Background Notes: Gabon
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Aug 30, 19918/30/91
Category: Country Data
Region: Subsaharan Africa
Country: Gabon
Subject: Military Affairs, Cultural Exchange, Travel,
History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Official Name: Gabonese Republic
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 266,024 sq. km. (102,317 sq. mi.); about the size of Colorado.
Cities: Capital--Libreville (pop. 275,000). Other cities--Port-
Gentil, Franceville. Terrain: Narrow coastal plain; hilly, heavily
forested interior; some savanna regions in east and south. Climate:
Hot and humid all year with two rainy and two dry seasons.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Gabonese (sing. and pl.).
Population (1990 est.): 1.2 million. Annual growth rate: 2.2%.
Ethnic groups: Fang (largest), Myene, Bapounou, Eschira, Bandjabi,
Bateke/Obamba. Religions: Christian, Muslim, indigenous.
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke,
Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi. Education: Years compulsory--to age
16. Attendance--100% primary, 14% secondary/technical, 2%
higher education. Literacy--70%. Health: Infant mortality rate--
103/1,000. Life expectancy--52 yrs. Work force (120,000
salaried): Agriculture--65%. Industry and commerce--30%.
Services and Government--5%.
Government
Type: Republic. Independence: August 17, 1960. Constitution:
February 21, 1961 (revised April 15, 1975; rewritten March 26,
1991).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state). Legislative--
unicameral National Assembly (including prime minister, head of
government. Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 9 provinces, 37 prefectures, and 9
sub-prefectures.
Political parties (including number of seats in 120-member
Assembly: Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG-66), Parti Gabonais
Du Progres (PGP-19), Rassemblement National Des Bucherons (RNB-
17), Morena Originel (MOR-7), Parti Socialist Gabonaise (PSG-4),
Union Socialiste Gabonais (USG-3), Association Pour Le Socialism
Au Gabon (APSG-2), Parti Social Democrat (PSD-1), and Union Pour
La Democratie Et Le Developpement (UDD-1).
Suffrage: universal, direct.
Central government budget (1991 est.)--$1.8 billion.
Defense (1991 est.): 2.6% of government budget.
Flag: From top, blue, yellow, and green horizontal bands.
Economy
GDP (1991 est.): $5.3 billion. Annual growth rate (in current
dollars, 1991 est.): 13%. Per capita income (1991 est): $4,400.
Avg. inflation rate (1990): 7%.
Natural resources: Petroleum (31% of GDP), manganese, uranium,
wood, iron ore.
Agriculture (8% of GDP): Products--cocoa, coffee, pineapples.
Cultivated land--1%.
Industry (4.5% of GDP): Types--petroleum related, wood processing,
food and beverage processing.
Trade (1989 est.): Exports--$1.8 billion: petroleum, wood, uranium,
manganese. Major markets--France, US. Imports--$889 million:
construction equipment, machinery, food, automobiles,
manufactured goods. Major suppliers--France, Germany, Japan, US.
Official exchange rate: 50 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine)
francs=1 French franc, fixed.
Fiscal year: Calendar year.
Membership in International Organizations
UN and some of its specialized and related agencies, including the
World Bank; Organization of African Unity (OAU); Central African
Customs Union; EC association under Lome Convention; Communaute
Financiere Africaine (CFA); Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC); Nonaligned Movement; Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC).
PEOPLE
Almost all Gabonese are of Bantu origin. Gabon has at least 40
tribal groups, with separate languages and cultures. The largest is
the Fang. Other tribes include the Myene, Bandjabi, Eshira,
Bapounou, Bateke/Obamba, and Okande. Tribal boundaries are less
sharply drawn in Gabon than elsewhere in Africa. French, the
official language, is a unifying force. More French people live in
Gabon today than in colonial times.
Historical and environmental factors caused Gabon's
population to decline between 1900 and 1940. It is one of the less
densely inhabited countries in Africa, and a labor shortage is a
major obstacle to development. A government census in 1980-81
reported the population at 1.2 million, a substantial increase over
previous estimates.
