Gabon overview
Gabon at a glance
- Population: 1.4 million
- Capital: Libreville
- Area: 267,667 km2 (103,347 sq miles)
- Major languages: French and Bantu-group languages
- Major religion: Christianity
- Monetary unit: Central African CFA Franc
- Main exports: Crude oil, timber, manganese, uranium
- Int. dialling code: +241
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The Republic of Gabon is located in West Africa. It is bordered by Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. The country has 9 provinces.
The name of the country comes from « Gabão », a Portugese word meaning "cap", which refers to the shape of the estuary of the coast of Libreville.
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had two presidents. The latest leader, Omar Bongo, was in power since 1967 and passed away on June 8, 2009.
As one of the least-densely inhabited countries in Africa, offering abundant natural resources and a stable political environment combined with a strong economic base, Gabon presents a very attractive profile for foreign private investments.
The country exports manganese, oil, iron and wood. Oil revenues have progressively increased since 1970, which is in large part due to offshore oil production. Gabon's per capita income is about four times that of most sub-Saharan African countries. Over 50% of Gabon's GDP comes from petroleum and mining production. The petroleum industry generates 80% of export earnings; the largest current producers being Total and Shell. Gabon was a full member of OPEC from 1975 to 1995.