Flag of Gabon is three equal horizontal bands of green at top,
yellow, and
blue.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Gabonese
Republic
Geography
Area: 267,667 sq. km. (103,347 sq. mi.); about the size of
Colorado. Cities:
Capital--Libreville (pop. 673,995). Other
cities--Port-Gentil
(118,940),
Franceville.
Terrain: Narrow coastal plain; hilly, heavily forested interior
(about 80% forested); some savanna regions in east and
south.
Climate: Hot and humid all year with two rainy and two dry
seasons.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Gabonese (sing. and
pl.).
Population (July 2007 est.):
1,454,867.
Annual growth rate (2007 est.):
2.036%.
Ethnic groups: Fang (largest), Myene, Bapounou, Eshira, Bandjabi,
Bakota, Nzebi,
Bateke/Obamba.
Religions: Christian (55%-75%), Muslim,
animist.
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke,
Bapounou/Eschira,
Bandjabi.
Education: Years compulsory--to age 16. Attendance--60%.
Literacy--63%. Health: Infant mortality
rate--54/1,000. Life expectancy--54
yrs.
Work force (500,000 est.): Agriculture--52%; industry and
commerce--16%; services and
government--33%.
Government
Type:
Republic.
Independence: August 17,
1960.
Constitution: February 21, 1961 (revised April 15, 1975; rewritten
March 26, 1991; revised July 29,
2003).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state); prime minister (head
of government) and appointed Council of
Ministers. Legislative--bicameral
legislature (National Assembly and Senate). Judicial--Supreme
Court. Administrative
subdivisions: 9 provinces, 36 prefectures, and
8
subprefectures.
Political parties: Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG) holds the
largest number of seats in the National Assembly; there are several
others.
Suffrage: Universal,
direct.
Central government budget (2001 est.): Receipts--$1.6 billion;
expenses--$1.2 billion; defense (1999)--3.0% of government
budget.
Economy
GDP (2006 est.): $7.052
billion.
Annual real growth rate (2006 est.):
2.8%.
Per capita income (2006 est.):
$7,200.
Avg. inflation rate (2006 est.):
2.2%.
Natural resources: Petroleum (43% of GDP), timber, manganese,
uranium. Agriculture and forestry
(5.9% of GDP): Products--cocoa, coffee, rubber,
sugar, and pineapples. Cultivated
land--1%.
Industry (59.7% of GDP): Types--petroleum related, wood processing,
food and beverage
processing.
Services (25% of
GDP).
Trade (2006): Exports--$6.677 billion (f.o.b.): petroleum, wood,
manganese. Major markets--U.S. 53%, China 8.5%, France 7.4%,
EU, Asia. Imports--$1.607 billion (f.o.b.): construction
equipment, machinery, food, automobiles,
manufactured goods. Major suppliers--France 43%, U.S. 6.3%, U.K.
5.8%, Netherlands 4%. Current
account balance (2006 est.)--$1.807
billion.
PEOPLE
Almost all Gabonese are of Bantu origin. Gabon has at least 40 ethnic
groups, with separate languages and cultures. The largest is the Fang
(about 30%). Other ethnic groups include the Myene,
Bandjabi, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke/ Obamba, Nzebi, and
Bakota. Ethnic group boundaries are less sharply drawn in Gabon than
elsewhere in Africa. French, the official language, is a unifying
force. More than 12,000 French people live in Gabon, including an
estimated 2,000 dual nationals, and France dominates foreign
cultural and commercial influences. Historical and
environmental factors caused Gabon's population to decline between
1900 and 1940. It is one of the least densely
inhabited countries in Africa, and a
labor shortage is a major obstacle to development and a draw for
foreign workers. The population is generally accepted to be
just over 1 million but remains in
dispute.
HISTORY
During the last seven centuries, Bantu ethnic groups arrived in the
area from several directions to escape enemies or find new land.
Little is known of tribal life before European
contact, but tribal art suggests rich cultural heritages.
Gabon's first European visitors were Portuguese traders
who arrived in the 15th century
and named the country after the Portuguese word "gabao," a coat
with sleeve and hood resembling the shape of the Komo River
estuary. The coast became a center of the slave trade. Dutch, British,
and French traders came in the 16th century. France
assumed the status of
protector by signing treaties with Gabonese coastal chiefs in 1839 and 1841.
