Demographics of Equatorial Guinea

Demographic features of the population of Equatorial Guinea include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Equatorial Guinea
Population pyramid of the Equatorial Guinea in 2020
Population	1,679,172 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	3.5% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	29.95 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	8.95 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	63.7 years
• male	61.44 years
• female	66.03 years
Fertility rate	4.26 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	78.33 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	13.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	38.73%
65 and over	3.92%
Sex ratio
Total	1.15 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.08 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.87 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Equatorial Guinean
Major ethnic	Fang (85.7%)
Language
Official	Spanish

Evolution of the Equatoguinean population between 1960 and 2017. Population data in hundreds of thousands of inhabitants.

Population

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the world factbook the total population was 1,679,172 in 2022.^[1] The proportion of children below the age of 14 in 2020 was 38.73%, 57.35% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.92% was 65 years or older.^[1][2]

	Total population[1]	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	226 000	34.2	60.1	5.6
1955	238 000	35.7	59.0	5.3
1960	252 000	37.0	57.9	5.0
1965	269 000	38.3	56.9	4.8
1970	291 000	38.7	56.7	4.6
1975	238 000	44.8	49.8	5.4
1980	221 000	43.7	50.3	6.0
1985	313 000	34.7	60.4	4.9
1990	374 000	37.7	57.8	4.5
1995	443 000	41.9	54.1	4.1
2000	520 000	42.6	53.8	3.7
2005	608 000	40.5	56.2	3.2
2010	700 000	39.2	57.9	2.9
2020	836 178	38.7	57.4	3.9

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Estimates or projections based on the 2015 population census.):^[3]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	762 309	692 480	1 454 789	100
0–4	105 834	94 783	200 617	13.79
5–9	95 293	87 387	182 680	12.56
10–14	80 324	67 341	147 665	10.15
15–19	63 880	56 442	120 321	8.27
20–24	55 868	55 468	111 337	7.65
25–29	69 467	57 220	126 687	8.71
30–34	62 193	45 737	107 930	7.42
35–39	51 020	37 076	88 096	6.06
40–44	45 960	34 449	80 409	5.53
45–49	34 786	31 335	66 121	4.55
50–54	32 362	31 237	63 599	4.37
55–59	19 607	22 577	42 183	2.90
60–64	15 812	21 214	37 026	2.55
65–69	10 963	13 040	24 003	1.65
70–74	7 758	13 040	20 798	1.43
75–79	5 987	10 121	16 108	1.11
80–84	2 804	7 201	10 005	0.69
85+	2 393	6 812	9 205	0.63
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	281 451	249 511	530 962	36.50
15–64	450 953	392 755	843 708	58.00
65+	29 905	50 214	80 119	5.51

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Equatorial Guinea not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[2]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950–1955	9 000	7 000	2 000	40.9	30.4	10.5	5.50	196
1955–1960	10 000	7 000	3 000	40.5	28.7	11.8	5.50	186
1960–1965	10 000	7 000	3 000	40.1	26.9	13.3	5.53	176
1965–1970	11 000	7 000	4 000	40.7	25.3	15.3	5.66	167
1970–1975	10 000	6 000	3 000	36.8	23.7	13.1	5.68	157
1975–1980	8 000	5 000	2 000	32.9	22.2	10.8	5.68	149
1980–1985	11 000	6 000	5 000	41.7	21.4	20.3	5.79	138
1985–1990	16 000	7 000	9 000	47.4	20.4	26.9	5.89	128
1990–1995	18 000	8 000	11 000	45.0	18.7	26.3	5.89	118
1995–2000	20 000	8 000	12 000	41.3	17.2	24.0	5.87	114
2000–2005	22 000	9 000	12 000	38.4	16.3	22.1	5.64	111
2005–2010	24 000	10 000	15 000	37.3	15.1	22.2	5.36	102
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[4]

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
2011	36.3	5.1 (4.4)	36.5	4.4 (3.8)	36.0	5.9 (5.1)

Fertility data as of 2011 (DHS Program):^[4]

Region	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Insular	4.3	8.4	5.0
Continental	5.4	9.2	6.0

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years[5]
1950–1955	34.48
1955–1960	35.99
1960–1965	37.49
1965–1970	38.99
1970–1975	40.50
1975–1980	42.04
1980–1985	45.54
1985–1990	47.21
1990–1995	49.35
1995–2000	51.75
2000–2005	53.57
2005–2010	54.93
2010–2015	56.84

