1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline
885 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Colorado
Disputes
maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Environment
deforestation
Land boundaries
2,551 km total; Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km
Land use
arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 78%; other 2%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
crude oil, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Terrain
narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
Total area
267,670 km2; land area: 257,670 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
28 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
14 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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
104 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
120,000 salaried; agriculture 65.0%, industry and commerce 30.0%, services 2.5%, government 2.5%; 58% of population of working age (1983)
Language
French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Life expectancy at birth
51 years male, 56 years female (1991)
Literacy
61% (male 74%, female 48%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Gabonese (sing., pl.); adjective--Gabonese
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
there are 38,000 members of the national trade union, the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation (COSYGA)
Population
1,079,980 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
Religion
Christian 55-75%, Muslim less than 1%, remainder animist
Total fertility rate
4.0 children born/woman (1991)
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-designate Alexandre SAMBAT; 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, 743492
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 28 October 1990 (next to be held by February 1992); results--percent of vote NA; seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 62, National Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons) 19, PGP 18, National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original) 7, ASPG 6, USG 4, CRP 1, independent 3
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 Casimir OYE-MBA (since 3 May 1990)
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 (Assemblee Nationale)
Long-form name
Gabonese Republic
Member of
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Renovation Day (Gabonese Democratic Party established), 12 March (1968)
Political parties and leaders
Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG, former sole party), El Hadj Omar BONGO, president; National Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons); Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP); National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original); Association for Socialism in Gabon (APSG); Gabonese Socialist Union (USG); Circle for Renewal and Progress (CRP); Union for Democracy and Development (UDD)
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 10% 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
Budget
revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $277 million (1990 est.)
Currency
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $66 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
Electricity
310,000 kW capacity; 980 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--253.32 (December 1990), 171.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Exports
$1.16 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--crude oil 70%, manganese 11%, wood 12%, uranium 6%; partners--France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan
External debt
$3.4 billion (December 1990 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$3.3 billion, per capita $3,090; real growth rate 13% (1990 est.)
Imports
$0.78 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 - 10% (1988 est.)
Industries
petroleum, food and beverages, timber, cement plywood, textiles, mining--manganese, uranium, gold)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3% (1989 est.)
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, was reversed in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the economy continued to grow, but debt servicing problems are hindering economic advancement. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped, except for oil.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
73 total, 61 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 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 (Transgabonese Railroad)
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, Presidential Guard, paramilitary Gendarmerie, National Police
Defense expenditures
$102 million, 3.2% of GDP (1990 est.) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 266,472; 133,648 fit for military service; 9,634 reach military age (20) annually