Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea
| Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial | |
Coat of arms of Equatorial Guinea
|
|
| Service branches | Air Force of Equatorial Guinea |
| Leadership | |
| President of Equatorial Guinea | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |
| Minister of Defence | General Antonio Mba Nguema |
| Manpower | |
| Conscription | 18 years of age, 2 years selective compulsory service |
| Available for military service |
136,725 males, age 16–49, 138,018 females, age 16–49 |
| Fit for military service |
105,468 males, age 16–49, 107,919 females, age 16–49 |
| Reaching military age annually |
6,983 males, 6,726 females |
| Active personnel | 2,400 |
| Expenditures | |
| Percent of GDP | 0.1% (2006 est.) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
 United States of America China France Italy Spain Cuba North Korea
|
The Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea (in Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial) consists of approximately 2,500 service members. The army has almost 1,400 soldiers, the police 400 paramilitary men, the navy 200 service members, and the air force about 120 members. There is also a Gendarmerie, but the number of members is unknown. The Gendarmerie is a new branch of the service in which training and education is being supported by the French Military Cooperation in Equatorial Guinea. Military appointments are all reviewed by President Teodoro Obiang, and few of the native militiamen come from outside of Obiang's Mongomo-based Esangui clan. Obiang was a general when he overthrew his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema.
Overall the military is poorly trained and equipped. It has mostly small arms, RPGs, and mortars. Almost none of its Soviet-style light-armored vehicles or trucks are operational.
The Armed Forces were reorganized in 1979. In 1988, the United States donated a 68-foot patrol boat to the Equatoguinean navy to patrol its exclusive economic zone. The U.S. patrol boat Isla de Bioko is no longer operational. U.S. military-to-military engagement has been dormant since 1997 (the year of the last Joint Combined Exchange Training exercise). Between 1984 and 1992, service members went regularly to the United States on the International Military Education Training program, after which funding for this program for Equatorial Guinea ceased. The government spent 6.5% of its annual budget on defense in 2000 and 4.5% of its budget on defense in 2001. It recently acquired some Chinese artillery pieces, some Ukrainian patrol boats, and some Ukrainian helicopter gunships. The number of paved airports in Equatorial Guinea can be counted on one hand, and as such the number of airplanes operated by the air force is small. The Equatoguineans rely on foreigners to operate and maintain this equipment as they are not sufficiently trained to do so. Cooper and Weinert 2010 says that all aircraft are based on the military side of Malabo International Airport.
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