1985 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1985 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Agriculture
commercial — cocoa, coffee, wood, palm oil, rice; main food crops — pineapples, bananas, manioc, peanuts, root crops; imports food
Area
267,667 km2; the size of Colorado; 75% forest, 15% savanna, 9% urban and waste, less than 1% cultivated
Branches
power centralized in President, elected by universal suffrage for seven-year term; unicameral legislature (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
Budget
(1982) revenues, $1.4 billion; current expenditures, $0.5 billion; capital expenditures, $0.6 billion
Capital
Libreville
Coastline
885 km People
Elections
presidential election last held December 1979, next scheduled for 1986; parliamentary election last held February 1980, next 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 Communist*: no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers
Electric power
280,000 kW capacity (1984); 735 million kWh produced (1984), 767 kWh per capita
Ethnic divisions
about 40 Bantu tribes, including 4 major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke); about 100,000expatriate Africans and Europeans, including 35,000 French
Exports
$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1982); crude petroleum, wood and wood products, minerals (manganese, uranium concentrates, gold)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 52,638 metric tons (1982)
GDP
$3.4 billion (1983), $3,692 per capita; 0.7% annual growth rate (1981)
Government leader
El Hadj Omar BONGO, President (since December 1967)
HIM
fishing, 150 nm
Imports
$0.7 billion (f.o.b., 1982); mining, roadbuilding machinery, electrical equipment, transport vehicles, foodstuffs, textiles
Labor force
120,000 salaried (1983); 65% agriculture, 30% industry and commerce, 2.5% services, 2.5% government
Land boundaries
2,422 km Water
Language
French (official); Fang, Myene, Bateke
Legal system
based on French civil law system and customary law; constitution adopted 1961; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; legal education at Center of Higher and Legal Studies at Libreville; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
100
Literacy
65%
Major industries
petroleum production, sawmills, petroleum refinery, food and beverage processing; mining of increasing importance; major minerals — manganese, uranium, iron (not produced)
Major trade partners
France, US, FRG, Curacao
Member of
Af DB, African Wood Organization, Conference of East and Central African States, BDECA (Central African Development Bank), EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCO, ICO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, QIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy
Monetary conversion rate
479.875 Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) francs=US$l (December 1984)
National holidays
Renovation Day, 12 March; Independence Day, 17 August; major Islamic and Christian holidays
Nationality
noun — Gabonese(sing., pi.); adject i ve — Gabonese
Official name
Gabonese Republic
Organized labor
there are 38,000 members of the national trade union, the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA) Government
Political subdivisions
nine provinces subdivided into 36 prefectures
Population
988,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 3.1%
Religion
55-75% Christian, less than 1% Muslim, remainder animist
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
republic; one-party presidential regime since 1964