Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.1% (2003)
Transnational Issues El Salvador
Disputes - international:
in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed
areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but despite OAS
intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of
the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite
resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating
Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny
Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in
the Gulf of Fonseca
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana
produced for local consumption; domestic cocaine abuse on the rise
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
======================================================================
@Equatorial Guinea
Introduction Equatorial Guinea
Background:
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of
Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus
five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African
continent. President OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country for
over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President
MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. Although nominally a constitutional
democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as
well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being
flawed. The president controls most opposition parties through the
judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall
from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government
revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the
country's living standards.
Geography Equatorial Guinea