Background
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards.
Despite being on the losing side of two world wars, Germany remains one of the most influential powers in Europe, boasting the 4th largest country in terms of surface area of the EU with 357,000 sq km, behind France, Spain and Sweden. However, with a population of almost 81.5 million, it is most populous nation in the EU. With the Baltic Sea to its north east, and the North Sea to the north west, Germany is bordered by a total of 9 countries. Denmark (68km) lies to the north, Poland (456km) and the Czech Republic (646km) to the east, Austria (784km) and Switzerland (334km) to the south, France (451km), Luxembourg (138km), Belgium (167km) and the Netherlands (577km) to the west.
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Afghanistan Algeria Azerbaijan Albania Armenia Angola Argentina Australia Austria Botswana Belgium Bangladesh Belize Bosnia and Herzegovina Bolivia Burma Benin Belarus Brazil Bhutan Bulgaria Burundi Canada Cambodia Chad Sri Lanka Congo, Democratic Republic of the China Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Central African Republic Cuba Denmark Ecuador Egypt Ireland Estonia Eritrea El Salvador Ethiopia Czech Republic Finland Fiji France Gambia, The Gabon Georgia Ghana Germany Greece Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Croatia Hungary Iceland Indonesia India Iran Israel Italy Cote d'Ivoire Iraq Japan Jamaica Jordan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kazakhstan Laos Lebanon Latvia Lithuania Liberia Slovakia Lesotho Libya Madagascar Moldova Mongolia Malawi Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Mali Morocco Mauritania Oman Mexico Malaysia Mozambique Niger Nigeria Netherlands Norway Nepal Suriname Nicaragua New Zealand Paraguay Peru Pakistan Poland Panama Portugal Papua New Guinea Guinea-Bissau Romania Philippines Russia Rwanda South Africa Senegal Slovenia Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Spain Sudan Sweden Syria Switzerland United Arab Emirates Trinidad and Tobago Thailand Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom Ukraine United States Burkina Faso Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Namibia Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Aruba Antigua and Barbuda Andorra American Samoa Bahrain Barbados Bermuda Bahamas, The Solomon Islands Brunei Congo, Republic of the Cayman Islands Comoros Cape Verde Cyprus Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Equatorial Guinea Micronesia, Federated States of Faroe Islands French Polynesia Grenada Greenland Guam Kiribati Liechtenstein Luxembourg Mauritius Malta Maldives New Caledonia Vanuatu Netherlands Antilles Palau Qatar Marshall Islands Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Seychelles San Marino Saint Lucia Tonga São Tomé and Príncipe East Timor Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Virgin Islands Samoa Swaziland Serbia and Montenegro Saudi Arabia Hong Kong Macau Palestine Taiwan Guadeloupe Martinique Reunion West Bank French Guiana Saint Helena Anguilla Cocos (Keeling) Islands Northern Mariana Islands Cook Islands European Union Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Gibraltar Guernsey Gaza Strip Man, Isle of Jersey Mayotte Montserrat Montenegro Monaco Niue Norfolk Island Nauru Pitcairn Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands Tokelau Tuvalu British Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Ashmore and Cartier Islands Akrotiri Antarctica Navassa Island Bassas da India Bouvet Island Coral Sea Islands Jarvis Island Dhekelia Europa Island Baker Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Glorioso Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Howland Island British Indian Ocean Territory Clipperton Island Jan Mayen Johnston Atoll Juan de Nova Island Kingman Reef Christmas Island Palmyra Atoll Midway Islands Southern Ocean Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Saint Martin Svalbard South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Saint Barthelemy Tromelin Island Holy See (Vatican City) Wake Island Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Northern Ireland Scotland Yugoslavia Soviet Union Czechoslovakia East Germany England West Germany Wales