1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
264,180 km2; 75% forested, 15% savanna, 9% urban and wasteland, less than 1% cultivated
Coastline
885 km
Land boundaries
2,422 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
100 nm; fishing, 150 nm
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
about 40 Bantu tribes, including 4 major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Mbede, Okande); about 100,000 expatriate Africans and Europeans, including 20,000 French
Labor force
about 280,000 of whom 98,000 are wage earners in the modern sector (late 1979)
Language
French official language and medium of instruction in schools; Fang is a major vernacular language
Literacy
government claims more than 80% of school age children in school, but literacy rate is substantially below this figure—20%
Organized labor
there are 38,000 members of the national trade union, the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA)
Population
662,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.3% 'Nationality: noun—Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective—Gabonese
Religion
55% to 75% Christian, less than 1% Muslim, remainder animist
Government
Branches
power centralized in President, elected by universal suffrage for seven-year term; unicameral 93-member National Assembly (including nine members chosen by Omar Bongo) has limited powers; constitution amended in 1979 so that Assembly deputies will serve five-year terms; independent judiciary
Capital
Libreville
Communists
no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers
Elections
Presidential election last held December 1979, next presidential election scheduled for 1986; parliamentary election last held February 1980, next election scheduled for 1985; constitutional change separates dates for presidential and parliamentary elections Political parties and leaders: Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) led by President Bongo is only legal party
Government leader
President El Hadj Omar BONGO
Legal system
based on French civil law system and customary law; constitution adopted 1961; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; legal education at Center of Higher and Legal Studies at Libreville; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Member of
AFDB, Conference of East and Central African States, BDECA (Central African Development Bank), EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAB (African Wood Organization), OAU, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
12 March, 17 August
Official name
Gabonese Republic
Political subdivisions
nine provinces subdivided into 36 prefectures
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
republic; one-party presidential regime since 1964
Economy
Agriculture
commercial—cocoa, coffee, wood, palm oil, rice; main food crops—bananas, manioc, peanuts, root crops; imports food
Budget
(1979) revenues $1.1 billion, current expenditures $605 million, development expenditures $344 million
Electric power
175,400 kW capacity (1980); 564 million kWh produced (1980), 869 kWh per capita
Exports
$1,770 million (f.o.b., 1979); crude petroleum, wood and wood products, minerals (manganese, uranium concentrates, gold), coffee
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 10,000 metric tons (excluding shellfish) (1978)
GDP
$3.8 billion (1980), $6,333 per capita; 7.1% annual growth rate (1971-81)
Imports
$615 million (f.o.b., 1979); excluding UDEAC trade; mining, roadbuilding machinery, electrical equipment, transport vehicles, foodstuffs, textiles
Major industries
petroleum production, sawmills, petroleum refinery; mining of increasing importance; major minerals—manganese, uranium, iron (not produced)
Major trade partners
France, US, West Germany, and Curacao
Monetary conversion rate
212.7 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs=US$1 (1979)
Communications
Airfields
121 total, 98 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
20 major transport aircraft
Highways
6,947 km total; 459 km paved, 5,517 km gravel and improved and 971 km unimproved
Inland waterways
approximately 1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines
crude oil, 270 km
Ports
2 major (Owendo and Port-Gentil), 3 minor
Railroads
970 km standard gauge (1.437 m) under construction; 180 km are completed
Telecommunications
adequate system of open-wire, radio-relay, tropospheric scatter links and radiocommunication stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station; 7 AM, 2 FM, and 8 TV stations; 11,600 telephones (1.2 per 100 popl.)
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $49.5 million; 3.1% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 158,000; 81,000 fit for military service; 5,000 reach military age (20) annually