1.
[syn: Gabon, Gabonese Republic, Gabun]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Gabon
n 1: a republic on the west coast of Africa [syn: Gabon,
Gabonese Republic, Gabun]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Gabon
Introduction Gabon
------------------
Background: Ruled by autocratic presidents since
independence from France in 1960,
Gabon introduced a multiparty system
and a new constitution in the early
1990s that allowed for a more
transparent electoral process and
for reforms of governmental
institutions. A small population,
abundant natural resources, and
considerable foreign support have
helped make Gabon one of the more
prosperous black African countries.
Geography Gabon
---------------
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: 267,667 sq km
water: 10,000 sq km
land: 257,667 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, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66%
other: 98.08% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: deforestation; poaching
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: 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
Geography - note: a small population and oil and
mineral reserves have helped Gabon
become one of Africa's wealthier
countries; in general, these
circumstances have allowed the
country to maintain and conserve its
pristine rain forest and rich
biodiversity
People Gabon
------------
Population: 1,233,353
note: estimates for this country
explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality
and death rates, lower population
and growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age
and sex than would otherwise be
expected (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.3% (male 205,559;
female 204,796)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 376,103;
female 371,422)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male
37,220; female 38,253) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.97% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 27.24 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 17.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.11 years
female: 50.25 years (2002 est.)
male: 48.01 years
Total fertility rate: 3.65 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 9% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 23,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese
Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes including four major
tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou,
Nzebi, Obamba), other Africans and
Europeans 154,000, including 10,700
French and 11,000 persons of dual
nationality
Religions: Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim
less than 1%
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene,
Nzebi, 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.)
Government Gabon
----------------
Country name: conventional long form: Gabonese
Republic
conventional short form: Gabon
local short form: Gabon
local long form: Republique
Gabonaise
Government type: republic; multiparty presidential
regime (opposition parties legalized
in 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: Founding of the Gabonese Democratic
Party (PDG), 12 March (1968)
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; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
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 66.6%,
Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul
M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4%
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of
the Senate (91 seats; members
elected by members of municipal
councils and departmental
assemblies) 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 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to
be held NA December 2006); Senate -
last held 26 January and 9 February
1997 (next to be held in NA 2002)
election results: National Assembly
- percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8,
PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1,
independents 13, others 3; Senate -
percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP
4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1,
independents 9
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 MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of
Liberal Reformers or CLR [General
Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for
Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules
Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE];
Democratic and Republican Alliance
or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge
DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party
or PDG, former sole party [Simplice
Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general];
Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP
[Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE,
president]; Gabonese People's Union
or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; National
Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon
or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul
M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party
or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally
for Democracy and Progress or RDP
[Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic
Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-
MOUSSAVOU]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC,
participation: CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jules-
Darius OGOUEBANDJA
consulate(s): New York
FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668
telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires
US: Thomas F. DAUGHTON
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 Gabon
-------------
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, and manganese
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,
a three-year Enhanced Financing
Facility (EFF) at near commercial
rates beginning in late 1995, and
stand-by credit of $119 million in
October 2000. 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. The rebound of oil prices in
1999-2000 helped growth, but drops
in production hampered Gabon from
fully realizing potential gains. In
December 2000, Gabon signed a new
agreement with the Paris Club to
reschedule its official debt. A
follow-up bilateral repayment
agreement with the US was signed in
December 2001.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.7
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,500
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%
industry: 60%
services: 30% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 600,000
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 60%, services and
government 25%, industry and
commerce 15%
Unemployment rate: 21% (1997 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$310 million (2002 est.)
Industries: food and beverage; textile;
lumbering and plywood; cement;
petroleum extraction and refining;
manganese, and gold mining;
chemicals; ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: -6.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 850 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 29.41%
hydro: 70.59%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 790.5 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil,
rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical
softwood); fish
Exports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil 81%, timber, manganese,
uranium (2000)
Exports - partners: US 51%, France 17%, China 8%,
Netherlands Antilles 4% (2000)
Imports: $921 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs,
chemicals, construction materials
Imports - partners: France 62%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%,
Belgium 3% (2000)
Debt - external: $3.6 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $331 million (1995)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine
franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central
African States
Currency code: XAF
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine
francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79
(January 2002), 733.04 (2001),
711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95
(1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1
January 1999, the XAF is pegged to
the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF
per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Gabon
--------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 39,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 120,000 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate service
by African standards and improving
with the help of the growing mobile
cell 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 7 (and 11 repeaters),
shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios: 208,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus six repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 63,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ga
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (2001)
Internet users: 15,000 (2001)
Transportation Gabon
--------------------
Railways: total: 649 km
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-
m gauge; single-track (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 7,670 km
paved: 629 km (including 30 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 7,041 km (1996)
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
Airports: 59 (2001)
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 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 17
under 914 m: 24 (2001)
Military Gabon
--------------
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential
(Republican) Guard (charged with
protecting the president and other
senior officials), National
Gendarmerie, National Police
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 284,358 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 146,908 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 11,304 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $70.8 million (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 2% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Gabon
--------------------------
Disputes - international: maritime boundary dispute with
Equatorial Guinea because of
disputed sovereignty over islands in
Corisco Bay