FACTBOX-Key facts about Equatorial Guinea

Nov 26 - Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema expects a landslide win in Sunday's election, brushing off growing human rights concerns in his bid to turn the central African nation into an energy major.

Here are a few facts about this former Spanish colony which gained its independence in 1968:

AT A GLANCE: The country consists of a section of mainland Central Africa, sandwiched between Cameroon and Gabon, as well as Bioko island, on which the capital Malabo is situated. The 650,000-strong population is mainly Bantu-speaking. Official languages are Spanish and French. Religion: mostly Christian with some traditional African faiths.

ECONOMY: Massive offshore discoveries over the past decade have boosted oil production from virtually nothing to levels around 250,000 barrels per day, down from a peak around 350,000 bpd as some fields have matured.

-- Long a magnet for U.S. oil majors, the country has secured a deal with Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas (EONGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Spain's Union Fenosa UN.MC and Portugal's Galp Energia (GALP.LS: Quote, Profile, Research) as part of its plans to become a regional gas hub too.

-- Despite having one of the world's fastest growing economies in recent years, this has not been matched at the same pace by investments or government spending to reduce poverty.

-- In this year's survey of perceptions of corruption in 180 countries by Berlin-based Transparency International, Equatorial was ranked 12th from bottom.