The constitutional basis is the Ley Fundamental, promulgated on 16 February 2012 after a referendum on 13 November 2011. It defines Equatorial Guinea as a sovereign, independent, social and democratic republic, recognises political pluralism and assigns sovereignty to the people. Spanish and French are official languages, while Indigenous languages form part of the national culture. The State claims exclusive rights over natural resources and hydrocarbons within its territory, which includes Río Muni, Bioko, Annobón and several smaller islands and surrounding waters and airspace. The President serves a seven-year term and, under the constitutional text, may hold no more than two consecutive mandates. The President determines national policy, leads and convenes the Consejo de Ministros, sanctions and promulgates laws, may exercise a veto, appoints and dismisses senior civilian and military officials, and commands the armed forces and state security. The Prime Minister coordinates the administration, while the Consejo de Ministros develops general policy and oversees the application of laws. A 2026 reform created a new central structure with 20 ministerial departments. In that structure, national security, defence, and interior and territorial administration are separate responsibilities. Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua was reappointed Prime Minister in 2026, with Cándido Matuatema Bahita as Vice Prime Minister. The Parliament has two chambers, the Cámara de los Diputados and the Senado. It legislates, approves the budget and exercises control through plenary work and specialised committees, including reviews of financial, contractual and oversight proposals. The judiciary consists of the Corte Suprema de Justicia, the Tribunal Constitucional, ordinary and military courts, and the Fiscalía. Judges and magistrates are formally bound by law, but external assessments identify practical limits on judicial independence and risks of political or administrative influence. The Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial is formally the judiciary's governing body; the President chairs it and appoints six members for five-year terms. The territory is divided into Región Continental, also called Río Muni, and Región Insular. The eight provinces are Annobón, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Djibloho, Kie-Ntem, Litoral and Wele-Nzas. Provinces are divided into districts and municipalities. Article 3 of the Ley Fundamental leaves the names and boundaries to legislation. These administrative levels exist formally, but practical decentralisation remains limited. Access to public services usually runs through the responsible ministry or through regional and local administration. The legal framework includes the Ley de Procedimiento Administrativo and the Ley de Régimen Jurídico de la Administración General del Estado. Service coverage and processing times are not published uniformly, and there is no reliable evidence of a completely unified electronic government portal. The 2026 reforms aim to modernise, rationalise and coordinate administration and improve service efficiency. The currency is the FCFA within the CEMAC monetary area. Actual public revenue was 1,386,591 million FCFA and expenditure was 1,429,501 million FCFA in 2024, producing a deficit of 42,910 million FCFA. In the first half of 2025, revenue reached 805,532 million FCFA and expenditure 658,122 million FCFA, a temporary surplus of 148,420 million FCFA. The 2026 budget plans balanced revenue and expenditure of 1,294,282 million FCFA, including 295,449 million FCFA in non-oil revenue and 998,837 million FCFA in oil revenue. This shows the structural dependence on hydrocarbons. The IMF assesses sovereign-stress risk as high and estimated fiscal adjustment at about 2.3 percentage points of non-hydrocarbon GDP for 2026. CONTFIN operates ministerially on Bioko, with expansion to the mainland and inclusion of capital expenditure planned; a Treasury Single Account and a Budget Execution Manual are also part of the reform agenda. Oversight is formally assigned to the Tribunal de Cuentas, which has constitutional administrative and budgetary autonomy and reviews public funds, state property and asset declarations by public officials. Its mandate is established, but a 2026 implementing law was still in the parliamentary process, so its operational design remains under development. The Defensor del Pueblo, appointed by both parliamentary chambers for five years and ratified by the President, can receive complaints about malfunctioning public administration, mediate and pursue amparo proceedings. The National Human Rights Commission was strengthened by Decreto-Ley 05/2025, but the United Nations has found that it is not yet independent under the Paris Principles and has limited resources. An anti-corruption law exists, while practical enforcement and institutional independence remain insufficiently established. The Constitution formally protects expression, assembly and association. In practice, the information environment is strongly controlled by the State: national radio and television are state-run, prior censorship powers exist, independent media are limited and criminal defamation remains a risk. There is no reliable evidence of a general freedom-of-information law. A 2026 press-law reform was only a proposal and is not current law. Civic organisations, journalists and opposition actors face surveillance and repression risks. The armed forces, state security and public-order forces are responsible by law for independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, state security, public security and the functioning of State institutions. All security forces are subordinate to the President. Reports identify risks including arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, harsh detention conditions and restrictions on assembly. Legal guarantees and access to courts or the Defensor del Pueblo exist formally, but effective protection is uncertain. Administrative and court fees can depend on the applicable law, including the Ley de Tasas Fiscales; there is no single general State-service fee. Travel between the island and mainland regions can also create a practical access barrier.
State in Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea is a formally constitutional, unitary republic whose political and administrative system is strongly centralised under the President. The State is organised into two regions, eight provinces, 19 districts and 37 municipalities. Its institutions include the executive, a two-chamber Parliament, courts, public administration and oversight bodies, while oil and gas revenues strongly influence public finance.
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