26 Facts About Equatorial Guinea

Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers.

Equatorial Guinea's government is authoritarian and has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights.

Pygmies probably once lived in the continental region that is Equatorial Guinea, but are today found only in isolated pockets in southern Rio Muni.

Equatorial Guinea called it Formosa, but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer.

Between 1778 and 1810, the territory of what became Equatorial Guinea was administered by the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, based in Buenos Aires.

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In spite of his condemnation of Marxism, which he deemed "neo-colonialist", Equatorial Guinea maintained very special relations with communist states, notably China, Cuba, and the USSR.

Equatorial Guinea was tried and executed soon afterward, with Obiang succeeding him as a less bloody, but still authoritarian president.

The 1982 constitution of Equatorial Guinea gives him extensive powers, including naming and dismissing members of the cabinet, making laws by decree, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives, negotiating and ratifying treaties and serving as commander in chief of the armed forces.

In 2006, Obiang signed an anti-torture decree banning all forms of abuse and improper treatment in Equatorial Guinea, and commissioned the renovation and modernization of Black Beach prison in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners.

Equatorial Guinea was the 174th lowest scoring nation out of a total of 180 countries.

President Obiang's Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea holds 99 of the 100 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and all of those in the Senate.

Equatorial Guinea has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.

Equatorial Guinea is home to gorillas, chimpanzees, various monkeys, leopards, buffalo, antelope, elephants, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and various snakes, including pythons.

Oil companies operating in Equatorial Guinea include ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Kosmos Energy and Chevron.

Equatorial Guinea is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa .

Equatorial Guinea is a member of the Central African Monetary and Economic Union, a subregion that comprises more than 50 million people.

Equatorial Guinea tried to be validated as an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative –compliant country, working toward transparency in reporting of oil revenues and prudent use of natural resource wealth.

However, when Equatorial Guinea applied to extend the deadline for completing EITI validation, the EITI Board did not agree to the extension.

Yet despite its impressive GNI figure, Equatorial Guinea is plagued by extreme poverty brought about by Wealth Inequality.

Every airline registered in Equatorial Guinea appears on the list of air carriers prohibited in the European Union which means that they are banned from operating services of any kind within the EU.

Equatorial Guinea received Asians and native Africans from other countries as workers on cocoa and coffee plantations.

Equatorial Guinea has been a destination for fortune-seeking European immigrants from Britain, France and Germany.

Equatorial Guinea government has partnered with Hess Corporation and The Academy for Educational Development to establish a $20 million education program for primary school teachers to teach modern child development techniques.

Equatorial Guinea currently has no UNESCO World Heritage Site or tentative sites for the World Heritage List.

Equatorial Guinea was chosen to co-host the 2012 African Cup of Nations in partnership with Gabon, and hosted the 2015 edition.

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Equatorial Guinea is famous for the swimmers Eric Moussambani, nicknamed "Eric the Eel", and Paula Barila Bolopa, "Paula the Crawler", who attended the 2000 Summer Olympics.