Gabon

republicIndependence 17 August 1960 (from France)

Gabon as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 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

1.08 million July 1991 · 1.07m in 1990

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 1991 · 4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

104 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 106 in 1990

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

10 fields

Total area

267,670km2

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

Land boundaries

2,551km total

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

Coastline

885 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

Terrain

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

Natural resources

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

Land use

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

People

14 fields

Population

1,079,980

(July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

28Death

14Net migration

Labor force

120,000salaried

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

Literacy

61%

(male 74%, female 48%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

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

Christian 55-75%, Muslim less than 1%, 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, 94 seats, elected 28 October 1990one dot, one seat

(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 62PGP 18ASPG 6USG 4CRP 1independent 3

Type

republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)

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 (Assemblee Nationale)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme) Chief of State--President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Casimir OYE-MBA (since 3 May 1990)

Political parties and leaders

Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG, former sole party), El Hadj Omar BONGO, president;
National Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons);
Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP);
National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original);
Association for Socialism in Gabon (APSG);
Gabonese Socialist Union (USG);
Circle for Renewal and Progress (CRP);
Union for Democracy and Development (UDD)

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 28 October 1990 (next to be held by February 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 62, National Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons) 19, PGP 18, National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original) 7, ASPG 6, USG 4, CRP 1, independent 3

Communists

no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador-designate Alexandre SAMBAT;
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, 743492

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

$3.3billion

per capita $3,090; real growth rate 13% (1990 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

(1989 est.)

External debt

$3.4billion

(December 1990 est.)

Exports $1.16 billion (f.o.b., 1989)commodities, where a share is given

crude oil

70%manganese

11%wood

12%uranium

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

Budget

Revenues

$1.1 billionExpenditures

$1.5 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $277 million (1990 est.)

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, was reversed in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the economy continued to grow, but debt servicing problems are hindering economic advancement. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped, except for oil.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Imports

$0.78 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 - 10% (1988 est.)

Electricity

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

Industries

petroleum, food and beverages, timber, cement plywood, textiles, mining--manganese, uranium, gold)

Agriculture

accounts for 10% 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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $66 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million

Communications

9 fields

Airports, 73 total, 61 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