This is a monograph of Equatorial Guinea, which consists of the island of Fernando Po and the continental territory of Rio Muni. It was a small but relatively prosperous Spanish colony up till 1968. The successor regime of the Nguema clan is seen as a bloody dictatorship which has destroyed the economy and driven one-third of the population into exile. Today the country is among the world's poorest, and has dropped out of the international system. In recent years France has replaced Spain as the regime's chief economic backer, with no amelioration of its appalling human rights record.
