Claim: African countries border Gabon.

Equatorial Guinea -LRB- Guinea Ecuatorial , Guinée équatoriale , Guiné Equatorial -RRB- , officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea -LRB- República de Guinea Ecuatorial , République de Guinée équatoriale , República da Guiné Equatorial -RRB- , is a country located in Central Africa , with an area of 28000 km2 . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea , its post-independence name evokes its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea . Equatorial Guinea is the only sovereign African state in which Spanish is an official language . , the country had an estimated population of 1,222,245 .   Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts , an insular and a mainland region . The insular region consists of the islands of Bioko -LRB- formerly Fernando Pó -RRB- in the Gulf of Guinea and Annobón , a small volcanic island south of the equator . Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of the country 's capital , Malabo . The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón . The mainland region , Río Muni , is bordered by Cameroon on the north and Gabon on the south and east . It is the location of Bata , Equatorial Guinea 's largest city , and Oyala , the country 's planned future capital . Rio Muni also includes several small offshore islands , such as Corisco , Elobey Grande , and Elobey Chico . The country is a member of the African Union , Francophonie , OPEC and the CPLP .   Since the mid-1990s , Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africa 's largest oil producers . It is the richest country per capita in Africa , and its gross domestic product -LRB- GDP -RRB- adjusted for purchasing power parity -LRB- PPP -RRB- per capita ranks 43rd in the world ; However , the wealth is distributed very unevenly and few people have benefited from the oil riches . The country ranks 144th on the UN 's 2014 Human Development Index . The UN says that less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and that 20 % of children die before reaching the age of five .   The country 's authoritarian government has one of the worst human rights records in the world , consistently ranking among the `` worst of the worst '' in Freedom House 's annual survey of political and civil rights . Reporters Without Borders ranks President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo among its `` predators '' of press freedom . Human trafficking is a significant problem , with the U.S.Trafficking in Persons Report , 2012 , stating that `` Equatorial Guinea is a source and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking . '' The report rates Equatorial Guinea as a `` Tier 3 '' country , the lowest -LRB- worst -RRB- ranking : `` Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so . ''