The Curious Case of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, a country in West Africa, has a population of 500,000. It's both one of the world's richer countries and one of the world's poorer countries.


Rich, if you measure by GDP per capita. How rich depends on who's figures you read. They vary between ranking Equatorial Guinea as richer than Luxembourg (very rich), and as rich as an average European Union country (pretty darn rich).

Poor, if you look at the United Nations Human Development Index. 8% of children die before their 1st birthday. 30% unemployment. Massively corrupt ruling elite who steal most of the wealth.

And now the tenuous Poker Copilot link: Stats can give a misleading impression. It's important to look at more than one measurement. Even a wide range of stats can't beat first-hand experience.