debt stock was approximately francs CFA 69 billion (100 M$US) in 2000, slightly less than the debt stock in 1999, according to BEAC data.[13] Equatorial Guinea's debt service ratio fell from 20% of GDP in 1994 to only 1% in 2000.[13] Foreign exchange reserves were increasing slightly, although they were relatively low in terms of import coverage.[13] According to the terms of the franc CFA zone, some of these reserves are kept in an account with the French Ministry of Finance.[13]
Equatorial Guinea in the 1980s and 1990s received foreign assistance from numerous bilateral and multilateral donors, including European countries, the United States, and the World Bank.[13] Many of these aid programs have ceased altogether or have diminished.[13]Spain, France, and the European Union continue to provide some project assistance, as do China and Cuba.[13] The government also has discussed working with World Bank assistance to develop government administrative capacity.[13]
Equatorial Guinea operated under an IMF-negotiated Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) until 1996.[13] Since then, there have been no formal agreements or arrangements.[13] The International monetary Fund held Article IV consultations (periodic country evaluations) in 1996, 1997, and in August 1999.[13] After the 1999 consultations, IMF directors stressed the need for Equatorial Guinea to establish greater fiscal discipline, accountability, and more transparent management of public sector resources, especially energy sector revenue.[13] IMF officials also have emphasized the need for economic data.[13] In 1999, the Equato-Guinean Government began attempting to meet IMF-imposed requirements, maintaining contact with IMF and the World Bank representatives.[13] However, the newfound oil wealth allowed the government to avoid improving fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.[citation needed]
Infrastructure is generally old and in poor condition.[13]As of 2002[update], surface transport is extremely limited, with little more than 700 kilometres of paved roads.[13] The African Development Bank is helping to improve the paved roads from Malabo to Luba and Riaba; the Chinese are undertaking a project to link Mongomo to Bata on the mainland, and the European Union is financing an inter-states road network linking Equatorial Guinea to Cameroon and Gabon.[13] Road maintenance is often inadequate.[13]
Electricity is available in Equatorial Guinea's larger towns thanks to three small overworked hydropower facilities and a number of aged generators.[13] In 1999, national production was about 13 MWh. In Malabo, the American company, CMS-Nomeco, built a 10 megawatt electricity plant financed by the government, which came in line in mid-2000, and plans to double capacity are advancing.[13] This plant provides improved service to the capital, although there are still occasional outages.[13] On the mainland the largest city, Bata, still has regular blackouts.[13]
Water is only available in the major towns and is not always reliable because of poor maintenance and mismanagement.[13] Some villages and rural areas are equipped with generators and water pumps, usually owned by private individuals.[13]
Parastatal Getesa, a joint venture with a minority ownership stake held by a French subsidiary of Orange, provides telephone service in the major cities.[13] The regular system is overextended, but Orange has introduced a popular GSM system, which is generally reliable in Malabo and Bata.[13]
Equatorial Guinea has two of the deepest Atlantic seaports of the region, including the main business and commercial port city of Bata.[13] The ports of both Malabo and Bata are severely overextended and require extensive rehabilitation and reconditioning.[13] The British company, Incat, has an ongoing project with the government to renovate and expand Luba, the country's third-largest port which is located on Bioko Island.[13] The government hopes Luba will become a major transportation hub for offshore oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Guinea.[13] Luba is located some 50 kilometres from Malabo and had been virtually inactive except for minor fishing activities and occasional use to ease congestion in Malabo.[13] A new jetty is also being built at km 5 on the way from Malabo to the airport.[citation needed] It is a project mainly supposed to service the oil industry, but can also relieve the congested Malabo Port due to its closeness. The Oil Jetty at km 5 was supposed to open the end of March 2003. Riaba is the other port of any scale on Bioko but is less active. The continental ports of Mbini and Cogo have deteriorated as well and are now used primarily for timber activities.[citation needed]
There are both air and sea connections between the two cities of Malabo and Bata.[citation needed] As of 2002, a few aging Soviet-built aircraft constituted the national air fleet.[13] Since then, most Soviet-built aircraft have been replaced by ATR and Boeing.[citation needed] The runway at Malabo (3,200 m) is equipped with lights and can service aircraft similar to Boeing 777s and Ilyushin Il-76s.[13] The one at Bata (2,400 m) does not operate at night but can accommodate aircraft as large as Boeing 737s. Their primary users are the national airline (EGA) and a private company (GEASA).[13] Two minor airstrips (800 m) are located at Mongomo and Annobon.[13] There are international connections out of Malabo to Madrid and Zürich in Europe and to Cotonou, Douala and Libreville in West Africa.[13]
