That puts it near the very bottom, alongside countries like Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan. 

The watchdog said Equatorial Guinea is also one of several sub-Saharan nations that “declined further” last year.

The Guardian previously reported that despite the country’s massive oil wealth, most of it remains in the hands of a small elite. 

In a 2009 article by The New York Times, the country was also described as a symbol of “oil-fuelled corruption and nepotism”.

According to Human Rights Watch, Equatorial Guinea has a GDP per capita higher than most African countries, similar to China, but much of the population lives in poverty with limited access to healthcare and education.

The country has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo since 1979, who is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.

Critics say his regime is authoritarian, and that members of his family control most of the wealth.

What’s more, Global Witness and the Open Society Foundations have accused the government of using oil revenues for personal gain, with little transparency. 

In 2014, the country also received a score of zero on the Open Budget Index. It’s a global measure of budget transparency developed by the International Budget Partnership (IBP). 

It assesses how openly governments report their public spending and how accessible this information is to citizens.

According to a US State Department report, officials are also frequently involved in illegal activities “with impunity”.

But despite the political and corruption problems, Equatorial Guinea stands out in one unusual way.

It’s the only official Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Spanish has been spoken there since colonial times. 

The country was under Spanish rule until it gained independence in 1968. 

Today, about 85% of the population speaks Spanish, and it is used in government, schools and daily life.

Locals speak a version known as Equatoguinean Spanish, which includes unique vocabulary and pronunciation. 

French and Portuguese are also official languages, but they are far less common.

Equatorial Guinea is made up of a mainland region and several islands. Its capital, Malabo, is located on Bioko Island, just off the coast.