American missionaries from New England established a mission at
Baraka (now Libreville) in 1842. In 1849, the French captured a
slave ship and released the passengers at the mouth of the Komo
River. The slaves named their
settlement Libreville--"free town." An American, Paul du Chaillu, was
among the first foreigners to explore the interior of the
country in the 1850s. French explorers penetrated
Gabon's dense jungles between 1862 and 1887. The most famous,
Savorgnan de Brazza, used Gabonese bearers and guides in his
search for the headwaters of the Congo River. France occupied Gabon
in 1885 but did not administer it until 1903. In 1910, Gabon
became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa,
a federation that survived until 1959. The
territories became independent in 1960 as the Central
African Republic, Chad, Congo
(Brazzaville), and
Gabon.
At the time of Gabon's independence in 1960, two principal political
parties existed: the Bloc Democratique Gabonais (BDG), led by Leon
M'Ba, and the Union Democratique et Sociale
Gabonaise (UDSG), led by J.H. Aubame. In the first
post-independence election, held under a parliamentary system, neither
party was able to win a majority. The BDG obtained support from three
of the four independent legislative deputies, and M'Ba was named
Prime Minister. Soon after concluding that Gabon
had an insufficient number of people for a two-party system,
the two party leaders agreed on a single list
of
candidates. In the February 1961 election, held under the new
presidential system, M'Ba became President and Aubame
became Foreign
Minister.
This one-party system appeared to work until February 1963, when the
larger BDG element forced the UDSG members to choose between a
merger of the parties or resignation. The UDSG cabinet ministers
resigned, and M'Ba called an election
for February 1964 and a reduced number of National Assembly deputies
(from 67 to 47). The UDSG failed to muster a list of candidates able to meet
the requirements of the electoral decrees. When the BDG appeared
likely to win the election by default, the Gabonese
military toppled M'Ba in a
bloodless coup on February 18, 1964. French troops re-established
his government the next
day. Elections were held in April 1964 with
many opposition
participants. BDG-supported candidates won 31 seats and
the opposition 16. Late in 1966,
the constitution was revised to provide for
automatic succession of the vice president should the president die
in office. In March 1967, Leon
M'Ba and Omar Bongo (then Albert Bongo) were
elected President and Vice President. M'Ba died later that year, and
Omar Bongo became
President.
In March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving
the BDG and establishing a new party--the Parti Democratique
Gabonais (PDG). He invited all
Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation,
to participate. Bongo was elected
President in February 1975; in April 1975, the office of vice
president was abolished and replaced by the office of prime
minister, who had no right to automatic succession. Bongo was
re-elected President in December 1979 and
November 1986 to 7-year terms. Using the PDG as a tool to
submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that divided Gabonese
politics in the past, Bongo sought to forge a single national movement
in support of the government's development
policies.
Economic discontent and a desire for political liberalization
provoked violent demonstrations
and strikes by students and workers in early 1990. In response to
grievances by workers, Bongo negotiated with them on
a
sector-by-sector basis, making significant wage concessions. In addition, he
promised to open up the PDG and to organize a national political
conference in March-April 1990 to discuss Gabon's future
political system. The PDG and 74 political organizations
attended the conference. Participants essentially divided into two
loose coalitions, the ruling PDG and its allies, and the
United Front of Opposition Associations and Parties, consisting of
the breakaway Morena Fundamental
and the Gabonese Progress
Party.
The April 1990 conference approved sweeping political reforms,
including creation of a national Senate,
decentralization of the budgetary process, freedom
of assembly and press, and cancellation of the exit visa requirement.
In an attempt to guide the political system's transformation to
multiparty democracy, Bongo resigned as PDG chairman and
created a transitional
government headed by a new Prime Minister, Casimir Oye-Mba. The
Gabonese Social Democratic Grouping (RSDG),
as the resulting government was called, was smaller than
the previous government and included representatives from
several opposition parties in its cabinet. The RSDG drafted a
provisional constitution in May 1990 that provided
a basic bill of rights and an
independent judiciary but retained strong executive powers for the
president. After further review by a constitutional committee and the
National Assembly, this document came into force in March 1991. Under
the 1991 constitution, in the event of the president's death, the
prime minister, the National Assembly president, and the defense
minister were to share power until a new election could be
held.
Opposition to the PDG continued, however, and in September 1990, two
coup d'etat attempts were uncovered and aborted.
Despite anti-government
demonstrations after the untimely death of an opposition leader, the
first multiparty National Assembly elections in almost 30
years took place in September-October
1990, with the PDG garnering a large
majority.
Following President Bongo's re-election in December 1993 with 51% of
the vote, opposition candidates refused to
validate the election results. Serious civil disturbances led to an
agreement between the government and opposition factions to work
toward a political settlement. These talks led to the Paris Accords
in November 1994, under which several opposition figures
were included in a
government of national unity. This arrangement soon broke down,
however, and the 1996 and 1997 legislative and municipal elections
provided the background for renewed partisan politics. The PDG
won a landslide victory in the legislative election, but several major
cities, including Libreville, elected opposition mayors during the
1997 local
election.
