1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline
885 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Colorado
Contiguous zone
24 nm;
Disputes
maritime boundary with Equatorial Guinea
Environment
deforestation
Exclusive fishing zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
2,551 km total; Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km
Land use
1% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 78% forest and woodland; 2% other
Natural resources
crude oil, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Terrain
narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
267,670 km2; land area: 257,670 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
about 40 Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke); about 100,000 expatriate Africans and Europeans, including 27,000 French
Infant mortality rate
106 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
120,000 salaried; 65.0% agriculture, 30.0% industry and commerce, 2.5% services, 2.5% government; 58% of population of working age
Language
French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Life expectancy at birth
50 years male, 56 years female (1990)
Literacy
61.6%
Nationality
noun--Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective--Gabonese
Net migration rate
- 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
there are 38,000 members of the national trade union, the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA)
Population
1,068,240 (July 1990), growth rate 0.8% (1990)
Religion
55-75% Christian, less than 1% Muslim, remainder animist
Total fertility rate
4.0 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem
Capital
Libreville
Communists
no organized party; probably some Communist sympathizers
Constitution
21 February 1961, revised 15 April 1975
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Jean Robert ODZAGA; Chancery at 2034 20th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 797-1000; US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE; Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville (mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville); telephone 762003 or 762004, 761337, 721348, 740248
Elections
President--last held on 9 November 1986 (next to be held November 1993); results--President Omar BONGO was reelected without opposition; National Assembly--last held on 17 February 1985 (next to be held by February 1992); results--PDG was the only party; seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 111
Executive branch
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue
Independence
17 August 1960 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders
Chief of State--President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967); Head of Government--Prime Minister Leon MEBIAME (since 16 April 1975)
Legal system
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Assemble Nationale)
Long-form name
Gabonese Republic
Member of
ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central African States, 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, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Renovation Day (Gabonese Democratic Party established), 12 March (1968)
Political parties and leaders
only party--Gabonese Social Democratic Rally (RSDG), El Hadj Omar Bongo, president; formerly Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which was dissolved in February 1990
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
republic; one-party presidential regime since 1964
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cash crops--cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock not developed; importer of food; small fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons; okoume (a tropical softwood) is the most important timber product
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $64 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $27 million
Budget
revenues $927 million; expenditures $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $33 million (1988)
Currency
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Electricity
310,000 kW capacity; 980 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Exports
$1.14 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--crude oil 70%, manganese 11%, wood 12%, uranium 6%; partners--France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan
External debt
$2.0 billion (October 1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$3.2 billion, per capita $3,200; real growth rate 0% (1989)
Imports
$0.76 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactures, machinery; partners--France 48%, US 2.6%, FRG, Japan, UK
Industrial production
growth rate 1.7% (1986)
Industries
sawmills, petroleum, food and beverages; mining of increasing importance (especially manganese and uranium)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3% (1989)
Overview
The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85 oil accounted for about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government revenues on average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a substantial increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand, reinforced migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real wages to among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of Gabon's economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, stabilized in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped, accounting for only 8% and 10%, respectively, of GDP in 1986.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
79 total, 68 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
11 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,500 km total; 560 km paved, 960 km laterite, 5,980 km earth
Inland waterways
1,600 km perennially navigable
Merchant marine
2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,563 GRT/25,330 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil, 270 km; refined products, 14 km
Ports
Owendo, Port-Gentil, Libreville
Railroads
649 km 1.437-meter standard-gauge single track
Telecommunications
adequate system of open-wire, radio relay, tropospheric scatter links and radiocommunication stations; 13,800 telephones; stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 8 TV; satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 12 domestic satellite
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie
Defense expenditures
3.2% of GDP, or $102 million (1990 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 266,110; 133,158 fit for military service; 9,282 reach military age (20) annually