HISTORY
During the last 7 centuries, Bantu ethnic groups arrived in the
area from several directions to escape enemies or find new land.
Little is known of tribal life before European contact, but tribal art
suggests rich cultural heritages.
Gabon's first European visitors were Portuguese traders who
arrived in the 15th century and named the country after the
Portuguese word gabao, a coat with sleeve and hood resembling the
shape of the Como River estuary. The coast became a center of the
slave trade. Dutch, British, and French traders came in the 16th
century. France assumed the status of protector by signing treaties
with Gabonese coastal chiefs in 1839 and 1841. American
missionaries from New England established a mission at Baraka
(now Libreville) in 1842. In 1849, the French captured a slave ship
and released the passengers at the mouth of the Como River. The
slaves named their settlement Libreville--"free town." French
explorers penetrated Gabon's dense jungles between 1862-87. The
most famous, Savorgnan de Brazza, used Gabonese bearers and
guides in his search for the headwaters of the Congo River.
France occupied Gabon in 1885 but did not administer it until
1903. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French
Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1959. The
territories became independent in 1960 as the Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), and Gabon.
GOVERNMENT
Under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975 and rewritten in
1991), Gabon became a republic with a presidential form of
government. The unicameral National Assembly has 120 deputies
elected for a 5-year term. The president is elected by universal
suffrage, also for a 5-year term. The president appoints the prime
minister, the cabinet, and judges of the independent Supreme Court.
The government in 1990 made major changes in the political
system. A transitional constitution was drafted in May as an
outgrowth of a national political conference in March-April and
later revised by a constitutional committee. Among its provisions
are a Western-style bill of rights; creation of a National Council of
Democracy, which oversees the guarantee of those rights; a
governmental advisory board on economic and social issues; and an
independent judiciary. After approval by the National Assembly, the
PDG central committee, and the president, the assembly unanimously
adopted the constitution in March 1991.
Multi-party legislative elections were held in September-
October 1990 (a few by-elections were held the following spring),
despite the fact that opposition parties had not been declared
formally legal. After a peaceful transition, the elections produced
the current representative, multi-party, National Assembly. In
January 1991, the Assembly passed by unanimous vote a law
governing the legalization of opposition parties.
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.
For administrative purposes, Gabon is divided into 9
provinces, which are further divided into 36 prefectures and 8
separate subprefectures. The president appoints the provincial
governors, the prefects, and the subprefects.
Principal Government Officials
President of the Republic, Founder of the Gabonese Democratic
Party--El Hadj Omar Bongo
Prime Minister, Head of Government--Casimir Oye-Mba
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation--Pascaline Bongo
Ambassador to the United States--Alexandre Sambat
Ambassador to the United Nations--Laurent Biffot
Gabon maintains an embassy in the United States at 2034 20th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-797-1000).
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
At the time of Gabon's independence in 1960, two principal
political parties existed: the Bloc Democratique Gabonais (BDG), led
by Leon M'Ba, and the Union Democratique et Sociale Gabonaise
(UDSG), led by J.H. Aubame. In the first post-independence election,
held under a parliamentary system, neither party was able to win a
majority. The BDG obtained support from three of the four
independent legislative deputies, and M'Ba was named prime
minister.
Soon after concluding that Gabon had an insufficient number
of people for a two-party system, the two party leaders agreed on a
single list of candidates. In the February 1961 election, held under
the new presidential system, M'Ba became president and Aubame
foreign minister.
This one-party system appeared to work until February 1963,
when the larger BDG element forced the UDSG members to choose
between a merger of the parties or resignation. The UDSG cabinet
ministers resigned, and M'Ba called for new elections for February
1964 and a reduced number of National Assembly deputies (from 67
to 47).
The UDSG failed to muster a list of candidates able to meet
the requirements of the electoral decrees. When the BDG appeared
likely to win the elections by default, the Gabonese military toppled
M'Ba in a bloodless coup on February 18, 1964. French troops re-
established his government the next day. Elections were held in
April with many opposition participants. BDG-supported candidates
won 31 seats and the opposition 16.
