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Gabon
| Gabonese Republic National
name: République Gabonaise President: El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba
(1967) Premier: Jean Eyeghe Ndong
(2006)
Current government officials
Land area: 99,486 sq mi (257,669 sq km);
total area: 103,346 sq mi (267,667 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 1,484,149 (growth
rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 35.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 52.7/1000;
life expectancy: 53.5; density per sq mi: 5
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Libreville, 661,600 Other large cities: Port-Gentil,
116,200; Franceville, 41,300 Monetary
unit: CFA Franc
Languages:
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi,
Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Ethnicity/race:
Bantu tribes, including four major tribal
groupings: Fang, Punu, Nzeiby, Mbede (Obamba/Bateke); other Africans
and Europeans 10.8%, including 0.8% French and 0.8% persons of dual
nationality
Religions:
Christian 55%–75%, animist, Islam less
than 1%
National Holiday:
Independence Day, August 17 Literacy rate: 63% (1995 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$20.18 billion; per capita $14,100. Real growth rate: 5.6%.
Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 21% (2006 est.). Arable
land: 1%. Agriculture: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil,
rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish. Labor
force: 582,000 (2007); agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services
25%. Industries: petroleum extraction and refining; manganese,
gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering
and plywood, cement. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas,
diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore,
hydropower. Exports: $6.856 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): crude
oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001). Imports: $1.951
billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs,
chemicals, construction materials. Major trading partners:
U.S., China, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Netherlands,
Cameroon (2006).
Member of French Community
Communications: Telephones: main
lines in use: 36,500 (2006); mobile cellular: 764,700 (2006). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 3
(2001). Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus six repeaters)
(2001). Internet hosts: 288 (2007). Internet users:
81,000 (2006). Transportation:
Railways: total: 814 km (2006). Highways: total:
9,170 km; paved: 838 km; unpaved: 7,626 km (2004 est.). Waterways:
1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2007). Ports and
harbors: Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Owendo, Port-Gentil.
Airports: 53 (2007). International
disputes: UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the
sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to establish
a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only a few
hundred out of the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who fled
militia fighting in 2000 remain in Gabon.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
This West African country with the
Atlantic as its western border is also bounded by Equatorial Guinea,
Cameroon, and the Congo. Its area is slightly less than Colorado's. Most
of the country is covered by a dense tropical forest.
Government
Republic.
History
The earliest humans in Gabon were believed to be
the Babinga, or Pygmies, dating back to 7000 B.C., who were later followed by Bantu groups from
southern and eastern Africa. Now there are many tribal groups in the
country, the largest being the Fang peoples, who constitute 25% of the
population.
Gabon was first explored by the Portuguese
navigator Diego Cam in the 15th century. In 1472, the Portuguese explorers
encountered the mouth of the Como River and named it “Rio de
Gabao,” river of Gabon, which later became the name of the country.
The Dutch began arriving in 1593, and the French in 1630. In 1839, the
French founded their first settlement on the left bank of the Gabon
estuary and gradually occupied the hinterland during the second half of
the 19th century. The land became a French territory in 1888, an
autonomous republic within the French Union after World War II, and an
independent republic on Aug. 17, 1960.
Albert-Bernard Bongo became Gabon's second
president in 1967. He changed his name to Omar in 1973, on converting to
Islam. Strikes and riots led to a transitional constitution in May 1990,
legalizing political parties and calling for free elections. In its first
multiparty election in Dec. 1993, Bongo received just over 51% of the
vote, while the opposition candidate alleged fraud and tried to establish
a rival government.
In Dec. 1998, President Bongo, who had by then
ruled the country for 31 years, was elected for an additional seven. Gabon
lacks roads, schools, and adequate health care, yet the oil-rich country
has lined the pockets of its ruler, who, according to the French weekly
L'Autre Afrique, is said to own more real estate in Paris than any
other foreign leader. Despite his reputation for corruption and
authoritarianism, Bongo has a strong national following. In July 2003, the
country's constitution was changed, allowing Bongo to be reelected
indefinitely; that year, he changed his name again, to El Hadj Omar Bongo
Ondimba. In Dec. 2005, he was reelected for another seven-year term.
See also Encyclopedia: Gabon.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Gabon
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