After a slow start, Equatorial Guinea has recently (as of 2002) emerged as a major oil producer in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most promising hydrocarbon regions in the world.[13] The main oil fields, Zafiro and Alba, both lie offshore of Bioko island.[13] In 1999 oil production was about five times its 1996 level; Zafiro Field, operated by ExxonMobil and Ocean Energy, produced about 100,000 barrels per day (16,000m3/d), and CMS Nomeco extracted approximately 6,700 barrels per day (1,070m3/d).[13] In 2002, production was nearly 200,000 barrels per day.[14]
In 1995 Mobil (now ExxonMobil) discovered the large Zafiro field, with estimated reserves of 400,000,000 barrels (64,000,000m3).[13][15] Production began in 1996. The company announced a 3-year U.S.$1bn rapid-development program to boost output to 130,000 barrels per day (21,000m3/d) by early 2001.[13] Progress was delayed due to a contractual dispute with the government and by unexpectedly difficult geology.[13] The difference with the government was eventually resolved.[13]
In 1998 a more liberal regulatory and profit-sharing arrangement for hydrocarbon exploration and production activities was introduced.[13] It revised and updated the production-sharing contract, which, until then, had favoured Western operators heavily.[13] As a result, domestic oil receipts rose from 13% to 20% of oil export revenue.[13] However, the government's share remains relatively poor by international standards.[13]
In 1997 CMS Nomeco moved to expand its operation with a U.S.$300m methanol plant.[13] The plant entered production in 2000 and helped boost natural gas condensate output from Alba field.[13]
In August 1999 the government closed bidding on a new petroleum-licensing round for 53 unexplored deepwater blocks and seven shallow-water blocks.[13] The response was small due to a combination of factors, including falling oil prices, restructuring within the oil industry, and uncertainty over an undemarcated maritime border with Nigeria (which was not resolved until 2000).[13]
In late 1999 Triton Energy, a U.S. independent, discovered La Ceiba in block G in an entirely new area offshore the mainland of the country.[13] Triton expected a U.S.$200m development program to enable La Ceiba and associated fields to produce 100,000 barrels per day (16,000m3/d) by late 2001, despite disappointments and technical problems at the beginning of the year.[13]
With an upturn in oil prices, exploration intensified in 2000.[13] In April 2000 U.S.-based Vanco Energy signed a production-sharing contract for the offshore block of Corisco Deep.[13] In May 2000, Chevron was granted block L, offshore Río Muni, and a further three production-sharing contracts (for blocks J, I, and H) were signed with Atlas Petroleum, a Nigerian company.[13]
In early 2001 the government announced plans to establish a national oil company, to allow Equatorial Guinea to take a greater stake in the sector and to facilitate the more rapid transfer of skills.[13] However, critics fear that such a company may become a vehicle for opaque accounting and inertia of the sort that has hindered development in neighbouring countries including Angola, Cameroon, and Nigeria.[13]
Since 2001 the government has created GEPetrol, a national oil company; and Sonagas, a national natural-gas company. The company EG LNG has been created to construct and operate the Bioko Island LNG plant and terminal. The plant began to operate in May 2007 and a second plant is now[when?] under development.[16]
Equatorial Guinea became a member of OPEC in May 2017.[17]
The economy of Angola remains heavily influenced by the effects of four decades of conflict in the last part of the 20th century, the war for independence from Portugal (1961–75) and the subsequent civil war (1975–2002). Poverty since 2002 is reduced over 50% and a third of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Since 2002, when the 27-year civil war ended, government policy prioritized the repair and improvement of infrastructure and strengthening of political and social institutions. During the first decade of the 21st century, Angola's economy was one of the fastest-growing in the world, with reported annual average GDP growth of 11.1 percent from 2001 to 2010. High international oil prices and rising oil production contributed to strong economic growth, although with high inequality, at that time. 2022 Trade surplus was &30B/2012 $48B
The economy of Brunei, a small and wealthy country, is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and village traditions. It is almost entirely supported by exports of crude oil and natural gas, with revenues from the petroleum sector accounting for over half of GDP. Per capita GDP is high, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing. The government has shown progress in its basic policy of diversifying the economy away from oil and gas. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion although it has taken steps to become a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 APEC forum. Growth in 1999 was estimated at 2.5% due to higher oil prices in the second half.