Late in 1966, the constitution was revised to provide for
automatic succession of the vice president should the president die
in office. In March 1967, Leon M'Ba and Omar Bongo (then Albert
Bongo) were elected president and vice president. M'Ba died later
that year, and Omar Bongo became president. In March 1968, he
declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving the BDG and
establishing a new party, the Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG).
He invited all Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation,
to participate.
Bongo was elected president in February 1975 and re-elected
in December 1979 and November 1986 to 7-year terms. In April
1975, the office of vice president was abolished and replaced by the
office of prime minister, who has no right to automatic succession.
Under the 1991 constitution, in the event of the president's death,
the prime minister, the national assembly president, and the
defense minister share power until new elections are held.
Using the PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal
rivalries that have divided Gabonese politics in the past, Bongo
sought to forge a single national movement in support of the
government's development policies. Opposition to the PDG
continued, however, and in September 1990, two coup attempts
were uncovered and aborted.
Economic discontent and a desire for political liberalization
provoked violent demonstrations and strikes by students and
workers in early 1990. In response to grievances by workers, Bongo
negotiated with them on a sector-by-sector basis, making
significant wage concessions.
In addition, he promised to open up the PDG and to organize a
national political conference in March-April 1990 to discuss
Gabon's future political system. The PDG and 74 political
organizations attended the conference. Participants essentially
divided into two loose coalitions, the ruling PDG and its allies, and
the United Front of Opposition Associations and Parties, consisting
of the breakaway Morena Fundamental and the Gabonese Progress
Party.
The April conference approved sweeping political reforms,
including: creation of a national senate, decentralization of the
budgetary process, freedom of assembly and press, and cancellation
of the exit visa requirement.
In an attempt to guide the political system's transformation
to multi-party democracy, Bongo resigned as PDG chairman and
created a transitional government headed by a new prime minister,
Casimir Oye-Mba. The Gabonese Social Democratic Grouping (RSDG),
as the resulting government was called, was smaller than the
previous government and includes representatives from several
opposition parties on its cabinet. The RSDG drafted a provisional
constitution that provides a basic bill of rights and an independent
judiciary but retains the strength of the president. After further
review by a constitutional committee and the National Assembly,
this document came into force in March 1991.
Despite further anti-government demonstrations after the
untimely death of an opposition leader, the first multi-party
National Assembly elections in almost 30 years took place in
September-October 1990.
ECONOMY
Gabon has bountiful natural resources, including petroleum,
manganese, uranium, iron, and wood. Because of income from
exports of those products and its small population, Gabon's per
capita GNP is the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. The economy also
has benefited from government support of private enterprise and
foreign investment.
Petroleum production, estimated to be 14 million tons for
1990, is the heart of the Gabonese economy. The plunge in oil
prices in 1986 hit Gabon hard: exports dropped 44%, and the
economy in real terms contracted 10%. In the late 1980s, Gabon's
external account deteriorated because of the fall in oil prices, a
decline in crude oil exports, and the appreciation of the CFA franc
against the US dollar. Gabon implemented an International Monetary
Fund (IMF) structural adjustment program and rescheduled its
public and private debt. Spending cuts stipulated under the 1989
IMF agreement sparked sometimes violent discontent in early 1990.
In response to strikes by students and workers, Bongo rescinded
1989 special salary taxes and promised multi-party democracy.
Despite damage to the economy by the 1990 strikes, Gabon's
economic future is potentially bright. It is one of the few sub-
Saharan African countries to have a trade surplus in recent years.
Recent discoveries of new oil fields will increase oil production in
the 1990s. Further, Gabon is trying to diversify its exports.
Already a substantial exporter of manganese and uranium, Gabon is
working to exploit its considerable iron and barite deposits and to
enhance the value of timber exports from its large forests.
Although Gabon exports small amounts of coffee and cocoa, it
imports about 90% of its food. The country is turning increasingly
to import substitution, such as a salt mining and operation and
food-processing projects.
