Equatorial Guinea Country Profile

Health

Improving people's health in the future starts with understanding people’s health today. What are people dying from? Are children surviving their first years? How does life expectancy compare with other countries? This page tracks key health metrics for Equatorial Guinea.

The data is updated regularly with the latest global and country estimates. Sometimes the latest data is two or three years behind the current year.

See all health data for Equatorial Guinea

Child health

What share of children die in Equatorial Guinea?

The latest data, referring to 2023, shows that 8.4% died before the age of 15 in Equatorial Guinea.

This is the youth mortality rate, which measures the share of newborns who die before reaching their 15th birthday.

This rate is shown for Equatorial Guinea in the chart below, alongside neighboring countries for comparison.

What share of children under five die in Equatorial Guinea?

What about deaths among younger children?

One of the most-used indicators of child health is the child mortality rate, which measures the share of newborns who die before the age of five.

In Equatorial Guinea, 7.1% of children under the age of five died in 2023.

You can see how this rate has changed over time in the chart, compared to neighboring countries.

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How many children under five die each year in Equatorial Guinea?

What do these child mortality rates mean for the total number of children who die?

In the chart, you can see the number of children under five in Equatorial Guinea who die in a particular year. In 2023, it was 3,800 children.

What do children die from in Equatorial Guinea?

To stop children from dying, we need to know what they are dying from. Understanding this allows governments and society to develop and focus on the largest causes of death. That can lead to a stronger focus on the interventions that would make the biggest difference.

In the treemap below, you can see estimates for Equatorial Guinea. The total size of the visualization represents the total number of under-fives that died. Each box inside is a cause of death, with its size proportional to the share of child deaths.

What share of children in Equatorial Guinea are malnourished?

One of the largest drivers of poor health and mortality among children is malnutrition. It’s estimated to contribute to around half of child deaths worldwide. A malnourished child tends to be more vulnerable to infections and other illnesses. It also makes it harder for them to recover.

There are several measures of malnutrition among children.

Here, we look at stunting, which is when a child is deemed short for their age. It is often a sign of chronic malnutrition, and that their development has been hindered. Stunting is not just an issue during childhood: it affects both physical and cognitive development, and these impacts can persist into adulthood.

In the chart, you can see what share of children in Equatorial Guinea are stunted, alongside neighboring countries. In 2024, this share was 17.1%.

Maternal health

What is Equatorial Guinea’s maternal mortality rate?

Maternal deaths are those that occur during a woman’s pregnancy, at childbirth, or in the following six weeks.

This is not only tragic for the woman herself, but for the children and family she leaves behind.

In the chart, you can see Equatorial Guinea’s maternal mortality rates over time, alongside neighboring countries for comparison. This is measured as the number of deaths per 100,000 live births.

In 2020, 212 women died per 100,000 live births.

How many mothers in Equatorial Guinea die during pregnancy or childbirth?

Rates tell us about risk, but the total number of deaths shows the scale of the problem. How many women in Equatorial Guinea die during pregnancy or childbirth?

In the chart, you can see the number of women in Equatorial Guinea who died during pregnancy or in childbirth each year. In 2023, this was 95 women.

What share of births in Equatorial Guinea are attended by skilled workers?

Having skilled health staff available at childbirth can improve health outcomes for both the mother and baby, especially if complications arise.

In the chart, you see the share of births attended by skilled workers in Equatorial Guinea, alongside its neighbors. In 2011, this share was 68%.

Life expectancy

What is Equatorial Guinea’s life expectancy at birth?

In 2023, Equatorial Guinea’s life expectancy at birth was 63.7 years.

You can see how this has changed over time in the chart, alongside neighboring countries.

This is a period measure of life expectancy, which tells us the average number of years a newborn would live if today’s death rates at each age remained constant throughout their life. This does not necessarily reflect the most common age of death in the country.

What is the life expectancy of men and women in Equatorial Guinea?

In most countries, women live on average longer than men. But the size of this life expectancy gap varies.

In the chart, you can see life expectancy at birth for men and women in Equatorial Guinea.

In 2023, life expectancy was 65.7 years for women, and 62.0 years for men.

What is Equatorial Guinea’s life expectancy at different ages?

Life expectancy at birth is often sensitive to death rates at younger ages. In particular, life expectancy is low when child mortality rates are high. These figures would tell you very little about how long a 40, 50, or 60-year-old could expect to live.

It’s therefore useful to look at life expectancy at different ages. This is shown in the chart for 10, 25, 45, 65, and 80-year-olds.

Causes of death

What do people in Equatorial Guinea die from?

Understanding what people die from allows countries to tailor resources, develop interventions, and allocate funding to areas where the most progress can be made.

In the treemap below, you can see estimates of what people in Equatorial Guinea died from in 2023.

The total size of the visualization represents the total number of deaths in that year. Each box inside is a cause of death, with its size proportional to the share of all deaths.

How many people in Equatorial Guinea die from infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and injuries?

Causes of death can be categorized into broader categories: infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and injuries. This can give us some insight into a country's health challenges and how they’re changing.

