Gabon




                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator between
     the Congo and Equatorial Guinea
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     267,670 sq km
land area:
     257,670 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Colorado
Land boundaries:
     total 2,551 km, Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350
     km
Coastline:
     885 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed
     sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Climate:
     tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain:
     narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
Natural resources:
     petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Land use:
arable land:
     1%
permanent crops:
     1%
meadows and pastures:
     18%
forest and woodland:
     78%
other:
     2%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq 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, Wetlands; signed,
     but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea


                                  People


Population:
     1,139,006 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.46% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     28.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     13.9 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     94.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     54.67 years
male:
     51.88 years
female:
     57.53 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.97 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective:
     Gabonese
Ethnic divisions:
     Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira,
     Bapounou, Bateke), Africans and Europeans 100,000, including 27,000
     French
Religions:
     Christian 55-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist
Languages:
     French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     61%
male:
     74%
female:
     48%
Labor force:
     120,000 salaried
by occupation:
     agriculture 65.0%, industry and commerce 30.0%, services 2.5%,
     government 2.5%




note:
     58% of population of working age (1983)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Gabonese Republic
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republique Gabonaise
local short form:
Digraph:
     GB
Type:
     republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized
     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:
     Renovation Day, 12 March (1968) (Gabonese Democratic Party
     established)
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;
     compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Suffrage:
     21 years of age; universal
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 NA 1998); results - President
     Omar BONGO was reelected with 51% of the vote
head of government:
     Prime Minister Casimir OYE-MBA (since 3 May 1990)
cabinet:
     Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister in consultation
     with the president
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale):
     elections last held on 21 and 28 October and 4 November 1990 (next to
     be held by NA); 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




Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
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, 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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA
chancery:
     2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
     (202) 797-1000
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) 762003/4, or 743492
FAX:
     [241] 745-507
Flag:
     three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue


                                  Economy




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 GNP. Real growth was feeble in 1992 and Gabon continues to
     face weak prices for its 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 settled arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of
     rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors.
     Devaluation of the local currency by 50% in January 1994 could set off
     an inflationary spiral if the government fails to reign in spending
     and grants large wage increases to an already overpaid public sector
     workforce.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $5.4 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     0.5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $4,800 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     0.7% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     NA%
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.3 billion
expenditures:
     $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $272 million (1992
     est.)
Exports:
     $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est)
commodities:
     crude oil 80%, timber 9%, manganese 7%, uranium 2%
partners:
     France 48%, US 15%, Germany 2%, Japan 2%
Imports:
     $702 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction
     materials, manufactures, machinery
partners:
     France 64%, African countries 7%, US 5%, Japan 3%
External debt:
     $4.4 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -10% (1988 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP, including
     petroleum
Electricity:
capacity:
     315,000 kW
production:
     995 million kWh




consumption per capita:
     920 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     petroleum, food and beverages, lumbering and plywood, textiles, mining
     - manganese, uranium, gold, cement
Agriculture:
     accounts for 9% 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
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
Currency:
     1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
     Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05
     (January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26
     (1990), 319.01 (1989)
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
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     649 km 1.437-meter standard-gauge single track (Transgabonese
     Railroad)
Highways:
total:
     7,500 km
paved:
     560 km
unpaved:
     crushed stone 960 km; earth 5,980 km
Inland waterways:
     1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
     crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Ports:
     Owendo, Port-Gentil, Libreville
Merchant marine:
     2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,562 GRT/25,330 DWT
Airports:
total:
     70
usable:
     59
with permanent-surface runways:
     10




with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     22
Telecommunications:
     adequate system of cable, radio relay, tropospheric scatter links and
     radiocommunication stations; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6
     AM, 6 FM, 3 (5 repeaters) TV; satellite earth stations - 3 Atlantic
     Ocean INTELSAT and 12 domestic satellite


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie,
     National Police
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 270,501; fit for military service 136,995; reach
     military age (20) annually 10,107 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $102 million, 3.2% of GDP (1990 est.)