Country Summary: Gabon
Country Name: Gabon
Capital: Libreville
Government Type: presidential republic
Background: Gabon, a sparsely populated country known for its dense rainforests and vast petroleum reserves, is one of the most prosperous and stable countries in central Africa. Approximately 40 ethnic groups are represented, the largest of which is the Fang, a group that covers the northern third of Gabon and expands north into Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. From about the early 1300s, various kingdoms emerged in and surrounding present-day Gabon, including the Kingdoms of Loango and Orungu. Because most early Bantu languages spoken in these kingdoms did not have a written form, historical traditions were passed on orally, resulting in much of Gabon's early history being lost over time. Portuguese traders who arrived in the mid-1400s gave the area its name of Gabon. At that time, indigenous trade networks began to engage with European traders, exchanging goods such as ivory and wood. For a century beginning in the 1760s, trade came to focus mostly on enslaved people. While many groups in Gabon participated in the slave trade, the Fang were a notable exception. As the slave trade declined in the late 1800s, France colonized the country and directed a widespread extraction of Gabonese resources. Anti-colonial rhetoric by Gabon’s educated elites increased significantly in the early 1900s, but no widespread rebellion materialized. French decolonization following World War II led to the country’s independence in 1960.
Within a year of independence, the government changed from a parliamentary to a presidential system, and Leon M’BA won the first presidential election in 1961. El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest ruling heads of state in history - was M’BA’s vice president and assumed the presidency after M’BA’s death in 1967. BONGO went on to dominate the country's political scene for four decades (1967-2009). In 1968, he declared Gabon a single-party state and created the Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG), which remains the predominant party in Gabonese politics today. In the early 1990s, he reintroduced a multiparty system under a new constitution after he was confronted with growing political opposition. He was reelected by wide margins in 1995, 1998, 2002, and 2005 against a divided opposition and amidst allegations of fraud. Following President BONGO's death in 2009, a new election brought his son, Ali BONGO Ondimba, to power. President Ali BONGO Ondimba was reelected in 2016 in a close election against a united opposition. Gabon’s Constitutional Court reviewed the contested election results and ruled in his favor. President Ali BONGO Ondimba won a third term in Gabon’s 26 August 2023 election, but he was overthrown in a military coup on 30 August 2023. Gen. Brice OLIGUI Nguema led a military group called the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions that arrested and detained President BONGO, canceled the election results, and dissolved state institutions. On 4 September 2023, Gen. OLIGUI was sworn in as transitional president of Gabon.
Continent: Africa
Population: 2,397,368 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Fang 23.5%, Shira-Punu'Vii 20.6%, Nzabi-Duma 11.2%, Mbede-Teke 5.6%, Myene 4.4%, Kota-Kele 4.3%, Okande-Tsogho 1.6%, other 12.6%, foreigner 16.2% (2021 est.)
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Religions: Protestant 46.4% (Revival Church 37%, other Protestant 9.4%), Roman Catholic 29.8%, other Christian 4%, Muslim 10.8%, traditional/animist 1.1%, other 0.9%, none 7% (2019-21 est.)
Economic Overview: natural resource-rich, upper-middle-income, Central African economy; sparsely populated but high urbanization; young labor force; oil, manganese, and rubber exporter; foreign investment dependent; data integrity issue on poverty and income
Currency: Central African CFA Franc (XAF)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $1.372 billion (2019 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $33.302 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 2.91% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $13,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$10.8 billion (2019 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 110
Export Commodities: crude petroleum, manganese, lumber, veneer sheeting, refined petroleum (2021)
Export Partners: China 63%, Singapore 5% (2019)
Imports:
$5.02 billion (2019 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 149
Import Commodities: poultry meats, excavation machinery, packaged medicines, cars, rice (2019)
Import Partners: France 22%, China 17%, Belgium 6%, United States 6%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019)
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower
Agricultural Products: plantains, cassava, sugar cane, yams, taro, vegetables, maize, groundnuts, game meat, rubber
Industries: petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
6.02% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 50
Labor Force: 740,000 (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 20.61% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Natural Hazards: none
Geography:
Total: 267,667 sq km
Land: 257,667 sq km
Water: 10,000 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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