Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0086
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Gabon
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Gabon 
 
 
                                   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.)
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.