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Equatorial Guinea[6]
Fang			85.7%
Bubi			6.5%
Ndowe (Playeros)			3.6%
Annobonese			1.6%
Other			1.4%
Bujeba			1.1%

Map of ethnic groups. 1. Fernandino (Malabo city and Luba)
2. Bubi (Bioko Island)
3. Igbo (far northwest)
4. Baka (Acot area)
5. Kwasio/Bujeba (Playeros)
6. Benga (Playeros)
7. Gabonese (Cocobeach City)
8. Annobonese (mixed Portuguese, Angolan, Spanish)
9. Annobonese Creoles (Annobon Island)
10. Fang

Native ethnic groups

The majority of the people of Equatorial Guinea are of Niger-Congo origin. The largest ethnic group, the Fang, are indigenous to the mainland, but substantial migration to Bioko Island has resulted in Fang dominance over the earlier Bubi inhabitants. The Fang constitute 80% of the population and are themselves divided into 67 clans. Those in the northern part of Rio Muni speak Fang-Ntumu, while those in the south speak Fang-Okah; the two dialects are mutually unintelligible. The Bubi, who constitute 15% of the population, are indigenous to Bioko Island.^{[citation needed]}

In addition, there are coastal ethnic groups, collectively referred to as Ndowe or Playeros ("Beach People" in Spanish): Combes, Bujebas, Balengues and Bengas on the mainland and small islands and a Fernandino community of Krio descended people on Bioko. Together, these groups compose 5% of the population.^{[citation needed]}

Two small groups of Pygmies also inhabit the country, the Beyele and the Bokuign,^[7] the former being located in the Altos de Nsork region.^[8] Their population is dwindling, them being subjected to heavy pressure from their neighbours, who don't even consider them as human.^[9]

Recently immigrated peoples

Some Europeans (largely of Spanish or Portuguese descent) – among them mixed with African ethnicity – also live in the nation. Most Spaniards left after independence. There is a growing number of foreigners from neighboring Cameroon, Nigeria, and Gabon. Equatorial Guinea received Asians and black Africans from other countries as workers on cocoa and coffee plantations. In the late 20th century, Equatorial Guinea became home to more than 80,000 Hispanics from Mexico, Central America, and other Spanish speaking nations in the Americas. 17,000^[10] Spanish people and 5,000^[11] Chinese people also live in Equatorial Guinea. The non-Africans living in Equatorial Guinea represent almost 10% of the nation's total population. Other black Africans came from Liberia, Angola, and Mozambique, and Asians are mostly Chinese with small numbers of Indians. Equatorial Guinea also allowed many fortune-seeking European settlers of other nationalities, including British, French and Germans. After independence, thousands of Equatorial Guineans went to Spain. Another 100,000 Equatorial Guineans went to Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria because of dictatorship of Francisco Macías Nguema. Some of its communities also live in Brazil, United States, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Portugal, and France.

Languages

See also: Pichinglis

Spanish, French and Portuguese are the official languages and spoken as second languages. Spanish is the language of education, and for this reason a majority of the population (about 88%) can speak it.^[12] Annobonese speak a Portuguese Creole, named Annobonese, as their first language. Asian migrants and descendants of European settlers (mostly Spaniards, Britons and Portuguese) usually speak their ancestral languages along with Spanish. Other Africans usually speak their native languages and their nation's official languages – English and Igbo^[13][14] for Nigerians; English for Cameroonians and Liberians; French for Cameroonians and Gabonese; and Portuguese for Angolans and Mozambicans. The latter was made an official language since July 13, 2007. 82% of first foreign language learners choose the French language and 18% the English language.^[15] The Roman Catholic Church has greatly influenced both religion and education.

Languages of traditional names

Equatoguineans tend to have both a Spanish first name and an African first and last name. When written, the Spanish and African first names are followed by the father's first name (which becomes the principal surname) and the mother's first name. Thus people may have up to four names, with a different surname for each generation.

Religion

Roman Catholic 88%, Protestant 5%, Muslim 2%, other 5% (animist, Baha'i, Jewish) (2015 est.)

Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 5%, Muslim 2%, other 5% (animist, Baha'i, Jewish) (2010 est.)^[16]

See also

• Equatorial Guinea