Gabon

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

• 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 as shown in this population distribution map

• 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

total:

21.8 years (2023 est.)

male:

22.2 years

female:

21.3 years

• 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 as shown in this population distribution map

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.02 male(s)/female

total population:

1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

27.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

30.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

24.7 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

70 years (2023 est.)

male:

68.3 years

female:

71.8 years

degree of risk:

very high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

total:

6.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

5.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

• deforestation (the forests that cover three-quarters of the country are threatened by excessive logging);
• burgeoning population exacerbating disposal of solid waste;
• oil industry contributing to water pollution;
• wildlife poaching

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

91% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

26.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

5.32 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

1.13 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

80 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

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)

etymology:

original site settled by freed slaves and the name means "free town" in French; named in imitation of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone

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 2023 (presidential term reduced to 5 years and election reduced to a single vote)

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

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 single renewable 7-year terms

subordinate courts:

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

• Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG [Ali BONGO Ondimba]
• Restoration of Republican Values or RV
• The Democrats or LD [Guy NZOUBA-NDAMA]
• Paul Mba Abessole

chief of mission:

Ambassador Noel Nelson MESSONE (12 December 2022)

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-1000

FAX:

[1] (301) 332-0668

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://gabonembassyusa.org/en/

chief of mission:

• Ambassador (vacant);
• Chargé d'Affaires Ellen B. THORBURN (since 27 October 2022);
• note - also accredited to Sao Tome and Principe

embassy:

Sabliere, B.P. 4000, Libreville

mailing address:

2270 Libreville Place, Washington, DC 20521-2270

telephone:

[241] 011-45-71-00

FAX:

[241] 011-45-71-05

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ga.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

2 (1 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda (m); Ivindo National Park (n)

• natural resource-rich, upper-middle-income, Central African economy;
• sparsely populated but high urbanization;
• young labor force;
• oil, manganese, and rubber exporter;
• foreign investment dependent;
• data integrity issue on poverty and income

Fitch rating:

CCC (2020)

Moody's rating:

Caa1 (2018)

Standard & Poors rating: N/A (2016)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

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

total:

38.4% (2021 est.)

male:

33.7%

female:

44.4%

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

32.7% (2005)

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

175,000 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

14,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

178,400 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

2 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

319.102 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

319.102 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

25.995 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the telecom market was liberalized in 1999 when the government awarded three mobile telephony licenses and two ISP licenses and established an independent regulatory authority;
• in contrast with the mobile market, Gabon’s fixed-line and internet sectors have remained underdeveloped due to a lack of competition and high prices;
• the country has sufficient international bandwidth on the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE submarine cable;
• the arrival of the ACE submarine cable, combined with progressing work on the CAB cable, has increased back haul capacity supporting mobile data traffic (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile cellular subscriptions are 134 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 241;
• landing points for the SAT-3/WASC, ACE and Libreville-Port Gentil Cable fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and West Africa;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

• 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

total:

649 km (2014)

standard gauge:

649 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

total:

14,300 km (2001)

paved:

900 km (2001)

unpaved:

13,400 km (2001)

major seaport(s):

Libreville, Owendo, Port-Gentil

oil terminal(s):

Gamba, Lucina

• the Gabonese military is a small and lightly-armed force that is responsible for both external and internal security;
• in August 2023, it seized control of the government in a coup;
• some members of the military attempted a failed coup in 2019;
• the Army’s core forces are the Republican Guard and an airborne infantry battalion, which are supported by several small regionally-based infantry units;
• the Gendarmerie has regionally-based “legions,” as well as mobile forces, a national parks security unit, and a special intervention group;
• the Air Force has a small number of older French-made fighter aircraft and some combat helicopters, also mostly of French origin;
• the Navy has a small force of patrol boats (2023)

• has a small space program focused on the acquisition, processing, analysis, and furnishing of data from foreign remote sensing (RS) satellites for environmental management, mapping, natural resources, land use planning, and maritime surveillance, as well as research and innovation;
• has relationships with Brazil, China, the European Space Agency (ESA) and its member states (particularly France), Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, South Africa, and the US;
• shares RS data with neighboring countries (2023)

note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S