Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 75 percent of the working population. The principal export crop is cacao, which is grown almost entirely on Bioko. Coffee is grown on the mainland, which also produces tropical hardwood timber, a leading export. Cassava and sweet potatoes are the staple foods. Local manufacturing industries include the processing of oil and soap, cocoa, yucca, coffee, and seafood. Large offshore oil deposits were discovered in 1995. The currency is the CFA franc (616 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 1999 average). An exchange rate of 50 CFA francs equal to 1 French franc was enforced from 1948 until 1994, when the CFA franc was devalued by 50 percent.

Equatorial Guinea's economy has depended primarily upon three commodities cocoa, coffee, and timber. Before independence, the Spanish subsidized cocoa and coffee exports to Spain. Cocoa, which is of high quality, was the mainstay of the economy of Bioko, which possesses the right soil and climate for its intensive cultivation. Most of Equatorial Guinea's cocoa is produced on the island. As with other commodities, production declined under the regime of Francisco Macías Nguema (1968-79) because Nigerian and local workers left the cocoa plantations and maintenance, output, and quality declined. Cocoa exports dropped to one-tenth of their former level, and exports of coffee almost ceased from island and mainland plantations, the small production of robusta coffee by Fang farmers in Río Muni alone being marketed. The timber companies are entirely European; there were at one time 30 timber concessions in operation on the mainland. The industry requires a large investment.

The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of the government's gross corruption and mismanagement. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. The country responded favorably to the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Boosts in production and high world oil prices stimulated growth in 2000, with oil accounting for 90% of greatly increased exports.