Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea Factbook

Equatorial Guineahas lived with repressive government for years. The current government does allow limited freedom of religion. Both the Roman Catholic church and traditional African religions are deeply ingrained in the culture of this needy land.

Equatorial Guineais a tiny piece of land and a few small islands located in western Africa along the Atlantic coast. It borders on Cameroon and Gabon. The climate is tropical with consistently hot, humid weather. The land is blessed with valuable natural resources.

Slightly more than 500,000 people live in Equatorial Guinea. The country is composed mostly of the native African Bantu people, but there are small Spanish speaking and Creole speaking communities.

The once prosperous economy completely collapsed in 1979. It slowly recovered over a period of years until oil was discovered. This has given a significant boost to the economy, but there is still much poverty in this land.

Equatorial Guineagained independence from Spain in October 1968. In 1969, a coup brought a Marxist regime to power. The military took power in 1979 and established a one-party presidential republic. While it officially operates under a multi-party system, the president has successfully manipulated the opposition parties to remain in power.

Under Spanish rule, all children were baptized Roman Catholic. All religions were fiercely repressed under the Marxist government. The current government grants limited freedom of religion.

The Roman Catholic church counts more than 90% of the population as members. The number of practicing Catholics is much lower. The practice of traditional African religions are fallen dramatically but still influences the culture. Pray that their power would be broken.

Evangelicals account for more than 3% of the population and continue to grow. The time under communism was a difficult one for evangelicals. They suffered much persecution, and many leaders compromised. There is now much mistrust and an influx of liberal theology. Bible training facilities were severely lacking but have improved in recent years.

Pray for missionaries as they minister under restrictions. Pray that the Lord would raise up more. Pray for a healing of the deep wounds caused by years of repressive government.

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