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50 free Equatorial Guinea trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Equatorial Guinea trivia quiz covers the small oil state on the Gulf of Guinea, the only sovereign country in Africa where Spanish is official. It moves from Fernando Pó and the Portuguese, the Treaty of El Pardo and the British anti-slavery base at Port Clarence to Spanish Guinea, independence in 1968, the horrors of Macías Nguema, his nephew Obiang's decades in power, the 1995 oil strike, the 2004 Wonga Coup and the new capital being built in the jungle. Sport gets its turn too, from Eric the Eel to the two Africa Cups of Nations the country hosted. The early questions suit anyone who knows the country's language; the later ones test people who know what happened at Malabo's stadium on Christmas Eve 1969 and which island's people speak Portuguese creole. Every question is multiple choice with a short explanation after you answer. Every answer has been checked against a primary source, and each question links to the page that confirms it.
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Q 01Equatorial Guinea is the only sovereign country in Africa where which language is official?
Spanish
French and Portuguese were later added as official languages purely to join the Francophonie and the CPLP.
Q 02Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 from which country?
Spain
Independence came at noon on 12 October 1968, the anniversary of Columbus's landfall in the Americas.
Q 03The country's long-time capital, Malabo, sits on which island?
Bioko
The island lies just 32 km off Cameroon and was known to Europeans for centuries as Fernando Pó.
Q 04Since January 2026 the official capital has been which purpose-built inland city?
Ciudad de la Paz
Formerly called Oyala and Djibloho, its jungle site was chosen partly because the 2004 coup attempt exposed the old capital to attack from the sea.
Q 05Which is the largest city in Equatorial Guinea?
Bata
It is the main port of Río Muni, the mainland region where most of the population lives.
Q 06The mainland part of Equatorial Guinea is called what?
Río Muni
It is bordered by Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east.
Q 07By what name was the island of Bioko historically known to Europeans?
Fernando Pó
It honoured the Portuguese explorer credited with being the first European to see the island in 1472.
Q 08The explorer credited with the first European sighting of Bioko in 1472 was seeking a route to where?
India
Portugal colonised the island and Annobón two years later, and tried unsuccessfully to grow sugarcane in 1507.
Q 09Portugal ceded the islands to Spain in 1778 under an agreement named after which royal palace?
El Pardo
In return Spain gave up large areas of what is now western Brazil.
Q 10From 1827 to 1843 Spain leased a base on Bioko to Britain for what purpose?
Suppressing the slave trade
The British founded Port Clarence, on the site of the present capital, on Christmas Day 1827.
Q 11Who was Equatorial Guinea's first president, whose 1968-79 rule was notorious for brutality?
Francisco Macías Nguema
He declared himself president for life in 1972 and was tried and executed after being overthrown by his nephew.
Q 12Which song played over loudspeakers as Macías Nguema had 186 dissidents executed on Christmas Eve 1969?
Those Were the Days
Mary Hopkin's hit was reportedly a favourite of the dictator; 150 victims were shot or hanged.
Q 13The man who overthrew Macías in 1979 and became president is related to him how?
He is his nephew
Q 21The Bubi people are indigenous to which part of Equatorial Guinea?
Bioko Island
Their hostility, along with fever, defeated the first Portuguese attempt to found a sugar town on the island in 1507.
Q 22Most inhabitants of the remote island province of Annobón speak a creole based on which language?
Portuguese
The islanders' ancestors were brought from Angola by the Portuguese via São Tomé; the name means 'good year'.
Q 23Which Lusophone island nation lies between Bioko and Annobón?
São Tomé and Príncipe
The Annobonese link explains part of why Equatorial Guinea joined the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo took power in August 1979 and by 2026 was the second-longest continuously serving non-royal leader in the world after Cameroon's Paul Biya.
Q 14In 2026, which leader was the only non-royal head of state to have served longer than Obiang?
Paul Biya of Cameroon
Obiang has held office since August 1979; Paul Biya of Cameroon has ruled since 1982 but was prime minister before that, and led the ranking in 2026.
Q 15The president's son Teodorín once enrolled at which Californian university for an English course?
Pepperdine
The Malibu stint was a four-term non-degree programme; he was later prosecuted abroad over his lavish spending.
Q 16The failed 2004 plot to replace President Obiang with mercenaries is popularly known as what?
The Wonga Coup
The mercenaries were arrested in Zimbabwe before they could act; Simon Mann led them and Mark Thatcher was fined for helping to fund it.
Q 17Which British prime minister's son was convicted in South Africa of helping fund the 2004 coup attempt?
Margaret Thatcher
Mark Thatcher was fined; the plane carrying the mercenaries was impounded at Harare airport in March 2004.
Q 18Which company's 1995 strike in the Zafiro field turned Equatorial Guinea into a major oil producer?
Mobil
American firms still dominate the industry and supply most of the government's revenue.
Q 19By which measure does oil-rich Equatorial Guinea rank among Africa's richest countries, though few benefit?
Income per person
It also has the highest Human Development Index in sub-Saharan Africa after Gabon, yet 7.7% of children died before age five in 2021.
Q 20Which ethnic group makes up more than 85% of Equatorial Guinea's population?
Fang
The Bubi, indigenous to Bioko, are second at about 6.5%.
Q 24The country's third official language, adopted purely to join the CPLP, was made official in which year?
2010
It is barely spoken locally; the move was made to gain entry to the CPLP.
Q 25On 1 January 1985 Equatorial Guinea became the first non-Francophone African country to do what?
Adopt the CFA franc
It replaced the ekwele, which had been tied to the Spanish peseta.
Q 26Before adopting the CFA franc, what was Equatorial Guinea's currency called?
Ekwele
It had been linked to the Spanish peseta.
Q 27The highest point in Equatorial Guinea, Pico Basilé on Bioko, is what kind of feature?
A shield volcano
At 3,011 metres it is one of three overlapping basaltic volcanoes forming the island and last erupted in 1923.
Q 28How far is Bioko from the coast of Cameroon?
32 km
It is 160 km from the northernmost tip of mainland Equatorial Guinea and belongs to the Cameroon line of volcanoes.
Q 29The blue triangle on Equatorial Guinea's flag represents what?
The ocean linking its parts
The green, white and red bands stand for vegetation, peace and the blood shed for independence, with the coat of arms on the white.
Q 30In what time did 'Eric the Eel' Moussambani finish the 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Olympics?
1:52.72
He had never seen a 50-metre pool before and got in via a wildcard for developing countries; his teammate Paula Barila Bolopa was 'Paula the Crawler'.