Infectious, maternal, and nutritional diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, are more common in low- and middle-income countries. In richer countries, most people die from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

In the chart, you can see the breakdown of deaths in Equatorial Guinea by these broad categories. In 2023, 5,780 died from communicable diseases, 4,300 from NCDs, and 1,530 from injuries.

How are death rates from infectious diseases in Equatorial Guinea changing?

Infectious diseases include a broad range of illnesses that can be spread through vectors, such as contaminated water or mosquitoes, or from person to person. This includes diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19.

In the chart, you can see how death rates from communicable diseases in Equatorial Guinea have changed over time. This is shown alongside neighboring countries for comparison.

Are deaths from cardiovascular disease in Equatorial Guinea increasing or decreasing?

One of the leading causes of death in many countries is cardiovascular disease. These deaths are far more likely in older people, so as countries make progress on reducing deaths at younger ages, it’s likely to become a more dominant cause of death.

Is Equatorial Guinea making progress against cardiovascular disease?

There are several metrics we can use to understand mortality: the total number of deaths, the crude death rate (which simply divides the number of deaths by the country’s population), or the age-standardized death rate, which holds the age structure of the population constant, removing the effect of population aging from the trend.

In the chart below, you can see the change in these three metrics for Equatorial Guinea.

Are deaths from cancer in Equatorial Guinea increasing or decreasing?

Another leading cause of death in many countries is cancer.

Is Equatorial Guinea making progress on reducing cancer deaths?

Again, we can use the same indicators to understand mortality: the total number of deaths, the crude death rate (which simply divides the number of deaths by the country’s population), or the age-standardized death rate, which holds the age structure of the population constant, so it tells us about how rates are changing regardless of aging. This is important because the risk of most cancers also increases steeply with age.

In the chart below, you can see the change in these three metrics for Equatorial Guinea.

Risk factors

What are the largest health risk factors in Equatorial Guinea?

Many environmental, societal, and lifestyle factors increase the risk of someone developing a disease or other health problem. These are called “risk factors” and include things such as smoking, air pollution, obesity, insufficient physical activity, and diet.

In the chart, you can see modeled estimates for how many people in Equatorial Guinea die prematurely as a result of various risk factors. Note that the same death can be attributed to multiple risk factors, so the death tolls from different risk factors cannot simply be added up (this is why their sum can be higher than the total number of deaths).

Each figure estimates how many deaths would have been averted if that risk factor had not existed.

What share of adults in Equatorial Guinea are overweight or obese?

Obesity is an important risk factor for health conditions and premature death. It can increase the risk of various cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses.

In the chart, you can see the share of adults in Equatorial Guinea who are overweight or obese. This is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25. This is shown alongside the global and regional averages.

In 2022, 40% of adults were defined as overweight or obese.

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How much air pollution are people in Equatorial Guinea exposed to?

Air pollution is a key risk factor for premature death and illness in many countries. This can come from either indoor or outdoor exposure to air pollutants.

The health risks of outdoor air pollution depend on how much people are exposed to it.

In the chart, you can see the average level of exposure to small suspended particles in Equatorial Guinea, compared to the global and regional averages.

Vaccinations

What share of children in Equatorial Guinea receive key vaccinations?

Many vaccinations are effective in protecting people against potentially fatal diseases. Most recommended vaccinations are administered during childhood, where they can give the most effective and prolonged protection. Childhood vaccinations are estimated to have saved the lives of around 150 million children globally over the last 50 years.

What share of children in Equatorial Guinea get vaccinated? The chart below shows the data across a range of important vaccines.

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Mental health

Mental health is a crucial part of people’s overall health.

Mental health conditions are not uncommon. Hundreds of millions suffer from them yearly, and many more do over their lifetimes. It’s estimated that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience major depression in their lives. Other conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are less common but still have a large impact on people’s lives.

We think it’s important to present reliable data on the prevalence of mental health conditions, but unfortunately, good national estimates from across the world are not available.

This is a key data gap in our understanding of global health.

Healthcare spending

How much does Equatorial Guinea spend per person on healthcare?

A well-financed healthcare system is crucial for the good health of a population.

How much is spent per person on healthcare in Equatorial Guinea?

In 2023, annual spending was $609 per capita. This is shown relative to the global and regional average in the chart, for context.

This includes all sources of spending on health, including public and private funding, and people’s out-of-pocket spending.

How much does Equatorial Guinea spend on healthcare as a share of GDP?

In 2022, Equatorial Guinea’s healthcare spending was equivalent to 2.9% of its national gross domestic product (GDP).

This is shown relative to neighboring countries in the chart, for comparison.

More data and research on health

Cite this work

Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this profile page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This profile page can be cited as:

Hannah Ritchie (2026) - “Health” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/profile/health/equatorial-guinea' [Online Resource]

BibTeX citation

@article{owid-health-equatorial-guinea,
    author = {Hannah Ritchie},
    title = {Health},
    journal = {Our World in Data},
    year = {2026},
    note = {https://ourworldindata.org/profile/health/equatorial-guinea}
}
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