The economy of the Dominican Republic is the seventh largest in Latin America, and is the largest in the Caribbean and Central American region. The Dominican Republic is an upper-middle income developing country with important sectors including mining, tourism, manufacturing, energy, real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications and agriculture. The Dominican Republic is on track to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2030, and is expected to grow 79% in this decade. The country is the site of the single largest gold mine in Latin America, the Pueblo Viejo mine.Although the service sector is currently the leading employer of Dominicans, agriculture remains an important sector in terms of the domestic market and is in second place in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $7.4 billion in annual earnings in 2019. Free-trade zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. A leading growth engine in the Free-trade zone sector is the production of medical equipment for export having a value-added per employee of $20,000 USD, total revenue of $1.5 billion USD, and a growth rate of 7.7% in 2019. The medical instrument export sector represents one of the highest-value added sectors of the country's economy, a true growth engine for the country's emerging market. Remittances are an important sector of the economy, contributing $8.2 billion in 2020. Most of these funds are used to cover household expenses, such as housing, food, clothing, health care and education. Secondarily, remittances have financed businesses and productive activities. Thirdly, this combined effect has induced investment by the private sector and helps fund the public sector through its value-added tax. The combined import market including the free-trade-zones amounts to a market of $20 billion a year in 2019. The combined export sector had revenues totaling $11 billion in 2019. The consumer market is equivalent to $61 billion in 2019. An important indicator is the average commercial loan interest rate, which directs short-term investment and stimulates long-term investment in the economy. It is currently 8.30%, as of June 2021.
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2021, the country had a population of 1,468,777, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
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The gross domestic product (GDP) of Niger was $16.617 billion US dollars in 2023, according to official data from the World Bank. This data is based largely on internal markets, subsistence agriculture, and the export of raw commodities: foodstuffs to neighbors and raw minerals to world markets. Niger, a landlocked West African nation that straddles the Sahel, has consistently been ranked on the bottom of the Human Development Index, at 0.394 as of 2019. It has a very low per capita income, and ranks among the least developed and most heavily indebted countries in the world, despite having large raw commodities and a relatively stable government and society not currently affected by civil war or terrorism. Economic activity centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, re-export trade, and export of uranium.
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The economy of Yemen has significantly weakened since the breakout of the Yemeni Civil War and the humanitarian crisis, which has caused instability, escalating hostilities, and flooding in the region. At the time of unification, South Yemen and North Yemen had vastly different but equally struggling underdeveloped economic systems. Since unification, the economy has been forced to sustain the consequences of Yemen's support for Iraq during the 1990–91 Persian Gulf War: Saudi Arabia expelled almost 1 million Yemeni workers, and both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait significantly reduced economic aid to Yemen. The 1994 civil war further drained Yemen's economy. As a consequence, Yemen has relied heavily on aid from multilateral agencies to sustain its economy for the past 24 years. In return, it has pledged to implement significant economic reforms. In 1997 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved two programs to increase Yemen's credit significantly: the enhanced structural adjustment facility and the extended funding facility (EFF). In the ensuing years, Yemen's government attempted to implement recommended reforms: reducing the civil service payroll, eliminating diesel and other subsidies, lowering defense spending, introducing a general sales tax, and privatizing state-run industries. However, limited progress led the IMF to suspend funding between 1999 and 2001.
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Articles related to Equatorial Guinea include:
SEGESA is the national electricity company of Equatorial Guinea, with its head offices in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. It is the sole operator of the electricity sector of Equatorial Guinea. The company was created in November 2001 by a merger of the national rural electrification company SONER and the national electricity corporation ENERGE. In 2013 the company was reorganized into three units: SEGESA Comercial for distribution and sales, SEGESA Generación for generation activities and SEGESA Transmisión for transmission. The three units are overseen by SEGESA Holding.
As of 2017, Azerbaijan produced a range of metals and industrial minerals, including aluminum, bentonite, copper, gold, iodine, limestone, silver and steel.
The economy of Ivory Coast is stable and currently growing, in the aftermath of political instability in recent decades. The Ivory Coast's economy is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Almost 70% of the Ivorian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. GDP per capitaArchived 4 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine grew 82% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 360% in the 1970s, but this proved unsustainable and it shrank by 28% in the 1980s and a further 22% in the 1990s. This decline, coupled with high population growth, resulted in a steady fall in living standards. The Gross national product per capita, now rising again, was about US$727 in 1996. It was substantially higher two decades before.
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Equatorial Guinea and India maintain diplomatic relations.
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