Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Danny Philip
Population
685,991
584,578
Life Expectancy
62.750 years
74.420 years
Capital City
Malabo
Largest city
Bata (population: 173,046)
Honiara (population: 56,298)
Human Development Index
0.717
0.591
GDP per capita
$19,600 US
Literacy Rate
87%
%
Corruption Perception Index
1.7
2.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
6%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
22.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
12 October 1968 (from Spain)
Religions
nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Languages
Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
Exports
petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
External Debt
$1,051,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar 441.72 (2008 est.), 481.83 (2007), 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Area
28,051 km sq
28,896 km sq
Coastline
296 km
5,313 km
Climate
tropical; always hot, humid
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
