1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 267,670 sq km land area: 257,670 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado
Climate
tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline
885 km
Environment
current issues: deforestation; poaching natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
International disputes
maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Land boundaries
total 2,551 km, 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%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Congo and Equatorial Guinea
Map references
Africa
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Terrain
narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 34% (female 193,859; male 194,761) 15-64 years: 61% (female 347,839; male 359,997) 65 years and over: 5% (female 30,218; male 29,075) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
28.34 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
13.72 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 100,000, including 27,000 French
Infant mortality rate
92.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
120,000 salaried by occupation: agriculture 65.0%, industry and commerce 30.0%, services 2.5%, government 2.5%
Languages
French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 55.14 years male: 52.31 years female: 58.06 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 61% male: 74% female: 48%
Nationality
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
1,155,749 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
1.46% (1995 est.)
Religions
Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist
Total fertility rate
3.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem
Capital
Libreville
Constitution
adopted 14 March 1991
Digraph
GB
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007, Suite 200 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
Executive branch
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967); election last held on 5 December 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - President Omar BONGO was reelected with 51% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Paulin OBAME Nguema (since 9 December 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
FAX
[241] 74 55 07
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue
Independence
17 August 1960 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
Member of
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon
National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
elections last held on 5 December 1993 (next to be held by 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) PDG 62, Morena-Bucherons/RNB 19, PGP 18, National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original) 7, APSG 6, USG 4, CRP 1, independents 3
National holiday
Renovation Day, 12 March (1968) (Gabonese Democratic Party established)
Political parties and leaders
Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG, former sole party), Jaques ADIAHENOT, Secretary General; National Recovery Movement - Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons/RNB), Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE, leader; Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP), Pierre-Louis AGONDHO-OKAWE, President; National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original), Pierre ZONGUE-NGUEMA, Chairman; Association for Socialism in Gabon (APSG), leader NA; Gabonese Socialist Union (USG), leader NA; Circle for Renewal and Progress (CRP), leader NA; Union for Democracy and Development (UDD), leader NA; Rally of Democrats (RD), leader NA; Forces of Change for Democratic Union, leader NA
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
Type
republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph C. WILSON IV embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops - cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock raising 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: $1.3 billion expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $311 million (1993 est.)
Currency
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $68 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2.342 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
Electricity
capacity: 315,000 kW production: 910 million kWh consumption per capita: 757 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Exports
$2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est) commodities: crude oil 80%, timber 10%, manganese 6%, uranium 2% partners: US 38%, France 26%, Japan, Germany
External debt
$3.3 billion (1993 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$832 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactures, machinery partners: France 42%, African countries 23%, US, Japan
Industrial production
growth rate -3% (1991)
Industries
food and beverages, lumbering and plywood, textiles, cement, petroleum refining, mining - manganese, uranium, gold, petroleum
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
35% (1994 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $5.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$4,900 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
1.9% (1994 est.)
Overview
Notwithstanding its serious ongoing economic problems, Gabon enjoys a per capita income more than twice that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Real growth was feeble in 1992 and Gabon continues to face the problem of fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite an abundance of natural wealth, and a manageable rate of population growth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% in January 1994 did not set off an expected inflationary spiral but the government must continue to keep a tight reign on spending and wage increases.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Telephone system
15,000 telephones; telephone density - 13/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: adequate system, comprising cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiocommunication stations, and 12 domestic satellite links international: 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Television
broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 5) televisions: NA
Transportation
Airports
total: 69 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 28 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 8 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 23
Highways
total: 7,500 km paved: 560 km unpaved: crushed stone 960 km; earth 5,980 km
Inland waterways
1,600 km perennially navigable
Merchant marine
total: 1 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,281 GRT/12,665 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Ports
Cape Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Owendo, Port-Gentil
Railroads
total: 649 km single track (Transgabonese Railroad) standard gauge: 649 km 1.437-m gauge
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, National Police
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $154 million, 2.4% of GDP (1993) ________________________________________________________________________ THE GAMBIA
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 272,025; males fit for military service 138,197; males reach military age (20) annually 10,516 (1995 est.)