# Equatorial Guinea

 Country code: GQ · Currency: XAF · Language: French

**Pros**
- Relatively low corporate tax rates for non-oil sectors to encourage economic diversification
- Modernized transport infrastructure in urban centers through massive oil-funded public investment
- High level of physical security and low crime rates compared to regional peers

**Cons**
- Pervasive corruption and lack of transparency within the ruling elite and state institutions
- Extreme state control over civil liberties and limited protection for individual property rights
- Onerous bureaucratic requirements and heavy government interference in private business operations

Long story short: Here, the state is a family business: the Obiangs control the oil, the permits and the police. Without a contact, you won't open anything, and every stamp gets paid for under the table, though taxes stay light as long as you don't rock the boat.

Counterweight: oil money has paid for decent roads and near military-grade security in Malabo's wealthy neighborhoods. The CFA franc, pegged to the euro, keeps the banks stable.

Besides that: grilled fish, gorgeous beaches and volcanoes on Bioko, but anything imported costs a fortune.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: YES, A LOT.
Income gets *fleeced* in **Equatorial Guinea** (top marginal rate **25%**), but the residency test is surprisingly hands-off.

The bill is brutal for residents; the whole game is simply not to become one by accident.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | 0 → 25% | progressive · 5 brackets |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 2,472 | exempt |
| 2,472 – 8,830 | 10% |
| 8,830 – 17,660 | 15% |
| 17,660 – 26,490 | 20% |
| 26,490 + | 25% |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

_A single active rule is enough to make you tax-resident._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 183-day rule | exists here |  |
| Economic interest | does not exist here |  |
| Family centre | does not exist here |  |
| Habitual abode | does not exist here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: YES, A LOT.
**Equatorial Guinea** shears capital gains hard (**25%** at the top), but at least it stops there: no annual wealth levy, no inheritance regime.

Selling is the trigger; as long as you don't pull it, the position compounds untouched.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | 25% | progressive |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 2,472 | exempt |
| 2,472 – 8,830 | 10% |
| 8,830 – 17,660 | 15% |
| 17,660 – 26,490 | 20% |
| 26,490 + | 25% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Dividend tax | 25% | progressive |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 2,472 | exempt |
| 2,472 – 8,830 | 10% |
| 8,830 – 17,660 | 15% |
| 17,660 – 26,490 | 20% |
| 26,490 + | 25% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interest income | 25% | progressive |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 2,472 | exempt |
| 2,472 – 8,830 | 10% |
| 8,830 – 17,660 | 15% |
| 17,660 – 26,490 | 20% |
| 26,490 + | 25% |

**02.2 Wealth & estate**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wealth tax | NONE | no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment |
| Inheritance system | NONE | no estate tax · no heir-based duties · no succession tax framework. Wealth transfers across heir-classes are not taxed in this jurisdiction. Only standard probate / registration fees may apply. |

**02.3 Crypto**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crypto · tax regime | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 25% · Equatorial Guinea has no specific cryptocurrency tax laws. Under the new Tax Law No. 1/2024 (effective 2025), the maximum Personal Income Tax (PIT) rate was reduced from 35% to 25%. Crypto gains are treated as ordinary income or capital gains subject to these progressive PIT rates. While individual ownership is not explicitly illegal, the regional central bank (BEAC) has prohibited financial institutions in the CEMAC zone from processing crypto transactions since May 2022. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | NEUTRAL | a swap is not a taxable realisation event |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: NO.
Corporate tax in **Equatorial Guinea** is **25%**, no IP-box mercy, VAT at **15** on top.

Operationally, running a company here is fine; fiscally, the state helps itself to a fat slice of every unit of profit. You do the work, they skim the cream.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | 25% | flat |
| VAT standard rate | 15% | 3 distinct tiers in force |

| VAT family | Category | Rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Print media | books | 5% |
| Health | medical dev. | 0% |
| Construction | construction | 0% |

**03.2 Regime & registry**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| IP Box · Patent Box | NONE | no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules |
| Misuse of corporate assets | CRIMINAL | criminal liability · Article 389 of the Penal Code (Ley n.º 4/2022) and Article 891 of the OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies · Equatorial Guinea follows the OHADA principle of the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity.' Under the updated Penal Code (Ley 4/2022), specifically Article 389, the fraudulent disposal of corporate assets is a criminal offense. This applies even to a sole shareholder-manager because the company's assets are legally distinct from personal property; using them for personal gain is considered a breach of the company's 'social interest' and a crime against the legal entity itself, regardless of the owner's consent or the company's current solvency. |
| Shareholders privacy | PRIVATE | Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil (RCCM) |
| Directors privacy | PRIVATE | Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil (RCCM) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

_In this country, the most standard company form is called Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) (Limited Liability Company (LLC)). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration & Registry Fees (RCCM) | USD 265 |  |
| Notary Fees for Articles of Association | USD 177 |  |
| Mandatory Legal Publication | USD 88 |  |
| Professional Legal & Incorporation Service Fees | USD 3,532 |  |
| Total | USD 4,062 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Equatorial Guinea** has no treaty network at all, which buries the holding question, full stop.

