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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 7,500 km paved: 560 km unpaved: crushed stone 960 km; earth 5,980 km

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

1,600 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,562 GRT/25,330 DWT

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km

Ports [time series]

Owendo, Port-Gentil, Libreville

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

649 km 1.437-meter standard-gauge single track (Transgabonese Railroad)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, National Police

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $102 million, 3.2% of GDP (1990 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 270,501; fit for military service 136,995; reach military age (20) annually 10,107 (1994 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues: $1.3 billion expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $272 million (1992 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 315,000 kW production: 995 million kWh consumption per capita: 920 kWh (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

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

Exports [time series]

$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%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.4 billion (1991)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Imports [time series]

$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%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate -10% (1988 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries [time series]

petroleum, food and beverages, lumbering and plywood, textiles, mining - manganese, uranium, gold, cement

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

0.7% (1991 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $5.4 billion (1993 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$4,800 (1993 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

0.5% (1992 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 267,670 sq km land area: 257,670 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado

Climate [time series]

tropical; always hot, humid

Coastline [time series]

885 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

Irrigated land [time series]

NA sq km

Land boundaries [time series]

total 2,551 km, Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 1% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 78% other: 2%

Location [time series]

Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator between the Congo and Equatorial Guinea

Map references [time series]

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore

Terrain [time series]

narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

Capital [time series]

Libreville

Constitution [time series]

adopted 14 March 1991

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 797-1000

Executive branch [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

[241] 745-507

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue

Independence [time series]

17 August 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon

Legislative branch (National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Renovation Day, 12 March (1968) (Gabonese Democratic Party established)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

21 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

People

Birth rate [time series]

28.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate [time series]

13.9 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), Africans and Europeans 100,000, including 27,000 French

Infant mortality rate [time series]

94.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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)

Languages [time series]

French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 54.67 years male: 51.88 years female: 57.53 years (1994 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 61% male: 74% female: 48%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population [time series]

1,139,006 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

1.46% (1994 est.)

Religions [time series]

Christian 55-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.97 children born/woman (1994 est.)