Oil discoveries in the 1990s have transformed this former farming economy. These reserves have helped secure investment and the small nation on the west coast of Africa has the highest per capita income on the continent.

Equatorial Guinea exports crude oil to North America, Europe, and Asia, while Japan is the major buyer of its natural gas.

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The influx of foreign cash into the energy sector has helped improve basic infrastructure in the country, though it continues to battle endemic social problems including poverty and high rates of disease.