Gabon
'''
Gabon, officially the
Gabonese Republic, is a country in west central
Africa. It borders on
Equatorial Guinea,
Cameroon,
Republic of the Congo and the
Gulf of Guinea. Since its independence from
France on
August 17,
1960, the Republic has been ruled by only two
autocratic Presidents; the incumbent
El Hadj Omar Bongo has been in power since 1967 and is currently (2006) Africa's longest-serving Head of State. Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new democratic constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous countries in the region.
The earliest inhabitants of the area were
Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during
Bantu migrations. Several
Bantu groups occupied the area that is now Gabon when
France occupied it in 1885. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of
French Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1959. These territories became independent on
August 17,
1960.
The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was
Léon M'ba, with
Omar Bongo as his vice president. When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president, and has been the head of state ever since winning each contested election with a substantial majority.
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President Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon (left) in Washington, USA |
In March 1991 a new constitution was adopted. Among its provisions are a Western-style bill of rights, the creation of the National Council of Democracy that also oversees the guarantee of those rights and a governmental advisory board which deals with economic and social issues. Multi-party legislative elections were held in 1990-91 even though opposition parties had not been declared formally legal.
President
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, in power since 1967 and the longest-serving African head of state, was re-elected to another 7-year term according to poll results returned from elections held on
November 27 2005. According to figures provided by Gabon's Interior Ministry, this was achieved with 79.1% of the votes cast. In 2003 the President amended the
Constitution of Gabon to remove any restrictions on the number of terms a president is allowed to serve. The president retains strong powers, such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, conduct referenda, and appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet members.
In provisional results his ruling
Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won 84 out of 120 parliamentary seats. As with previous Gabonese elections in which the opposition parties have contested, there were several accusations of electoral fraud, bribery, and calls for a boycott. There were also incidences of violence and protest, particularly in the first round of voting held two weeks prior. However, several international observers including the Economic Community of Central African States have reported that the election "met international standards" for
democratic voting.
Gabon is divided into 9
provinces and 37
departments.
The
provinces include:
Estuaire,
Haut-Ogooué,
Moyen-Ogooué,
Ngounié,
Nyanga,
Ogooué-Ivindo,
Ogooué-Lolo,
Ogooué-Maritime, and
Woleu-Ntem.
 |
Map of Gabon |
Gabon is located on the
Atlantic coast of central Africa. Clockwise from the northwest, it is bounded by
Equatorial Guinea,
Cameroon, and the
Republic of Congo.Gabon's largest river is the
Ogooué. Gabon is also noted for efforts to preserve the natural environment with what may be the largest area of
nature parks in the world.
Administratively, Gabon is divided into 9 provinces and further divided into 37 departments (
départements).
Gabon is more prosperous than most nearby countries, with a
per capita income of four times the average for
Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in large part due to offshore
oil production that has produced substantial wealth, although the distribution of income from this industry is extremely unequal. Gabon was a full member of
OPEC from 1975 to 1995.
During the 1990s,
devaluation of the
CFA franc left Gabon struggling to pay its overseas
debt;
France and the
IMF have provided further loans and aid in exchange for the implementation of changes to the economy.
Almost all Gabonese are of
Bantu origin. Gabon has at least 40
ethnic groups with separate languages and cultures. The largest is the
Fang. Others include the
Myene,
Bandjabi,
Eshira,
Bapounou, and
Okande. Ethnic group boundaries are less sharply drawn in Gabon than elsewhere in
Africa.
French, the
official language, is a unifying force. More than 10,000
French people live in Gabon, and France predominates foreign cultural and commercial influences. Historical and environmental factors caused Gabon's population to decline between 1900 and 1940. It is one of the least-densely inhabited countries in Africa, and a labor shortage is a major obstacle to development and a draw for foreign workers. The population is generally accepted to be just over 1 million but remains in dispute.
*
Bwiti*
Ethnic groups of Gabon*
List of writers from Gabon*
Music of Gabon*
Communications in Gabon*
Foreign relations of Gabon*
List of Gabon-related topics*
List of Gabonese companies*
Military of Gabon*
Postage stamps and postal history of Gabon*
Transport in Gabon*
Fédération Gabonaise du Scoutisme* David E. Gardinier and Douglas A. Yates,
Historical Dictionary of Gabon, 3rd Ed. (The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006)
*
David E. Gardinier,
Historical Dictionary of Gabon, 2nd ed. (The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1994) - a comprehensive work, with a bibliography of 1,453 items
* James F. Barnes,
Gabon: Beyond the Colonial Legacy (Boulder: Westview, 1992)
Government
*
Le Gabon : official site of the Gabonese Republic*
Assemblée Nationale du Gabon official site
*
Gabonese Embassy in London government information and links
*
Le Sénat de la République Gabonaise official site (in French)
News
*
AllAfrica.com - Gabon news headline links
Overviews
*
BBC News Country Profile - Gabon* [https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gb.html CIA World Factbook -
Gabon]
Ethnic groups
*
Baka Pygmies of Cameroon and Gabon Culture and music of the first inhabitants of Gabon
Directories
*
Open Directory Project - Gabon directory category
*
Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Gabon directory category
*
University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Gabon directory category
*
Yahoo! - Gabon directory category
Tourism
