Gabon

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

total:

0.12 cu km/yr (50%/8%/42%)

per capita:

87 cu m/yr (2000)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.72 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria and chikungunya

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2009)

noun:

Gabonese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Gabonese

• 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

conventional long form:

Gabonese Republic

conventional short form:

Gabon

local long form:

Republique Gabonaise

local short form:

Gabon

name:

Libreville

geographic coordinates:

0 23 N, 9 27 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 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

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts;
• Constitutional Court;
• Courts of Appeal;
• Court of State Security;
• County Courts

• 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];
• Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Benoit Mouity NZAMBA];
• Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development or UGDD [Zacherie MYBOTO];
• National Rally of Woodcutters or RNB;
• National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE];
• Party of Development and Social Solidarity or PDS [Seraphin Ndoat REMBOGO];
• People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA];
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU];
• Union for Democracy and Social Integration or UDIS;
• Union of Gabonese Patriots or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Carlos BOUNGOU

chancery:

Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-1000

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-0668

consulate(s):

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eunice S. REDDICK

embassy:

Boulevard du Bord de Mer, Libreville

mailing address:

Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville; pouch:2270 Libreville Place, Washington, DC 20521-2270

telephone:

[241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 07380171

FAX:

[241] 74 55 07

agriculture:

60%

industry:

15%

services:

25% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber;
• cattle;
• okoume (a tropical softwood);
• fish

• petroleum extraction and refining;
• manganese, gold;
• chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

general assessment:

• adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of a growing mobile cell network system with multiple providers;
• mobile-cellular subscribership reached nearly 90 per 100 persons in 2008

domestic:

adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations

international:

• country code - 241;
• landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)

total:

814 km

country comparison to the world: 100

standard gauge:

814 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

9,170 km

country comparison to the world: 138

paved:

937 km

unpaved:

8,233 km (2004)

males age 16-49:

331,181

females age 16-49:

332,498 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

195,519

females age 16-49:

190,519 (2009 est.)

male:

16,933

female:

16,942 (2009 est.)

current situation:

• Gabon is predominantly a destination country for children trafficked from other African countries for the purpose of forced labor;
• girls are primarily trafficked for domestic servitude, forced market vending, forced restaurant labor, and sexual exploitation, while boys are trafficked for forced street hawking and forced labor in small workshops

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Gabon is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007, particularly in terms of efforts to convict and punish trafficking offenders;
• the government has not reported the convictions or sentences of any trafficking offenders;
• the government did not take steps to reduce demand for commercial sex acts (2008)