"Malabo served as the capital city of Equatorial Guinea from the country's independence from Spain on October 12, 1968, until January 2, 2026, when a decree issued by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo officially transferred the capital to Ciudad de la Paz ("City of Peace"), located in Djibloho Province. Obiang formalized the move as part of a long-planned territorial reorganization. While the former capital remains an important economic center on Bioko Island, Ciudad de la Paz was conceived as a planned capital on Africa's mainland."
"According to the president, who has been in power since 1979, the decision to move the capital from the island to the equatorial forest on the mainland was driven by strategic considerations. He justified the measure by citing "the need to adopt measures that allow for the decentralization of state functions, promoting harmonious socioeconomic development in all regions of the country." As stated in the decree, the change was motivated by the rapid urban growth of Malabo and the economic capital, Bata, in recent years, a process linked to migration from rural areas and smaller towns toward both cities."
Malabo served as Equatorial Guinea's capital from independence in 1968 until a presidential decree on January 2, 2026 transferred the capital to Ciudad de la Paz in Djibloho Province. Ciudad de la Paz (also called Djibloho or Oyala) is a planned mainland capital conceived to improve national accessibility and decentralize state functions. The relocation initiative began in 2008 with construction from 2011. The decree cites rapid, disorderly urban growth in Malabo and Bata driven by rural-to-city migration, straining services, transport, and communications and risking territorial imbalance and weakened national cohesion.
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