Introduction

 Background: Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960. Gabon's current President, El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - has dominated Gabon's political scene for almost four decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, the low turnout and allegations of electoral fraud during the most recent local elections in 2002-03 have exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Presidential elections scheduled for 2005 are unlikely to bring change since the opposition remains weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime. Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.

Geography

 

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea

 

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E

 

Map references: Africa

 

Area: total: 267,667 sq km; land: 257,667 sq km; water: 10,000 sq km

 

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Colorado

 

Land boundaries: total: 2,551 km; border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km

 

Coastline: 885 km

 

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm; contiguous zone: 24 nm; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

 

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

 

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

 

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m

 

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower

 

Land use: arable land: 1.26%; permanent crops: 0.66%; other: 98.08% (2001)

 

Irrigated land: 150 sq km (1998 est.)

 

Natural hazards: NA

 

Environment - current issues: deforestation; poaching

 

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

 

Geography - note: a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity

 

People

 

Population: 1,389,201; note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 293,668/female 291,816); 15-64 years: 53.8% (male 372,134/female 374,850); 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 23,551/female 33,182) (2005 est.)

 

Median age: total: 18.57 years; male: 18.34 years; female: 18.8 years (2005 est.)

 

Population growth rate: 2.45% (2005 est.)

 

Birth rate: 36.24 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Death rate: 11.72 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female; total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

 

Infant mortality rate: total: 53.64 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 63.21 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 43.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

 

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.75 years; male: 54.21 years; female: 57.34 years (2005 est.)

 

Total fertility rate: 4.77 children born/woman (2005 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 8.1% (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 48,000 (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,000 (2003 est.)

 

Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; vectorborne disease: malaria (2004)

 

Nationality: noun: Gabonese (singular and plural); adjective: Gabonese

 

Ethnic groups: Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality

 

Religions: Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%

 

Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

 

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 63.2%; male: 73.7%; female: 53.3% (1995 est.)

 

Government

 

Country name: conventional long form: Gabonese Republic; conventional short form: Gabon; local long form: Republique Gabonaise; local short form: Gabon

 

Government type: republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990)

 

Capital: Libreville

 

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

 

Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)

 

National holiday: Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968)

 

Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991

 

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

 

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

 

Executive branch: chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2 December 1967); head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president; elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president; election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4%

 

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms); elections: National Assembly - last held 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next to be held by January 2009); election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1, independents 13, others 3; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9

 

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts

 

Economy

 

Economy - overview: Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. Gabon signed a 14 month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.

 

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.966 billion (2004 est.)

 

GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2004 est.)

 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2004 est.)

 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7.4%; industry: 46.7%; services: 45.9% (2004 est.)

 

Labor force: 650,000 (2004 est.)

 

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25%

 

Unemployment rate: 21% (1997 est.)

 

Population below poverty line: NA

 

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA; highest 10%: NA

 

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (2004 est.)

 

Investment (gross fixed): 21.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Budget: revenues: $2.129 billion; expenditures: $1.64 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2004 est.)

 

Public debt: 29.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Agriculture - products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish

 

Industries: petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair; food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement

 

Industrial production growth rate: 1.6% (2002 est.)

 

Electricity - production: 1.161 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - consumption: 1.08 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

 

Oil - production: 264,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)

 

Oil - consumption: 13,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - exports: NA

 

Oil - imports: NA

 

Oil - proved reserves: 2.022 billion bbl (2004 est.)

 

Natural gas - production: 80 million cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - consumption: 80 million cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - proved reserves: 66.47 billion cu m (2004)

 

Current account balance: $196.8 million (2004 est.)

 

Exports: $3.71 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Exports - commodities: crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)

 

Exports - partners: US 51.9%, China 9.1%, France 7.7% (2004)

 

Imports: $1.225 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials

 

Imports - partners: France 46.1%, US 6.8%, UK 6% (2004)

 

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $268.6 million (2004 est.)

 

Debt - external: $3.804 billion (2004 est.)

 

Economic aid - recipient: $331 million (1995)

 

Currency (code): Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States

 

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)

 

Fiscal year: calendar year

 

Communications

 

Telephones - main lines in use: 38,400 (2003)

 

Telephones - mobile cellular: 300,000 (2003)

 

Telephone system: general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system; domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations; internation