Gabon (2002) | Mexico (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.3% (male 205,559; female 204,796)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 376,103; female 371,422) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 37,220; female 38,253) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.1% (male 16,696,089/female 16,011,563)
15-64 years: 64% (male 33,624,812/female 35,925,372) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 2,917,563/female 3,525,492) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 59 (2001) | 1,834 (2007) |
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 (2002) |
total: 231
over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 84 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 47
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
total: 1,603
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 408 under 914 m: 1,131 (2007) |
Area | total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Colorado | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
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 considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON. |
Birth rate | 27.24 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $207.7 billion
expenditures: $206.9 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Libreville | name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico is divided into four time zones |
Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 885 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | adopted 14 March 1991 | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | - |
Death rate | 17.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (2001 est.) | $164.7 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth P. MOOREFIELD
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jules-Darius OGOUEBANDJA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo SARUKHAN Casamitjana
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay | abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States |
Economic aid - recipient | $331 million (1995) (1995) | $189.4 million (2005) |
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, and manganese 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. 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. | Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The new Felipe CALDERON administration that took office in December 2006 faces many of the same challenges that former President FOX tried to tackle, including the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top priorities include reducing poverty and creating jobs. The success of his economic agenda will depend on his ability to garner support from the opposition. |
Electricity - consumption | 790.5 million kWh (2000) | 183.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.597 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 470.7 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 850 million kWh (2000) | 222.4 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; poaching | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 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 | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002) |
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% |
chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54% |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 2.268 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 81%, timber, manganese, uranium (2000) | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 51%, France 17%, China 8%, Netherlands Antilles 4% (2000) | US 84.7%, Canada 2.1%, Spain 1.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 3.9%
industry: 26.7% services: 69.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 4.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 11 45 E | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | 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 | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 8,454 km
paved: 838 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,616 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 39.4% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2005 amounted to 3,300 hectares yielding a potential production of 8 metric tons of pure heroin, or 17 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 3% to 5,600 hectares in 2005 - just two years after a decade-high cultivation peak in 2003 - and yielded a potential production of 10,100 metric tons; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 90% of annual cocaine movements towards the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market |
Imports | $921 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 308,500 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%, Belgium 3% (2000) | US 50.9%, China 9.5%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) | 16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -6.4% (2001 est.) | 3.6% (2006 est.) |
Industries | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 19.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 3.6% (2006 est.) |
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, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km (1998 est.) | 63,200 sq km (2003) |
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 | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 600,000 600,000 | 44.51 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% | agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66% other: 98.08% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
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 | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies) 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 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1, independents 13, others 3; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; to serve three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 12, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.01 years female: 50.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.63 years
male: 72.84 years female: 78.56 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92.4% female: 89.6% (2004 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
Map references | Africa | North America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 60 ships (1000 GRT or over) 802,128 GRT/1,157,971 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 14 (Brazil 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 4, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential (Republican) Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police | Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, Sedena): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air Force (FAN) and Marines) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $70.8 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY01) | 0.5% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 284,358 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,908 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 11,304 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | NA | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
Natural resources | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km | gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; 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, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; 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] | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Beatriz PAREDES]; Labor Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Manuel ESPINO Barrientos]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Miguel Angel JIMENEZ Godinez]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa Socialdemocrata y Campesina) or Alternativa [Alberto BEGNE Guerra] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Broad Progressive Front or FAP; Businessmen's Coordinating Council or CCE; Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE; National Syndicate of Education Workers or SNTE; National Union of Workers or UNT; Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 1,233,353
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 2002 est.) |
108,700,891 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 17.6% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 0.97% (2002 est.) | 1.153% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) |
Radios | 208,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 649 km
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single-track (2001) |
total: 17,665 km
standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.936 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.828 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
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); fiber optic submarine cable to be in service in 2002 |
general assessment: low telephone density with about 18 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 39,000 (1998) | 19.861 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 120,000 (2000) | 57.016 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus four low-powered repeaters) (2001) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 3.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.39 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | 3.2% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2007) |