5 Fun Facts About Equatorial Guinea
- Fornax/Wikimedia
VIVA – Have you ever heard about Equatorial Guinea? This Equatorial Guinea is located on the west coast of Central Africa. This former Spanish colony is bordered by Gabon to the south and Cameroon to the north. Like the majority of countries in Africa, Equatorial Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the world.
In fact, Equatorial Guinea is the largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, boosting the country's economy. But unfortunately, the coffers of the money from the oil fields were instead used to build a new presidential palace in the capital city of Malabo.
Here are fun facts about Equatorial Guinea:
1. President who hasn't changed since 1979
Teodoro Obiang, presiden Guinea Khatulistiwa
- Amanda Lucidon/White House/Wikimedia
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the current president of Equatorial Guinea with his son serving as vice president. Since he became president, at least 12 attempts have been made to overthrow the government.
Reporting from WorldAtlas, Human Rights Watch considers his leadership to contain elements of a dictatorship. Some organizations also claim that the elections were held fraudulently.
2. Countries with the Worst Human Rights Violations
potret penduduk Guinea Khatulistiwa
- Miguel Obono Ekieme/Wikimedia
President Obiang's leadership was very chaotic because it made this country listed as the country with the worst human rights violations in the world according to the annual Freedom of The World survey. On a scale of 1 most free to 7 least free, Equatorial Guinea is in 7th position.
3. The Only African Country with Spanish as the Official Language
As stated above, this country was colonized by Spain on two separate occasions, from 1770 to 1810 and then 1844 to 1968. The strong influence of Spain in Equatorial Guinea made Spanish continue to be used until it became the official language.
4. A Country with Two Regions
Malabo, ibu kota Guinea Khatulistiwa
- Amitsawant0812/Wikimedia
Equatorial Guinea is divided into two regions, namely mainland and islands. Where the islands consist of Bioko Island which is located in the Gulf of Guinea, the capital city of Malabo is located on this island. Then there's Annobón Island, the only volcanic island part of the country south of the equator.
