Costs in Equatorial Guinea

The National Statistics Institute, INEGE, measures household consumption through the II Encuesta Nacional de Hogares, known as ENH2, conducted from August 2022 to August 2023 and published in 2024. Average annual household consumption was about 4,190,000 XAF/FCFA, while average annual consumption per person was about 1,437,000 XAF. The median monthly consumption per person was 67,000 XAF and the average was 88,000 XAF; the figure was about 23,000 XAF in the lowest decile and 258,000 XAF in the highest decile. These figures are not disposable-income thresholds or standard cash-budget recommendations. Food and non-alcoholic drinks represented 34.0% of national consumption, non-food goods 29.9%, rent 14.5%, education and health 12.6%, durable goods 5.1%, light and water 2.9%, and alcohol and tobacco 1.0%. Food takes a larger share in rural households than in urban households, at 41.8% compared with 31.2%, and 40.2% in Continental Region compared with 24.0% in Insular Region. Local production, imports and island logistics affect prices, while the food poverty line was approximately 1,007 XAF per person per day on the 2022–2023 methodological basis. Around 26.8% of households pay rent; the average annual rent consumption per person was about 234,000 XAF nationally, 265,000 XAF in urban areas, 177,000 XAF in rural areas and 395,000 XAF in Bioko Norte. Observed monthly rents often fall around 20,000 or 50,000 XAF, but there is no reliable nationwide market rent table. Electricity access was about 82% nationally, 97% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas, while piped or tap-water access was about 50% nationally, 57% in urban areas and 34% in rural areas. Generator, tank and replacement-water costs can therefore change the real household burden, especially outside the main urban markets. A 2024 national water-tariff model provides for a 3,000 XAF monthly social tariff for low-income households, but its implementation status and eligibility should be checked separately. Transport costs vary by road, air, sea, fuel and distance, with particularly high relevance for Bioko, Annobón and remote rural areas; no reliable nationwide household fare list is available. Health costs include direct payments to public or private providers, pharmacies and informal care, and out-of-pocket health spending was about 7% of household consumption in 2021. Lack of money was a common barrier to care, reported by 29.6% of respondents, while self-medication accounted for 35.2%; public hospitals, private clinics, pharmacies, health centres, INSESO facilities and traditional healers all appear in the care pattern. Primary education is legally compulsory and free, but materials, transport, private schooling and later education can still create substantial costs. Communication prices are more concrete for mobile services: GETESA listed 3 GB plus 15 minutes and 30 SMS for 1,000 XAF, 7.5 GB weekly for 4,500 XAF and 24 GB monthly for 15,000 XAF; fixed internet prices depend on the provider and package. No separate reliable national cost series exists for leisure, and family support cannot be budgeted around a proven universal recurring cash transfer; the Registro Único Social is being planned or strengthened, while access to social protection remains fragmented. Costs are therefore best estimated by household size, urban or rural location, Continental or Insular setting, housing arrangement, food production, transport distance, health needs, education level and communication use, while banking, debt and tax questions belong to separate subjects.