Gabon

republicIndependence 17 August 1960 (from France)

Gabon as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 72 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLibreville

Area267,670 km2

Populationas each edition published it

1.07 million July 1990 · 2.51m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.45% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 54.19 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

4 children per woman 1990 · 3.16 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

106 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 26 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $4,200 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 13% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Land useshare of 267,670 km2

permanent crops 1%meadows and pastures 18%forest and woodland 78%other 2%arable land 1% in all

Total area

267,670km2

land area: 257,670 km2Comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado

Coastline

885km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

2,551km total

Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km

Disputes

maritime boundary with Equatorial Guinea

Terrain

narrow coastal plain;
hilly interior;
savanna in east and south

Natural resources

crude oil, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore

People

14 fields

Population

1,068,240

(July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

28Death

Labor force

120,000salaried

65.0% agriculture, 30.0% industry and commerce, 2.5% services, 2.5% government; 58% of population of working age (1983)

Literacy

61.6%

Nationality

noun--Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective--Gabonese

Ethnic divisions

about 40 Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke);
about 100,000 expatriate Africans and Europeans, including 27,000 French

Religion

55-75% Christian, less than 1% Muslim, remainder animist

Language

French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Organized labor

there are 38,000 members of the national trade union, the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA)

Government

Republic

17 fields

National Assembly, 111 seats, elected 17 February 1985one dot, one seat

(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 111

Type

republic; one-party presidential regime since 1964

Administrative divisions

9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

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

National holiday

Renovation Day (Gabonese Democratic Party established), 12 March (1968)

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Assemble Nationale)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme) Chief of State--President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Leon MEBIAME (since 16 April 1975)

Political parties and leaders

only party--Gabonese Social Democratic Rally (RSDG), El Hadj Omar Bongo, president;
formerly Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which was dissolved in February 1990

Suffrage

universal at age 21 President--last held on 9 November 1986 (next to be held November 1993);
results--President Omar BONGO was reelected without opposition;
National Assembly--last held on 17 February 1985 (next to be held by February 1992);
results--PDG was the only party;
seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 111

Communists

no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers

ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central African States, EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Jean Robert ODZAGA;
Chancery at 2034 20th Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone (202) 797-1000;
US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE;
Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville (mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville);
telephone 762003 or 762004, 761337, 721348, 740248

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue

Economy

The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$3.2billion

per capita $3,200; real growth rate 0% (1989)

Inflation, consumer prices

(1989)

External debt

$2.0billion

(October 1989)

Exports $1.14 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.)commodities, where a share is given

crude oil

70%manganese

11%wood

12%uranium

; partners--France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan

Budget

Revenues

$927 millionExpenditures

$1.2 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $33 million (1988)

Overview

The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85 oil accounted for about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government revenues on average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a substantial increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand, reinforced migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real wages to among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The three-year slide of Gabon's economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, stabilized in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped, accounting for only 8% and 10%, respectively, of GDP in 1986.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Imports

$0.76 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactures, machinery;
partners--France 48%, US 2.6%, FRG, Japan, UK

Industrial production

growth rate 1.7% (1986)

Electricity

310,000 kW capacity; 980 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

sawmills, petroleum, food and beverages; mining of increasing importance (especially manganese and uranium)

Agriculture

accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing and forestry);
cash crops--cocoa, coffee, palm oil;
livestock not developed;
importer of food;
small fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons;
okoume (a tropical softwood) is the most important timber product

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $64 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $27 million

Communications

9 fields

Airports, 79 total, 68 usable

permanent-surface runways

10runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

2runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

7,500Inland waterways

1,600

Highways: ; 560 km paved, 960 km laterite, 5,980 km earth

adequate system of open-wire, radio relay, tropospheric scatter links and radiocommunication stations;
13,800 telephones;
stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 8 TV;
satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 12 domestic satellite

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

266,110fit for military service

133,158reach military age (20) annually

9,282

Defense expenditures

3.2%of GDP

or $102 million (1990 est.)

Branches