Equatorial Guinea

One of the world’s least developed countries, despite having significant untapped resources of gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand, gravel, and clay, the central African nation of Equatorial Guinea is located on the Bight of Benin and is bordered by Cameroon and Gabon, covering 28,051 square kilometers (or about 10,831 square miles). Oil was discovered in the country in 1990, and Equatorial Guinea is now the third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the top 30 producers in the world. The combination of the successful oil industry and the lavish lifestyles of government and oil officials has earned Equatorial Guinea the nickname “Africa’s Kuwait.” Even with a per capita income of $25,700, which is the 58th-highest per capita income in the world, significant segments ...