CO2 partial pressures in the atmosphere and in surface seawater have been measured in the equatorial Atlantic Obean during Programme Fran¿ais Oc¿an-Climat en Atlantique Equatorial cruises extending from July 1982 to August 1984 along the 4¿W, 22¿W, and 35¿W meridians. Gas transfer coefficients based on recently reported field data combined with information deduced from wind tunnel experiments are used to compute the CO2 fluxes. The global mean net flux between 5¿N and 5DS is equal to 1.05 mmol m-2 d-1 and is from the ocean to the atmosphere. The escape of CO2 increases strongly from the east to the west and is always lower in the north than in the south. The importance of wind speed, pCO2 in atmosphere. PCO2 in surface seawater, and temperature on the flux variability is discussed. The relative influence of the equatorial upwelling on one hand and of the advection and warming of surface waters on the other hand is studied in order to explain high partial pressure in seawater.