What is the capital of Equatorial Guinea?

Ciudad de la Paz is a planned city in the equatorial forest of mainland Equatorial Guinea, near the town of Mengomeyen, and is the administrative headquarters of Djibloho province.

Ciudad de la Paz is the capital and seat of government of Equatorial Guinea, a role it has held since 2 January 2026. Equatorial Guinea itself has an estimated population of 1,938,431 (2025).

Ciudad de la Paz is not the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. That is Bata, which makes Equatorial Guinea one of the countries whose capital is not their biggest city.

The site was established as an urban district in Wele-Nzas in 2015 and officially named Ciudad de la Paz, 'City of Peace', in 2017; it is still under construction.

Ciudad de la Paz has been the capital of Equatorial Guinea since 2 January 2026, when it formally replaced Malabo as the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

Malabo, on the island of Bioko, was the capital of Equatorial Guinea until 2 January 2026. It is the oldest city in the country, was founded in 1827, carried the name Santa Isabel until 1973, and had about 297,000 inhabitants in 2018.

The inland location was chosen deliberately: the 2004 coup attempt raised fears about a capital that could be reached from the sea, and the site also offers easier access from across the mainland and a milder climate.

The city was designed by the Portuguese architecture and urbanism studio FAT (Future Architecture Thinking) and is projected to hold around 200,000 inhabitants.

The project started in 2008 under the name Oyala and was later known as Djibloho.

City facts sourced from Wikipedia: Ciudad de la Paz.

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