A typical African country is an arid savanna or rocky desert with rare oases. Equatorial Guinea is more fortunate in this regard – there is water, flowering greenery, and rich subsoil. But the inhabitants of this small state still live extremely poorly, and the corruption that flourishes in the country is primarily to blame.
Facts about Equatorial Guinea
- There are three official languages here, inherited from the colonialists – French, Spanish and Portuguese. In practice, few people here speak French, and Portuguese is not used at all.
- Equatorial Guinea produces a lot of oil, which brings a substantial income by African standards to the state treasury. However, at the same time, almost half of all local residents live in poverty.
- A person who owns a computer at a normal level is considered a good IT specialist here.
- The per capita income in Equatorial Guinea is comparable to some European countries, but due to the uneven distribution of these incomes, the social population here is divided monstrously in its own way. the scale of the abyss. There are either very rich, or poor, or very poor. There is practically no middle class.
- The soil in these parts is reddish in color. This feature is caused by its composition, and local landscapes in some places resemble Martian ones (interesting facts about Mars).
- For some reason, in Equatorial Guinea, the habit of drying clothes has taken root, laying them out directly on the ground, and not hanging them on suitable places like fences, as in other African countries.
- Oranges in local markets are sold already peeled. However, other fruits are usually sold «as is».
- A prerequisite for visiting Equatorial Guinea is a yellow fever vaccination certificate. Without it, a tourist will not even be let out of the airport.
- Local residents do not trust doctors, who are also catastrophically few in the country. Most of them prefer to turn to sorcerers in case of illness.
- Child mortality in Equatorial Guinea is monstrously high – every fifth child does not live to the age of 5.
- The Guinean authorities sell drinking water in neighboring countries, and this despite the fact that even within the country, not all residents have access to clean water.
- Arguing with people in uniform is a very bad idea in this country. De facto, the military obey only their command, but in practice their power is unlimited. In order not to attract their attention, you should not wear camouflage clothes in this country – this often becomes an excuse to shake off a hundred or two dollars from a tourist.
- Football is the most popular sport in Equatorial Guinea.
- The local currency is called the Central African franc. It is used here and in six other countries.
- Power outages are common here, especially during the rainy season. Even in the capital, electricity can be provided for 3-4 hours a day, and somewhere in the provinces it is often turned off for several months.
- The main sweetness here is fresh sugar cane. Guineans don’t have extra money for chocolate and ice cream, and cane is available everywhere.
- Equatorial Guinea’s weather forecasts are completely useless, as weather conditions change too often.