Current Environmental Issues: deforesting; poaching

Geography

Map of Gabon. (Source: EIA)

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

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

Natural Hazards: NA

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

Climate

Tropical; always hot, humid

Government

Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime

Capital: Libreville

Independence Date: 17 August 1960 (from France)

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

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

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

Population and Society

Population: 1,485,832

Age Structure

0-14 years: 42.1% (male 314,078/female 311,900)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 399,586/female 401,602)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 24,388/female 34,278) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 1.954% (2008 est.)

Birthrate: 35.75 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: -3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 53.52 years
male: 52.5 years
female: 54.57 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 4.68 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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.)

Water

Total Water Renewable Resources: 164 cu km (1987)

Fresh Water Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):

total: 0.12 cu km/yr (50%/8%/42%)
per capita: 87 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish

Irrigated Land: 70 sq km (2003)

Resouces

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

Land Use:

arable land: 1.21%
permanent crops: 0.64%
other: 98.15% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS Rate in Adults: 8.1% (2003 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and lesser islands and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 7,178 (Republic of Congo) (2007)

Trafficking in Persons:

current situation: Gabon is predominantly a destination country for children trafficked from other African countries for the purpose of forced labor; girls are primarily trafficked for domestic servitude, forced market vending, forced restaurant labor, and sexual exploitation, while boys are trafficked for forced street hawking and forced labor in small workshops
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Gabon is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007, particularly in terms of efforts to convict and punish trafficking offenders; the government has not reported the convictions or sentences of any trafficking offenders; the government did not take steps to reduce demand for commercial sex acts (2008)

Economy

Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. but 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. The devaluation of the CFA franc - 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 mandated progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon 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 since 1999 have helped growth, but drops in production have hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains, and will continue to temper the gains for most of this decade. 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): $20.18 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $11.3 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 5.6% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP) : $14,100 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 5.8%
industry: 58.2%
services: 36% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: NA%

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Industries: petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

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

Export Partners: US 31.5%, China 15.1%, France 9.1%, Malaysia 5.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8% (2006)

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

Import Partners: France 28.1%, US 19.3%, Belgium 5.3%, Netherlands 4.8%, China 4.1% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $53.87 million (2005)

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)

Communication

Telephones-main line in use: 36,500 (2006)

Telephones-mobile/cellular: 1.169 million (2007)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 6, FM 7 (plus 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001)

Television Broadcast Stations: 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2001)

internet Hosts: 288 (2007)

Internet Users: 81,000 (2006)

Transportation

Airports: 53 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 384 km; oil 1,427 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 814 km
standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 9,170 km
paved: 937 km
unpaved: 8,233 km (2004)

Ports and Terminals: Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Port-Gentil