]! ^! Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960. The current president of Gabon, El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - has dominated the country's political scene for almost four decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the presidential elections in 2005 have exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Gabon's political opposition remains weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime. Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous and stable African countries. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea ^# 1 00 S, 11 45 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 267,667 sq km `" 257,667 sq km `# 10,000 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Colorado ^' `! 2,551 km `Y Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km ^( 885 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical; always hot, humid ^+ narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Mont Iboundji 1,575 m ^- petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower ^. `' 1.21% `( 0.64% `) 98.15% (2005) ^/ 70 sq km (2003) ^0 NA ^1 deforestation; poaching _P `P 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 `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 1,454,867 `* 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 42.1% (male 307,444/female 305,468) `, 53.9% (male 391,194/female 393,103) `- 4% (male 23,978/female 33,680) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.6 years `. 18.4 years `/ 18.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.036% (2007 est.) ^7 35.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 12.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.006 male(s)/female `, 0.995 male(s)/female `- 0.712 male(s)/female `2 0.987 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 53.65 deaths/1,000 live births `. 62.53 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 44.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 53.99 years `. 52.85 years `/ 55.17 years (2007 est.) ^= 4.71 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 8.1% (2003 est.) ^? 48,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 3,000 (2003 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2007) ^A `3 Gabonese (singular and plural) `4 Gabonese ^B 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 ^C Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% ^D French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 63.2% `. 73.7% `/ 53.3% (1995 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Gabonese Republic `7 Gabon `Z Republique gabonaise `[ Gabon ^H republic; multiparty presidential regime ^I `8 Libreville `9 0 23 N, 9 27 E `: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem ^K 17 August 1960 (from France) ^L Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) ^M adopted 14 March 1991 ^N 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 ^O 21 years of age; universal ^P `; President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2 December 1967) `< Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe NDONG (since 20 January 2006) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president `> 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 `? 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% ^Q 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) `> 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) `? 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 ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts ^S Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG (former sole party) [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development or UGDD [Zacherie MYBOTO]; National Rally of Woodcutters or RNB; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]; Union for Democracy and Social Integration or UDIS; Union of Gabonese Patriots or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Jules Marius OGOUEBANDJA `S Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 `T [1] (202) 797-1000 `U [1] (202) 332-0668 `^ New York ^W `R Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY `_ Boulevard du Bord de Mer, Libreville `` Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville `T [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 `U [241] 74 55 07 ^X three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue 
]% ^Y Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet, because of high income inequality, a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandated progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies. ^Z $10.21 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $7.052 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 2.8% (2006 est.) ^] $7,200 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 5.9% `A 59.7% `B 34.4% (2006 est.) ^_ 581,000 (2006 est.) ^` `@ 60% `A 15% `B 25% ^a 21% (1997 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 2.2% (2006 est.) _V 22.4% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $3.1 billion `F $2.181 billion; including capital expenditures of $325 million (2006 est.) _% 28.6% of GDP (2006 est.) _& cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish _' petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement _( 1.6% (2002 est.) _) 1.543 billion kWh (2004) _* 1.435 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 268,900 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 13,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 1.827 billion bbl (2006 est.) _1 100 million cu m (2004 est.) _2 100 million cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 33.98 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $1.807 billion (2006 est.) _3 $6.677 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001) _5 US 52.6%, France 6.3%, China 6.2% (2005) _6 $1.607 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials _8 France 40.4%, US 6.4%, Cameroon 4.2% (2005) _[ $835 million (2006 est.) _9 $3.971 billion (2006 est.) _: $331 million (1995) _; Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States _< Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 39,100 (2005) _? 649,800 (2005) _@ `G adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system `H adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations `I country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia _A AM 6, FM 7 (plus 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) _B 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2001) _C .ga _D 322 (2006) _E 67,000 (2005) 
]' _F 56 (2006) _G `! 11 `a 1 `J 1 `b 8 `c 1 (2006) _R `! 45 `b 7 `c 15 `W 23 (2006) _^ gas 272 km; oil 1,354 km (2006) _e `! 814 km `m 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) _H `! 9,170 km `K 937 km `L 8,233 km (2004) _b 1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2005) _S `d 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2006) _I Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Owendo, Port-Gentil 
]( _J Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police _T 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001) _K males age 18-49: 278,826 females age 18-49: 279,865 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 159,198 females age 18-49: 156,122 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 15,325 females age 18-49: 15,367 (2005 est.) _U 3.4% (2005 est.) 
]) _N UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and lesser islands and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay _c `o 7,298 (Republic of Congo) (2006) 