Gabon

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

agricultural land:

19%;

• arable land 1.2%;
• permanent crops 0.6%;
• permanent pasture 17.2%

forest:

81%

other:

0% (2011 est.)

• the relatively small population is spread in pockets throughout the country;
• the largest urban center is the capital of Libreville, located along the Atlantic coast in the northwest

• deforestation;
• burgeoning population exacerbating disposal of solid waste;
• oil industry contributing to water pollution;
• wildlife poaching

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

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

• the relatively small population is spread in pockets throughout the country;
• the largest urban center is the capital of Libreville, located along the Atlantic coast in the northwest

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Gabonese Republic

conventional short form:

Gabon

local long form:

Republique Gabonaise

local short form:

Gabon

etymology:

name originates from the Portuguese word "gabao" meaning "cloak," which is roughly the shape that the early explorers gave to the estuary of the Komo River by the capital of Libreville

name:

Libreville

geographic coordinates:

0 23 N, 9 27 E

time difference:

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

history:

previous 1961; latest drafted May 1990, adopted 15 March 1991, promulgated 26 March 1991

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic, by the Council of Ministers, or by one-third of either house of Parliament;
• passage requires Constitutional Court evaluation, at least two-thirds majority vote of two-thirds of the Parliament membership convened in joint session, and approval in a referendum;
• constitutional articles on Gabon’s democratic form of government cannot be amended;
• amended several times, last in 2011 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Gabon

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Ali BONGO Ondimba (since 16 October 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Emmanuel ISSOZE-NGONDET (since 29 September 2016)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 27 August 2016 (next to be held in August 2023);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Ali BONGO Ondimba reelected president; percent of vote - Ali BONGO Ondimba (PDG) 49.8%, Jean PING (UFC) 48.2%, other 2.0%

description:

bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (number of seats not fixed; members indirectly elected by municipal councils and departmental assemblies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds; members serve 6-year terms) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

• Senate - last held on 13 December 2014 (next to be held in January 2020);
• National Assembly - last held on 17 December 2011 (next originally scheduled on 27 December 2016, was rescheduled several times, latest to April 2018)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PDG 81, CLR 7, PSD 2, ADERE-UPG 1, UPG 1, PGCI 1, independent 7;
• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - PDG 113, RPG 3, other 4

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of 4 permanent specialized supreme courts - Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation, Administrative Supreme Court or Conseil d'Etat, Accounting Supreme Court or Cour des Comptes, Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle - and the non-permanent Court of State Security, initiated only for cases of high treason by the president and criminal activity by executive branch officials

judge selection and term of office:

• appointment and tenure of Supreme, Administrative, Accounting, and State Security courts NA;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed - 3 by the national president, 3 by the president of the Senate, and 3 by the president of the National Assembly;
• judges serve 7-year, single renewable terms

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• county courts;
• military courts

• Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean-Boniface ASSELE]
• Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [DIDJOB Divungui di Ndinge]
• Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG [Ali BONGO Ondimba]
• Independent Center Party of Gabon or PGCI [Luccheri GAHILA]
• Rally for Gabon or RPG
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]
• Union for the New Republic or UPRN [Louis Gaston MAYILA]
• Union of Gabonese People or UPG [Richard MOULOMBA]
• Union of Forces for Change or UFC [Jean PING]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael MOUSSA-NDONG (since September 9, 2011)

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-1000

FAX:

[1] (301) 332-0668

chief of mission:

Ambassador Cynthia AKUETTEH (since 13 August 2014); note - also accredited to Sao Tome and Principe

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] 01-45-71-00

FAX:

[241] 01-74-55-07

• three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue;
• green represents the country's forests and natural resources, gold represents the equator (which transects Gabon) as well as the sun, blue represents the sea

name:

"La Concorde" (The Concorde)

lyrics/music:

Georges Aleka DAMAS

note: adopted 1960

• 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

agriculture:

64%

industry:

12%

services:

24% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

32.7% (2005)

general assessment:

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

domestic:

a growing mobile cellular network with multiple providers is making telephone service more widely available with mobile cellular teledensity approaching 150 per 100 persons

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) (2016)

• state owns and operates 2 TV stations and 2 radio broadcast stations;
• a few private radio and TV stations;
• transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible;
• satellite service subscriptions are available (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

5; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 7

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

137,331

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

649 km

standard gauge:

649 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 107

total:

9,170 km

paved:

1,097 km

unpaved:

8,073 km (2007)

country comparison to the world: 140

major seaport(s):

Libreville, Owendo, Port-Gentil

oil terminal(s):

Gamba, Lucina

current situation:

• Gabon is primarily a destination and transit country for adults and children from West and Central African countries subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• boys are forced to work as street vendors, mechanics, or in the fishing sector, while girls are subjected to domestic servitude or forced to work in markets or roadside restaurants;
• West African women are forced into domestic servitude or prostitution;
• men are reportedly forced to work on cattle farms;
• some foreign adults end up in forced labor in Gabon after initially seeking the help of human smugglers to help them migrate clandestinely;
• traffickers operate in loose, ethnic-based criminal networks, with female traffickers recruiting and facilitating the transport of victims from source countries;
• in some cases, families turn child victims over to traffickers, who promise paid jobs in Gabon

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Gabon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• Gabon’s existing laws do not prohibit all forms of trafficking, and the government failed to pass a legal amendment drafted in 2013 to criminalize the trafficking of adults;
• anti-trafficking law enforcement decreased in 2014, dropping from 50 investigations to 16, and the only defendant to face prosecution fled the country;
• government efforts to identify and refer victims to protective services declined from 50 child victims in 2013 to just 3 in 2014, none of whom was referred to a care facility;
• the government provided support to four centers offering services to orphans and vulnerable children – 14 child victims identified by an NGO received government assistance;
• no adult victims have been identified since 2009 (2015)