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| Capital (and largest city) |
Santa Isabel | |||||
| Other Cities | Bata, Ebebiyín | |||||
| Language | Spanish | |||||
| Religion | Catholicism | |||||
| Demonym | Equatorial Guinean | |||||
| Established | 11 March 1778 | |||||
Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Guinea Equatorial) is an overseas province of Spain, created from the union of two Spanish provinces, the mainland area of Rio Muni and the islands of Fernando Pó and Annobón, both located in Central Africa: the two islands of Equatorial Guinea are in the Gulf of Guinea and are part of the same island chain which includes the Portuguese province of São Tomé and Príncipe, while the mainland area borders French Equatorial Africa to the south and east, the German colony of Cameroon to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The territories have been a part of the Spanish overseas empire since the 17th century, but were turned into a single entity only during the late 18th century.
The continental territory of Equatorial Guinea is mostly dominated by farmlands and rainforests, while the islands are hilly and sparsely wooded. Despite its relatively tiny size (especially when compared to the sprawling African possession of other European nations), Equatorial Guinea has a prosperous and diversified economy, based on oil extraction as well as agriculture, forestry and fishing. The population is largely composed of settlers of Spanish ethnicity and mixed race people, as the Spanish government encouraged mass immigration to the colony.