Country Comments

Equatorial Guinea is a small African country adjacent to Gabon and near the equator. It is currently sustainable but unless its population growth rate, due primarily to a high fertility rate of 4.5 children per mother, reduces drastically, its population will exceed the carrying capacity of the country in less than a decade.

The World Resources Institute noted the country is located in a region of high animal diversity, including 194 species of mammals, 418 birds, 91 reptiles and 3,250 species of plants. Over the last 35 years, agriculture and timber harvesting have taken their toll. Additional threats to the forest come from natural gas fields and oil exploration. Extensive hunting for food and trapping for the exotic pet trade are taking their toll on this country's wildlife.

The UN reports the country has a very low contraception percentage use for women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) and work still needs to be done in Equatorial Guinea to achieve gender equality. The proportion of women aged 20-24 years old who were married or in union before age 18 is 29.5%. As of February 2019, there were only 20% of parliament seats held by women. (UN Women)