Part 1/9:
The Complex Landscape of Equatorial Guinea: A History Shaped by Dictatorship and Oil
Equatorial Guinea is a paradox of wealth and poverty, boasting one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa while its citizens face profound economic despair. This tiny country is the only African nation where Spanish is the official language, a remnant of its colonial past under Spanish rule until 1968. The legacy of its first president, Francisco Macías Nguema, a notoriously tyrannical and mentally unstable dictator, casts a long shadow over the nation’s history and development.