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Gabon Country Guide

Explore Gabon in Africa

Gabon with the capital city Libreville is located in Africa (Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator). It covers some 267,667 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Colorado) with 1,484,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Gabon

The landscape offers narrow coastal plain with hilly interior and savanna in east and south. The average density of population is approximately 6 per km². The notable climate conditions in Gabon can be described as tropical with always hot, humid. Potential threats by nature are NA.

To reach someone in Gabon dial +241 prior to a number. There are 26,500 installed telephones. And there are 1,373,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".ga". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Gabon

Gabon Flag Icon

Three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue; green represents the country's forests and natural resources, gold represents the equator (which transects Gabon) as well as the sun, blue represents the sea.


El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - dominated the country's political scene for four decades (1967-2009) following independence from France in 1960. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the presidential elections in 2005 exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Following President BONGO''s death in 2009, new elections brought Ali BONGO Ondimba, son of the former president, to power. Despite constrained political conditions, Gabon''s small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make it one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Africa
Neighbours: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo
Capital: Libreville
Size267,667 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 103,346 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Colorado
Population1,484,000
CurrencyName Franc, Currency Code:XAF
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).ga
Telephone Country Prefix+241
Mobile Phone Connections1,373,000
Landline Phone Connections26,500

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area267,667 (sq km)77

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population1,640,286 153
Population growth rate1.96 (%)54
Birth rate34.82 (births/1,000 population)28
Death rate13.11 (deaths/1,000 population)20
Net migration rate-2.11 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)164
Maternal mortality rate230.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)49
Infant mortality rate48.02 (deaths/1,000 live births)44
Life expectancy at birth52.15 (years)214
Total fertility rate4.52 (children born/woman)29
Health expenditures3.50 (% of GDP)175
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate5.20 (%)14
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS46,000 59
HIV/AIDS - deaths2,400 52
Obesity - adult prevalence rate13.90 (%)124
Children under the age of 5 years underweight8.80 (%)70

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)25,910,000,000 121
GDP - real growth rate6.20 (%)45
GDP - per capita (PPP)16,800 80
Labor force756,200 150
Unemployment rate21.00 (%)164
Investment (gross fixed)32.50 (% of GDP)17
Taxes and other revenues29.40 (% of GDP)96
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)6.10 (% of GDP)12
Public debt23.00 (% of GDP)126
Inflation rate (consumer prices)2.70 (%)62
Central bank discount rate4.25 (%)89
Commercial bank prime lending rate15.00 (%)43
Stock of narrow money2,680,000,000 118
Stock of broad money3,918,000,000 133
Stock of domestic credit1,950,000,000 138
Industrial production growth rate4.80 (%)63
Current account balance3,747,000,000 31
Exports10,820,000,000 93
Imports3,496,000,000 141
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold2,430,000,000 118
Debt - external2,758,000,000 135

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production1,604,000,000 (kWh)140
Electricity - consumption1,301,000,000 (kWh)147
Electricity - installed generating capacity415,000 (kW)142
Electricity - from fossil fuels59.00 (% of total installed capacity)138
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants41.00 (% of total installed capacity)54
Crude oil - production244,700 (bbl/day)37
Crude oil - exports226,800 (bbl/day)30
Crude oil - proved reserves1,309,000,000 (bbl)39
Refined petroleum products - production20,700 (bbl/day)97
Refined petroleum products - consumption15,800 (bbl/day)142
Refined petroleum products - exports8,985 (bbl/day)88
Refined petroleum products - imports5,890 (bbl/day)150
Natural gas - production80,000,000 (cu m)81
Natural gas - consumption80,000,000 (cu m)107
Natural gas - proved reserves28,320,000,000 (cu m)73
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy4,592,000 (Mt)126

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use22,500 187
Telephones - mobile cellular1,800,000 145
Internet hosts127 206
Internet users98,800 160

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports45 96
Railways649 (km)105
Roadways9,170 (km)138
Waterways1,600 (km)51
Merchant marine2 140

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures1.80 (% of GDP)79

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda
The Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda demonstrates an unusual interface between dense and well-conserved tropical rainforest and relict savannah environments with a great diversity of species, including endangered large mammals, ...
2007