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Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea
Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 267,670 sq km
land: 257,670 sq km
water: 10,000 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo
1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km
Coastline: 885 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna
in east and south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m
Natural resources: petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold,
timber, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 77%
other: 3% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: deforestation; poaching
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Population: 1,225,853 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 205,076; female 205,198)
15-64 years: 61% (male 376,181; female 370,479)
65 years and over: 6% (male 34,078; female 34,841) (1999
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.48% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 27.89 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 13.07 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999
est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 83.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1999
est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.98 years
male: 53.98 years
female: 60.08 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.77 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese
Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes including four major tribal
groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans
154,000, including 6,000 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality
Religions: Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira,
Bandjabi
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2%
male: 73.7%
female: 53.3% (1995 est.)
Country name:
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon
local long form: Republique Gabonaise
local short form: Gabon
Data code: GB
Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime
(opposition parties legalized 1990)
Capital: Libreville
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue,
Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime,
Woleu-Ntem
Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1960) (Gabon
granted full independence from France)
Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary
law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber
of the Supreme Court; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December
1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE
(since 23 January 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
in consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year
term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected;
percent of vote—El Hadj Omar BONGO 66%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 17%,
Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13%
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of
the Senate (91 seats) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
(120 seats); members are elected by direct popular vote to serve
five-year terms
elections: National Assembly—last held in December
1996 (next to be held NA December 2001); Senate—last held 12
January 1997 (next to be held in January 2002)
election results: National Assembly—percent of vote
by party—NA; seats by party—PDG 100, Morena-Bucherons/RNB
8, PUP 3, CLR 3, FAR 1, UPG 1, USG 2, PGP 2; Senate—percent
of vote by party—NA; seats by party—PDG 51, RNB 17, PGP
4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, others 15
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting
of three chambers—Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional
Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts
Political parties and leaders: African Forum for Reconstruction
or FAR [Leon MBOYEBI, secretary general]; Circle of Liberal Reformers
or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Gabonese Democratic Party
or PDG, former sole party [Jacques ADIAHENOT, secretary general];
Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE,
president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU];
Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Dr. Serge Mba BEKALE]; National
Rally of Woodcutters or Bucherons-RNB [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE];
People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Democratic and
Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Social
Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]; Rally
for Democracy and Progress or RDP [leader NA]
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB,
BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MINURCA, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UDEAC,
UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC
20009
telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668
consulate(s): New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James V. LEDESMA
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville
mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville
telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92
FAX: [241] 74 55 07
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green
(top), yellow, and blue
Economy—overview: Gabon enjoys a per capita income
four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has
supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high
income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor.
Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered
offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50%
of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil,
timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite the abundance of
natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management.
In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed
to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation
of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors.
Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994
sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped
to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in
1994-95 and a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near
commercial rates beginning in late 1995. Those agreements mandate
progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided
additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met
IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized
the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing
from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization
and administrative reform. Growth in 1999 will depend mainly on
how world oil prices move.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$7.7 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 1.7% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$6,400
(1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 67%
services: 25% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (1998 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry
and commerce, services
Unemployment rate: 21% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures
of $302 million (1996 est.)
Industries: food and beverage; textile; lumbering and
plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium,
and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: 2.3% (1995)
Electricity—production: 930 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 22.04%
hydro: 77.96%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 930 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm
oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish
Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: crude oil 81%, timber 12%, manganese
5%, uranium (1996)
Exports—partners: US 67%, China 9%, France 8%, Japan
3% (1997)
Imports: $890 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs,
chemicals, petroleum products, construction materials
Imports—partners: France 38%, US 8%, Cameroon 5%,
Netherlands 4%, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan (1997)
Debt—external: $4.1 billion (1997)
Economic aid—recipient: $331 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF)
= 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs
(CFAF) per US$1—577.61 (January 1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67
(1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 22,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and
a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations—3 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0
Radios: 250,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (in addition, there are
five low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 40,000 (1993 est.)
Railways:
total: 649 km Gabon State Railways (OCTRA)
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)
Highways:
total: 7,670 km
paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 7,041 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Ports and harbors: Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville,
Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil
Merchant marine:
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,613 GRT/22,599
DWT (1998 est.)
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 62 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways:
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 52
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 26 (1998 est.)
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard
(charged with protecting the president and other senior officials),
National Gendarmerie, National Police
Military manpower—military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 280,719 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 144,133 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 11,392 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $91 million
(1996)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.6% (1996)
Disputes—international: maritime boundary dispute
with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands
in Corisco Bay
Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook
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