• GDP: US$5.5 billion.
• Main imports: Petroleum sector equipment and other equipment.
• Main exports: Petroleum, methanol, timber, coffee, cocoa, bananas and spices.
• Main trade partners: Cameroon, Canada, China, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Italy, Spain, Taiwan (China), UK and USA.

During the 1990s, the long overdue development of the country’s oil and gas reserves – which now account for about a quarter of GDP – produced spectacular economic growth (up to 20 per cent annually) and such growth has persisted at a steady rate. Equatorial Guinea also has confirmed deposits of gold, uranium, iron ore, tantalum and manganese. Intervention by the IMF in the mid-1990s has led to restructuring of the public and financial sectors. A long legacy of maladministration, corruption (the country’s largest companies are still largely owned by members of the ruling family) and the lack of even the most basic services has hampered development. Nonetheless, Equatorial Guinea has made considerable economic strides in the last decade and on the basis of its oil will continue to make progress. Equatorial Guinea is a member of the Central African Customs and Economic Union (CEEAC) and the CFA Franc Zone, and receives large injections of foreign aid from a variety of sources.
BUSINESS: Business tends to be conducted in Spanish; few speak English or French.

Cámara de Comercio
Agrícola y Forestal de Malabo, Avenida de la Independencia 43, Apartado Postal 51, Bioko, Equatorial Guinea
Tel: (9) 2343.