| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon
local long form: Republique Gabonaise
local short form: Gabon |
| Capital: |
Libreville |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Elavation
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 |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990) |
| Administratives
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 |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]; Union for Democracy and Social Integration or UDIS [leader NA]; Union of Gabonese People or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU] |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| 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
international: country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ga |
| Internet hosts: |
93 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
35,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 814 km
standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 8,464 km
paved: 838 km
unpaved: 7,626 km (2000 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2003) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 210 km; oil 1,385 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
56 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 23 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