The government has used oil revenue chiefly to develop
transportation. The centerpiece of this program is the $3 billion
TransGabon Railway, which has opened the interior rain forests to
the sea, made the Port of Owendo a major export center for
manganese and timber, and provided greater access to resource-rich
areas in the southeast and the west once inaccessible because of
poor roads.
Since many Gabonese are traditional or subsistence farmers,
the government's investment program is trying to encourage
market-oriented agriculture. Direct assistance to agricultural
projects, complemented by creation of a transport system to the
interior, has aided the shift.
Although Gabon enjoys a high per-capita income compared to
that of most developing countries, it depends on external sources
for investment capital and trained labor. Despite constraints,
Gabon's natural resources promise great potential for continued
growth. Gabon welcomes private foreign investors, and its
investment law provides substantial concessions and guarantees.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Gabon has followed a non-aligned policy, advocating dialogue
in international affairs and recognizing both parts of divided
countries. Since 1973, the number of countries establishing
diplomatic relations with Gabon have doubled.
In inter-African affairs, Gabon espouses development by
evolution rather than revolution and favors regulated free
enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic
growth. Concerned about stability in central Africa and the
potential for intervention, Gabon has helped mediate conflicts in
countries such as Chad and Angola.
DEFENSE
Gabon has a small, professional military of about 5,000
personnel, divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and
national police. Gabonese forces are oriented to the defense of the
country and have not been trained for an offensive role.
A well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard provides
security to the president.
US-GABONESE RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Gabon are excellent.
In 1987, President Bongo made an official visit to Washington, DC.
The United States imports a considerable percentage of Gabonese
crude oil and manganese and exports heavy construction equipment,
aircraft, and machinery to Gabon.
The major US assistance program in Gabon is of a Peace Corps
contingent of about 100 volunteers who teach English, math, and
science, and build rural schools. Through a modest International
Military Education and Training program, the United States provides
military training to members of the Gabonese armed forces each
year. Foreign military sales credits have been extended to Gabon
since 1981.
US private capital has been attracted to Gabon since before
its independence. Investment exceeds $600 million.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador--Keith L. Wauchope
Deputy Chief of Mission--Stephen G. Brundage
Public Affairs Officer (USIS)--Jan Hartman
Political Officer--Alexander Andrews
Peace Corps Director--Francis T. Hammond
The US Embassy is located on the Blvd. de la Mer, B.P. 4000,
Libreville, Gabon (tel: 241-762-003/004; fax: 241-745-507).
TRAVEL NOTES
Customs: Visas are required and can be obtained from the
Gabonese Embassy in Washington, DC. Yellow fever inoculations are
required. Health requirements change; check latest information.
Climate and clothing: Libreville is hot and humid most of the
year. Wear lightweight summer clothes. Bring light sweaters for
cool evenings during the June-August dry season.
Health: Hospitals and private clinics are available throughout
most of the country for common problems. Major cities have
private doctors; several are US-trained. Residents and visitors are
advised to take regular preventative medication against malaria.
Avoid raw fruits and vegetables and undercooked meats. Tapwater
is not always potable.
Telecommunications: Local and long-distance telephone
service is available 24 hours. International telephone rates are
about 10 times higher than in the US. Libreville is six time zones
ahead of eastern standard time.
Transportation: Libreville has no public bus service. Taxis
are plentiful along the major routes. Rides may be shared at a
substantial saving. Air Gabon and several charters operate one of
the densest domestic air networks in Africa. Most major population
centers are linked by jet aircraft. An international airport at
Libreville provides service to regional African points, particularly
in Francophone Africa. Air Gabon and several European carriers
provide frequent wide-body flights to Europe from Libreville.
National Holidays: August 17, Independence Day; major
Islamic and Christian holidays.
Published by the United States Department of State, Bureau of
Public Affairs, Office of Public Communication, Washington, DC ,
November 1990. Series Editor: Peter Knecht. Department of State
Publication 7747. Background Notes Series -- This material is in
the public domain and may be reprinted without permission;
citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402. (###)