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Home  >  World  > Africa  > Equatorial Guinea General Information Area: 28,051 sq km (10,831 sq miles). Population: 442,000 (official estimate 1999). Population Density: 15.8 per sq km. Capital: Malabo. Population: 40,000 (1994). GEOGRAPHY: Equatorial Guinea is bordered to the south and east by Gabon, to the north by Cameroon and to the west by the Gulf of Guinea. The country also comprises the island of Bioko, formerly Fernando Poo, 34km (21 miles) off the coast of Cameroon, and the small offshore islands of Corisco, Great Elobey, Small Elobey and Annobón (formerly Pagalu). The mainland province, Rió Muni, is mainly forest, with plantations on the coastal plain and some mountains. Bioko rises steeply to two main peaks in the north and south. The southern area is rugged and inaccessible. Cultivation and settlements exist on the other slopes; above the farming land, the forest is thick. The beaches around the islands are extremely beautiful. Government: Republic. Declared independence from Spain in 1968. Head of State: President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasugo since 1979. Head of Government: Prime Minister Cándido Muatema Rivas since 1996. Language: Spanish and French are the official languages. The main African dialects spoken are Fang and Bubi (which is common on Bioko). Religion: No official religion, but the vast majority are Roman Catholic, with an Animist minority. Time: GMT + 1. Electricity: 220/240 volts AC. Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 240. Operator assistance may be required when making international calls from the country. Mobile telephone GSM 1800 network, operated by GETESA. Coverage limited to Malabo and a few other inhabited areas. Internet Main ISP is run by GETESA (website: www.intnet.gq). Post Service to Western Europe takes up to two weeks. Press Spanish language weekly publications include El Sol and Hoja Parroquial, produced in Equatorial Guinea. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.83 15.40 11.77 7.160 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd. Terms and Conditions apply.