lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 1.21% permanent crops: 0.64% other: 98.15% (2005)
Irrigated land:
70 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
164 cu km (1987)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.12 cu km/yr (50%/8%/42%) per capita: 87 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; poaching
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity
People
Gabon
Population:
1,485,832 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 42.1% (male 314,078/female 311,900) 15–64 years: 53.9% (male 399,586/female 401,602) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 24,388/female 34,278) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.6 years male: 18.4 years female: 18.9 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.954% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
35.75 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
−3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 52.65 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.52 years male: 52.5 years female: 54.57 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.68 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
8.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
48,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese
Ethnic groups:
Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba); other Africans and Europeans, 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality
Religions:
Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%
Languages:
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.)
Education expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2000)
Government
Gabon
Country name:
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique gabonaise local short form: Gabon
Government type:
republic; multiparty presidential regime
Capital:
name: Libreville geographic coordinates: 0 23 N, 9 27 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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:
Independence Day, 17 August (1960)
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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe NDONG (since 20 January 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba 79.2%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 13.6%, Zacharie MYBOTO 6.6%
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next to be held by January 2009); National Assembly - last held 17 and 24 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDG 82, RPG 8, UPG 8, UGDD 4, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PGP-Ndaot 2, PSD 2, independents 4, others 5