Gabon. Gabonese Republic
A country in Central Africa. Area - 267.7 thousand km². Capital - Libreville (approx. 500 thousand), major cities: Port-Gentil, Franceville, Lambaréné, Oyem. Administrative-territorial division - 9 provinces. Population - 1.4 million (2005), with approximately 200 thousand foreigners residing permanently, including over 15 thousand Europeans. Main ethnic groups: Fang, Myene, Bakota, Mbede, Okande, Miene, Bateke, Bapuna, and others. The official language is French. Religion: about 80% - Christians, about 7% - Muslims, the rest adhere to traditional beliefs. Currency - CFA franc (franc of the African Financial Community).
It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the USSR on December 15, 1973).
National holiday - August 17 - Independence Day (1960).
According to the 1991 constitution, Gabon is a republic. The head of state is the president, elected by universal direct suffrage (since 1967 - O. Bongo, last re-elected in 2005 for 7 years). According to an amendment to the constitution, in the next elections the president will be elected for 7 years. The executive power is exercised by the president and the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is J.-F. Ntoutoume Émane. The legislative power belongs to a bicameral parliament. The term of office is 5 years (the last elections were in 2003). The upper house - the Senate is elected by a vote of an electoral college from local territorial units (91 senators), the lower house - the National Assembly - by direct universal suffrage (120 deputies).
There are over 20 registered and active parties in the country; the most influential among them are: the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, founded by O. Bongo in 1968, which has a majority of seats in both chambers of parliament; opposition parties include the National Union of Loggers (Chairman - P. Mba Abessole), the Gabonese Progress Party (Leader - P.-L. Agondjo-Okawe), represented in parliament and controlling a number of local authorities, the coalition of the High Council of Resistance, and others.
Several trade union centers operate: the Gabonese Trade Union Confederation, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Gabon, and sectoral trade unions.
The territory of Gabon came under French colonial rule in the second half of the 19th century, from 1910 to 1958 it was part of French Equatorial Africa, and in 1958 it was proclaimed a self-governing republic within the French Community. Since August 1960, Gabon has been an independent republic. Member of the UN (since 1960), OAU (since 2002 - AU) (since 1963).
Gabon is a country with one of the highest GDP per capita (over 5 billion dollars in 2004) in Africa (approx. 4100 dollars). It has significant natural resources (oil, manganese, uranium, barite, talc, tin, lead, niobium, molybdenum, titanium, phosphates, diamonds, gold, iron ore, timber).
The backbone of the economy is the extraction and export of oil (in 2004 - approx. 12 million tons), manganese ore (approx. 2 million tons, 2nd place in the world). There are oil refineries, cement plants, breweries, textile and sewing factories, and agricultural enterprises (soap making, production of vegetable oils, sugar, flour). The capital of the overwhelming majority of companies is foreign (mainly French, as well as American, South African, etc.).
Agriculture is poorly developed. Coffee and cocoa bean production is declining. There are several plantations (of rubber trees, oil palms) and modern-type farms. Industrial fishing is mainly conducted by foreign companies registered in Gabon (approx. 10 thousand tons of fish products). Annual food purchases amount to about 200 million euros (2004).
The road network is insufficiently developed. The highways - approx. 8 thousand km, of which approx. 1.5 thousand km are paved. The Trans-Gabon railway operates (648 km). River transport is carried out. Sea ports - Libreville and Port-Gentil. International airports in Libreville, Port-Gentil, Franceville, and several local airfields. The national airline operates international (to Europe, African countries) and domestic flights.
The main foreign trade partners are the USA, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and China. The external debt is over 3 billion dollars. The debt is serviced regularly.
Gabon has a developed education system. Universities operate in Libreville and Franceville.
There are about 10 daily publications, including the government newspaper "Union" (over 15 thousand copies). Broadcasting is carried out by 2 national and 1 commercial international program. Paid cable television, broadcasting foreign programs, is widely available in cities. There are 2 state and several private radio channels. One of the largest radio stations in Africa, "Africa No. 1," operates in Libreville.
The country has several reserves and a number of international-class hotels; however, mass tourism has not developed.
