Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
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 present-day Gabon and the surrounding area, including the Kingdoms of Loango and Orungu.
- Capital
- Libreville
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 2,513,738
- Area
- 267,667 sq km
- Location
- Central Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea
- Climate
- tropical; always hot, humid
- Natural resources
- petroleum; natural gas; diamond; niobium; manganese; uranium…
- Languages
- French (official); Fang; Myene; Nzebi…
- Religions
- Protestant 46.4% (Revival Church 37%; other Protestant 9.4%); Roman Catholic 29.8%; other Christian 4%…
- Independence
- 17 August 1960 (from France)
- Administrative divisions
- 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Nt…
- Currency
- Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
- Export partners
- China 26%; Indonesia 8%; Spain 7%; Israel 6%…
- Import partners
- France 14%; China 13%; S. Korea 13%; USA 7%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain