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The Gabonese Republic or Gabon, is a nation of west central Africa. It borders on Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France on August 17, 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 foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous countries in the region.

RÃ©publique Gabonaise

Motto: None

Anthem: La Concorde

Capital Libreville 0Â°30â€² N 09Â°32â€² E

Largest city Libreville

Gabon Official languages French

Government President Prime Minister Presidential Republic Omar Bongo Jean-FranÃ§ois Ntoutoume Emane

Independence - Declared (from France) August 17, 1960

Area â€¢ Total â€¢ Water (%) 267,667 kmÂ² (74th) Negligible

Population â€¢ July 2004 est. â€¢ â€” census â€¢ Density 1,355,246 (148th) â€” 4.6/kmÂ² (183rd)

GDP (PPP) â€¢ Total â€¢ Per capita 2003 estimate $9.5 billion (138th) $6,977 (89th)

Currency CFA franc (XOF)

Time zone â€¢ Summer (DST) UTC1 (UTC1) unknown (UTC1)

Internet TLD .ga

Calling code 241

History

History of Gabon Africa Gabon

Several Bantu groups occupied the area that is now Gabon when France occupied it in 1885. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1959. These territories became independent on August 17, 1960.

The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was LÃ©on Mâ€™ba, with Omar Bongo as his vice president. When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president, and has been the head of state ever since and also won re-election.

Politics

Politics of Gabon

In March 1991 a new constitution was adopted. Among its provisions are a Western-style bill of rights, the creation of the National Council of Democracy that also oversees the guarantee of those rights and a governmental advisory board which deals with economic and social issues. Multi-party legislative elections were held in 1990-91 even though opposition parties had not been declared formally legal.

President El Hadj Omar Bongo was re-elected in December 1998, obtaining 66% of the votes cast. Although the main opposition parties claimed that the elections had been manipulated, there was none of the civil disturbance that followed the 1993 election. The president retains strong powers, such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, conduct referenda, and appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet members.

See: List of Presidents of Gabon

Geography

Geography of Gabon Air Gabon

Gabon is located on the Atlantic coast of central Africa. Clockwise from the northwest, it is bounded by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Republic of Congo.

Gabon's largest river is the OgoouÃ©. Gabon is also noted for efforts to preserve the natural environment with what may be the largest area of nature parks in the world.

See: List of places in Gabon, Provinces of Gabon

Economy

Map of Gabon

Economy of Gabon

Gabon is more prosperous than most nearby countries, with a per capita income of four times the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in large part due to offshore oil production that has produced substantial wealth, although the distribution of income from this industry is extremely unequal.

About sixty percent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture.

During the 1990s, devaluation of the CFA franc left Gabon struggling to pay its overseas debt; France and the IMF have provided further loans and aid in exchange for the implementation of changes to the economy.

Demographics

Demographics of Gabon Gabon Libreville

Almost all Gabonese are of Bantu origin. Gabon has at least 40 ethnic groups with separate languages and cultures. The largest is the Fang. Others include the Myene, Bandjabi, Eshira, Bapounou, and Okande. Ethnic group boundaries are less sharply drawn in Gabon than elsewhere in Africa. French, the official language, is a unifying force. More than 10,000 French people live in Gabon, and France predominates foreign cultural and commercial influences. Historical and environmental factors caused Gabon's population to decline between 1900 and 1940. It is one of the least-densely inhabited countries in Africa, and a labor shortage is a major obstacle to development and a draw for foreign workers. The population is generally accepted to be just over 1 million but remains in dispute.

Population: 1,208,436 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 2000 est.)

Culture

Culture of Gabon

Bwiti
Ethnic groups of Gabon
List of writers from Gabon
Music of Gabon

Miscellaneous topics

Communications in Gabon
Foreign relations of Gabon
List of Gabon-related topics
List of Gabonese companies
Military of Gabon
Postage stamps and postal history of Gabon
Transportation in Gabon

References

David E. Gardinier, Historical Dictionary of Gabon, 2nd ed. (The Scarecrow Press, 1994) - a comprehensive work, with a bibliography of 1,453 items
James F. Barnes, Gabon: Beyond the Colonial Legacy (Boulder: Westview, 1992)

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