Gabon

[Top of Page]

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

[Top of Page]

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.)

[Top of Page]

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

[Top of Page]

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

[Top of Page]

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.)

[Top of Page]

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.)

[Top of Page]

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)

[Top of Page]

Disputes—international: maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay