Equatorial Guinea

Abstract

The major population group (90 percent) in Rio Muni is Fang. The Bubi on the island of Bioko* are the only other group in the country with more than five percent of the population. both are identity groups. There are small groups of Kombe, Balengue, and Bujeba along the Rio Muni coast. There had been a large Nigerian population (mainly from Eastern Nigeria) working on the plantations on Bioko. They numbered at least 30,000 in 1969, but this number fell to about 3,000 by 1973, and to virtually zero by 1978 because of conflicts in the country including disputes over working conditions on the plantations. In November 1975, the Nigerian government withdrew all Nigerian workers from the country because of the continuing allegations of mistreatment. Formerly a large Spanish population lived on Fernando Po and in Bata on the mainland, but virtually all had left by 1978. An important group on Bioko is the Fernandino (descendants of English-speaking Creoles) which despite its size (less than one percent) has played a major role in the history of the country until recently.