Background Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea, which gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 presidential and 1999 legislative elections were widely seen as being flawed.

NOTE: The information regarding Equatorial Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Equatorial Guinea Introduction 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Equatorial Guinea Introduction 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.