President Bongo coasted to easy re-elections in December 1998 and
November 2005, with large majorities of the vote against
a divided opposition. While Bongo's major opponents rejected
the outcome as fraudulent,
some
international observers characterized the results as representative
despite any perceived irregularities. Legislative elections
held in 2001-02, which were boycotted by a number of
smaller opposition parties and were widely
criticized for their administrative weaknesses, produced a National Assembly
almost completely dominated by the PDG and allied independents.
National Assembly elections were held again
in December
2006.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975, rewritten in 1991, and
revised in 2003), Gabon is a republic with a presidential form of
government. The National Assembly has 120 deputies
elected for a 5-year term. The president is elected by
universal suffrage for a 7-year term. The president can appoint and
dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the
independent Supreme Court. The president also has other
strong powers, such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly,
declare a state of siege,
delay
legislation, and conduct referenda. A 2003 constitutional amendment
removed presidential term limits and facilitated a presidency
for
life.
In 1990 the government made major changes to Gabon's political
system. A transitional constitution was
drafted in May 1990 as an outgrowth of the
national political conference in March-April and later revised by
a
constitutional committee. Among its provisions were a Western-style bill
of rights; creation of a National Council of Democracy to
oversee the guarantee of those rights; a governmental advisory board
on economic and social issues; and an independent judiciary. After
approval by the National Assembly, the PDG Central
Committee, and the President, the Assembly unanimously adopted
the constitution in March 1991. Multiparty legislative elections were
held in 1990-91, despite the fact that opposition parties had not been
declared formally
legal.
The elections produced the first representative, multiparty
National Assembly. In
January 1991, the Assembly passed by unanimous vote a
law governing the legalization of
opposition parties. After President Bongo was re-elected in a
disputed election in 1993 with 51% of votes cast, social and
political disturbances led to the 1994 Paris Conference and Accords,
which provided a framework for the next elections. Local
and legislative elections were delayed until 1996-97. In 1997,
constitutional amendments were adopted to create an appointed
Senate and the position of vice president, and to
extend the president's term to 7
years.
Facing a divided opposition, President Bongo was re-elected in
December 1998. Although the main opposition parties claimed the
elections had been
manipulated, there was none of the civil disturbance that followed
the 1993 election. Peaceful though flawed legislative elections
in 2001-02 produced a National Assembly dominated by the President's
party and its allies. National Assembly elections were held again in
2006.
In November 2005, President Bongo was elected for his sixth term. He
won re-election easily, but opponents claim
that the balloting process was marred by irregularities. There were
some instances of violence following the
announcement of Bongo's win, but Gabon generally remained
peaceful.
For administrative purposes, Gabon is divided into 9 provinces, which
are further divided into 36 prefectures and 8
separate subprefectures. The
president appoints the provincial governors, the prefects, and
the
subprefects.
Principal Government
Officials
President of the Republic, Founder of the Gabonese Democratic
Party--El Hadj Omar
Bongo
Vice President--Didjob Divungi Di
Ndinge
Prime Minister, Head of Government--Jean Eyeghe
Ndong
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation--Jean
Ping
Ambassador to the United States--Jules Marius
Ogouebandja
Ambassador to the United Nations--Denis
Dangue-Rewaka
Gabon maintains an embassy in the United States at 2034 20th Street
NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel.
202-797-1000).
ECONOMY
Gabon's economy is dominated by oil. Oil revenues comprise 65% of
the Government of Gabon
budget, 43% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of
exports. Oil production is now declining rapidly from its high point
of 370,000 barrels per day in 1997. In
spite of the decreasing oil revenues, little
planning has been done for an after-oil scenario. Gabon
public expenditures from
the years of significant oil revenues were not
spent efficiently. Overspending
on the Transgabonais railroad, the oil price shock of 1986, the CFA
franc devaluation of 1994, and low oil prices in the late
1990s caused serious debt problems. Gabon has earned a poor reputation
with the Paris Club and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
for the management of its debt and revenues. Successive IMF
missions have criticized the
government for overspending on off-budget items (in good years and
bad), over-borrowing from the Central Bank,
and slipping on the schedule for
privatization and administrative reform. In September 2005,
Gabon
successfully concluded a 15-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF.
Gabon seeks a multi-year successor
arrangement.
