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 Gabon (2001)World (2001)
 GabonWorld
Administrative divisions 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem 267 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years:
33.29% (male 203,677; female 202,833)

15-64 years:
60.77% (male 373,828; female 368,282)

65 years and over:
5.94% (male 35,867; female 36,688) (2001 est.)
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514)

15-64 years:
63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female 1,931,021,694)

65 years and over:
7% (male 188,760,223; female 241,449,691) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish -
Airports 59 (2000 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total:
10

over 3,047 m:
1

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
7

914 to 1,523 m:
1 (2000 est.)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
49

1,524 to 2,437 m:
8

914 to 1,523 m:
17

under 914 m:
24 (2000 est.)
-
Area total:
267,667 sq km

land:
257,667 sq km

water:
10,000 sq km
total:
510.072 million sq km

land:
148.94 million sq km

water:
361.132 million sq km

note:
70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Colorado land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new 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 black African countries. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 27.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 21.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$1.5 billion

expenditures:
$1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302 million (1996 est.)
-
Capital Libreville -
Climate tropical; always hot, humid two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 885 km 356,000 km
Constitution adopted 14 March 1991 -
Country name conventional long form:
Gabonese Republic

conventional short form:
Gabon

local long form:
Republique Gabonaise

local short form:
Gabon
-
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States -
Death rate 17.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $3.9 billion (2000 est.) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador James V. LEDESMA

embassy:
Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville

mailing address:
B. P. 4000, Libreville

telephone:
[241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92

FAX:
[241] 74 55 07
-
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA

chancery:
Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:
[1] (202) 797-1000

FAX:
[1] (202) 332-0668

consulate(s):
New York
-
Disputes - international maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay -
Economic aid - recipient $331 million (1995) traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.)
Economy - overview Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. 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, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 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 mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had 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. An expected decline in oil output may lead to contraction in GDP in 2001-02. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999, despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at 3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 948.6 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production 1.02 billion kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
29.9%

hydro:
70.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel:
NA%

hydro:
NA%

nuclear:
NA%

other:
NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mont Iboundji 1,575 m
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m

highest point:
Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues deforestation; poaching large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
-
Ethnic groups Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality -
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro -
Executive branch chief of state:
President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)

head of government:
Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999)

cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president

election results:
President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4%
-
Exports $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium (1998) the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners US 47%, France 19%, China 8%, Japan 1.3% (1999) in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue -
GDP purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (2000 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
10%

industry:
60%

services:
30% (1999 est.)
agriculture:
4%

industry:
32%

services:
64% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.2% (2000 est.) 4.8% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 1 00 S, 11 45 E -
Highways total:
7,670 km

paved:
629 km (including 30 km of expressways)

unpaved:
7,041 km (1996)
total:
NA km

paved:
NA km

unpaved:
NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
Imports $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, construction materials the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners France 64%, US 4%, UK 2%, Netherlands 2%, (1999) in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Independence 17 August 1960 (from France) -
Industrial production growth rate 2.3% (1995) 6% (2000 est.)
Industries food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate 94.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 52.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.5% (2000 est.) all countries 25%; developed countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2000 est.)

note:
national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land 40 sq km (1993 est.) 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts -
Labor force 600,000 NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total:
2,551 km

border countries:
Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km
the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land:
1%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
18%

forests and woodland:
77%

other:
3% (1993 est.)
arable land:
10%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
26%

forests and woodland:
32%

other:
31% (1993 est.)
Languages French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi -
Legal system 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 all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms

elections:
National Assembly - last held 15 and 29 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2001); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2002)

election results:
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 89, PGP 9, RNB 6, CLR 3, UPG 2, USG 2, independents 4, others 5; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9
-
Life expectancy at birth total population:
49.59 years

male:
48.47 years

female:
50.75 years (2001 est.)
total population:
63.79 years

male:
62.15 years

female:
65.51 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
63.2%

male:
73.7%

female:
53.3% (1995 est.)
-
Location Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea -
Map references Africa World, Time Zones
Maritime claims contiguous zone:
24 NM

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary

continental shelf:
200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM claimed by most, but can vary

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM claimed by most, but can vary

territorial sea:
12 NM claimed by most, but can vary

note:
boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $91 million (FY96) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.6% (FY96) roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
281,218 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
145,062 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - military age 20 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
11,304 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) -
Nationality noun:
Gabonese (singular and plural)

adjective:
Gabonese
-
Natural hazards NA large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -
Pipelines crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km -
Political parties and leaders African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Serge MBA BEKALE]; National Rally of Woodcutters (Bucherons) or RNB [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] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 1,221,175

note:
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 2001 est.)
6,157,400,560 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 1.02% (2001 est.) 1.25% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 6, FM 7, shortwave 6 (1998) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios 208,000 (1997) NA
Railways total:
649 km (Gabon State Railways or OCTRA)

standard gauge:
649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)
total:
1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line

broad gauge:
251,153 km

standard gauge:
710,754 km

narrow gauge:
239,430 km
Religions Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% -
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.98 male(s)/female

total population:
1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.78 male(s)/female

total population:
1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 21 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment:
NA

domestic:
adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations

international:
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment:
NA

domestic:
NA

international:
NA
Telephones - main lines in use 37,000 (1997) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 9,500 (1997) NA
Television broadcast stations 4 (plus five low-power repeaters) (1997) NA
Terrain narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 3.69 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.73 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 21% (1997 est.) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.)
Waterways 1,600 km (perennially navigable) -
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