Every dividend in or out eats the statutory withholding at full rate, and no domestic regime can patch a hole that sits on the source side. Don't park a holding here.

**04.1 Substance & exemptions**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Territorial · individuals | WORLDWIDE | worldwide income taxation regardless of source |
| Territorial · corporates | WORLDWIDE | worldwide corporate taxation |
| Participation exemption | 95% | 25% holding · 24 months min |
| CFC rules | APPLY | Foreign entities with subsidiary or interdependent ties to local companies are taxed as if they were based in Equatorial Guinea, with local entities held jointly liable for the foreign entity's tax obligations. |

**04.2 Withholding tax · non-resident**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WHT · dividends | 15% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · interest | 15% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · royalties | 10% | non-resident outbound |
| Tax-haven WHT | NONE | no punitive rate on record |

**04.3 Treaty network**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treaties signed | 0 | active |
| Treaties pending | — | in negotiation |

## Easy to come and go?

Long story short: SOME.
**Equatorial Guinea** taxes your worldwide income while you're resident, but at least the exit is free: *no exit tax* on the way out.

Leaving costs you paperwork, not money; your unrealised gains walk out the door with you, untouched.

**05.1 Exit & dual nationality**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exit tax | NONE | no triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism |
| Dual citizenship | FORBIDDEN | naturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 40 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: NO.
Nobody's reading over your shoulder in **Equatorial Guinea**. It has joined *almost none* of the big automatic-exchange machines (CRS, FATCA, CARF, MLI, MAAC), and its corporate registries are *non-public*.

Your account movements stay out of foreign tax offices; your name stays out of search boxes. Here, discretion isn't a perk; it's the factory setting.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 0/9 active**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | None | — |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | None | — |
| BEPS | None | — |
| MAAC | None | — |
| GLOBAL FORUM | None | — |
| EOIR | None | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**Equatorial Guinea** sits on no major blacklist, though it's *outside* the FATF club.

Some counterparties will run a bit of extra due diligence out of habit, but there's no formal stigma: you won't get hassled for dealing with it.

**Blacklist exposure — Clear everywhere**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EMBARGO | Clear | un / us / eu sanctions |
| FATF | Clear | grey / black list |
| EU | Clear | non-cooperative list |
| FRANCE | Clear | ETNC list |
| SPAIN | Clear | tax-haven list |
| PORTUGAL | Clear | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Clear | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: NO.
Press freedom in **Equatorial Guinea** is *locked down* (RSF rank **\#118**). Independent media and civic space operate under pressure (when they operate at all), and that kind of grip usually spills over into economic life too.

Small mercy: crypto isn't formally banned.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 118/180 | score 48 · ↑ 9 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

NONE

no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Equatorial Guinea**. *Stripe* won't onboard you, so card payments mean a foreign structure or a local processor with its own rules. *Amazon* doesn't deliver either.

Some secondary services run (**3/11**), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.

**Accept payments — 1/6 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe | Not available | card payments |
| PayPal | Not available | wallet payments |
| Adyen | Not available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | Available | merchant of record |

**Bank and move money — 1/3 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wise | Available | multi-currency |
| Revolut | Not available | personal banking |
| Revolut Business | Not available | business banking |

**Buy and sell on Amazon — 1/2 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon | Not available | consumer delivery |
| Amazon Seller | Available | marketplace selling |

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Equatorial Guinea. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Chad TD  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/td) [   Congo - Brazzaville CG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/cg) [   São Tomé & Príncipe ST  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/st)

  NOTABLY MORE FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, higher total score.

 [   Timor-Leste TL  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/tl) [   Caribbean Netherlands BQ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bq) [   Armenia AM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/am)

  NOTABLY LESS FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, lower total score.

 [   Benin BJ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bj) [   Guinea GN  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gn) [   Comoros KM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/km)