Gabon's oil revenues have given it a strong per capita GDP of
$7,200, extremely high for
the region. On the other hand, a skewed
income
distribution and poor social indicators are evident. The richest 20%
of the population receives over 90% of the income, and about a
third of Gabonese live in poverty. The economy is
highly dependent on extraction of abundant primary
materials. After oil, logging and manganese mining are the
other major sectors. Foreign and Gabonese
observers have consistently lamented the lack of transformation of
primary materials in the Gabonese economy. Various factors have so
far stymied more diversification--small market of 1 million
people, dependence on French imports, inability to capitalize on
regional markets, lack of entrepreneurial zeal
among the Gabonese, and the fairly regular
stream of oil "rent". The small processing and service sectors are
largely dominated by just a few prominent local investors. At World
Bank and IMF insistence, the government embarked on a program of
privatization of its state-owned companies and administrative reform,
including reducing public sector employment and salary
growth, but progress has been
slow.
DEFENSE
Gabon has a small, professional military of about 10,000 personnel,
divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and national
police. Gabonese forces are oriented to the defense of the country and
have not been trained for an offensive role. A well-trained,
well-equipped 1,500-member guard provides security
for the
president.
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Gabon has followed a nonaligned policy, advocating dialogue in
international affairs and recognizing both parts of divided
countries. Since 1973, the number of
countries establishing diplomatic relations with Gabon has doubled. In
inter-African affairs, Gabon espouses development by evolution rather
than revolution and favors regulated free enterprise as the system
most likely to promote rapid economic growth. Concerned about
stability in Central Africa and the potential for
intervention, Gabon has been directly involved with
mediation efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Angola,
Congo/ Brazzaville, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and Burundi. In December 1999, through
the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was
signed in Congo/Brazzaville between the government and most leaders
of an armed rebellion. President Bongo has remained
involved in the continuing Congolese peace
process, and has also played a role in mediating the crisis in
Cote d'Ivoire. Gabon has been a strong proponent of regional
stability, and Gabonese armed forces played an important
role in the Central African Economic and Monetary
Community (CEMAC) mission to the Central
African
Republic.
Gabon is a member of the UN and some of its specialized and related
agencies, as well as of the World Bank; the African Union (AU); the
Central African Customs Union/Central African
Economic and Monetary Community (UDEAC/CEMAC); EU/ACP association
under the Lome Convention; the Communaute
Financiere Africaine (CFA); the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC); and the
Nonaligned Movement. Gabon withdrew from the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) in
1995.
U.S.-GABONESE
RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Gabon are excellent. In
1987, President Bongo made
an official visit to Washington, DC. In September 2002, Secretary of
State Colin Powell made a brief but historic visit to Gabon to
highlight environmental protection and conservation in the Central
Africa region. This was followed by a visit to the
White House by President Bongo in May 2004. The United States imports
a considerable percentage of Gabonese crude oil and
manganese and exports heavy construction equipment, aircraft,
and machinery to Gabon. Through a modest International Military Education
and Training program, the United States provides military training to
members of the Gabonese armed forces each year. U.S. private capital
has been attracted to Gabon since before its
independence.
Principal U.S.
Officials
Ambassador--R. Barrie
Walkley
Deputy Chief of Mission--Katherine
Dhanani
Management Officer--Mark
Moody
Public Affairs/Economic/Commercial Officer--Michael
Garcia
Consular Officer--Bridgette
Anderson
The U.S. Embassy is located on the Blvd. de la Mer, B.P. 4000,
Libreville, Gabon (tel: 241-762-003/004; fax:
241-745-507).
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS
INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises
Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information
Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry and exit requirements, currency
regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime,
political disturbances, and
the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Public
Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly
about terrorist threats and other relatively
short-term conditions overseas that pose significant
risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are
issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel
to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or
unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling
abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau
of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the
current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings
can be found. Consular Affairs Publications,
which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe
trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov.
For additional information on international
travel, see http://www.usa.gov/
Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens who traveling or
residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel
registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate
abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in
case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will
enable you to receive up-to-date information on security
conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be
obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and
Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for
callers outside the U.S. and
Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S.
Department of State's single, centralized public
contact center for U.S.
passport
information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer
service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY
are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight,
Eastern Time, excluding federal
holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for
regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health
Information for International Travel"
(HHS
publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202)
512-1800.
Further Electronic
Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at
http:// www.state.gov, the Department of State web
site provides timely, global access to
official U.S. foreign policy information, including
Background Notes and daily press briefings
along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service
posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides
security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies
working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and
market information offered by the federal
government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help
with the export process, and
more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
provides authoritative economic, business, and
international trade information from the Federal
government. The site includes current and
historical
trade-related releases, international market research, trade
opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the
National Trade Data Bank.
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Gabon
