Equatorial Guinea
POPULATION 498,144
ROMAN CATHOLIC 80 percent
PROTESTANT 5 percent
MUSLIM 4.1 percent
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL 3.4 percent
ANIMIST 2.1 percent
BAHAI 0.5 percent
NONRELIGIOUS 4.9 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea consists of a number of islands and islets—including Bioko (previously known as Fernando Po), Annobón, Corisco, and the two Elobeys—off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, the country includes the mainland enclave of Río Muni (also known as Mbini), which is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the east and south.
At the time of its discovery by Portuguese mariners in the 1470s, Fernando Po was inhabited by Bubi speakers who sought to avoid Europeans during the Atlantic slave trade period. Inhabitants in heavily forested Río Muni—including Ndowe and other coastal groups, Bayele, and the majority Fang ethnic group—entered into sustained contact with Europeans in the nineteenth century. Missionary efforts by Protestants began on Fernando Po in the 1820s and on the mainland in 1875. Lasting Catholic presence dates from the 1850s on Fernando Po, which became known as Bioke in 1979.
In 2004 there were three Roman Catholic dioceses in Equatorial Guinea: Bata and Ebebiyin in Río Muni, as well as the archdiocese of Malabo on Bioko.
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