World Bank estimates Equatorial Guinea’s 2025 contraction at 5.8%

EconomyEnergy

Wednesday 4th November 2026

Residential buildings in a Malabo neighbourhood photographed on 28 February 2023; contextual file photograph — A neighbourhood in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 28 February 2023. Contextual file photograph, taken before the report’s 2025 economic period. Photo: Francesca Calisti / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

By inAfrika Newsroom

Equatorial Guinea’s economy contracted by an estimated 5.8% in 2025 as falling hydrocarbon production outweighed growth in agriculture and services, the World Bank said in an economic update released on 4 November.

The decline followed growth of 0.4% in 2024, according to the fourth Equatorial Guinea Economic Update. The bank said preliminary figures showed activity remained weak in early 2026.

Government revenue fell to 16.3% of gross domestic product in 2025. The fiscal deficit was about 0.5% of GDP, while the current-account deficit—the balance of trade, income and transfers with the rest of the world—widened to 1.1% of GDP.

The bank forecasts an average economic contraction of about 1% a year in 2026–2027, followed by a modest recovery in 2028 supported by new gas projects. These are projections rather than recorded outcomes.

The report identifies agribusiness as the green-economy activity with the strongest near-term potential for widespread job creation. It also highlights tourism, fisheries, digital services and energy-related activities as potential sources of employment.

The assessment follows the bank’s earlier work on poverty and the decline of oil income. Its latest release says poverty increased despite easing inflation and is expected to rise further in the near term.

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