Compare Gabon (2006) - Seychelles (2008)

Compare Gabon (2006) z Seychelles (2008)

	Gabon (2006)	Seychelles (2008)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem	23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka
Age structure	0-14 years: 42.1% (male 300,914/female 299,141) 15-64 years: 53.9% (male 383,137/female 384,876) 65 years and over: 4% (male 23,576/female 33,262) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 25.4% (male 10,504/female 10,272) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 27,405/female 28,706) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 1,590/female 3,418) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish	coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; poultry; tuna
Airports	56 (2006)	15 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 11 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)	total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 23 (2006)	total: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 267,667 sq km land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km	total: 455 sq km land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Colorado	2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence from France in 1960. The current president of Gabon, El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - has dominated the contry's political scene for almost four decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the presidential elections in 2005 have exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Gabon's political opposition remains weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime. Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.	A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected in 2001, but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James MICHEL took over the presidency and in July 2006 was elected to a new five-year term.
Birth rate	36.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.463 billion expenditures: $1.618 billion; including capital expenditures of $325 million (2005 est.)	revenues: $380.9 million expenditures: $361.2 million (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Libreville geographic coordinates: 0 23 N, 9 27 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Victoria geographic coordinates: 4 38 S, 55 27 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; always hot, humid	tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)
Coastline	885 km	491 km
Constitution	adopted 14 March 1991	18 June 1993
Country name	conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique gabonaise local short form: Gabon	conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles conventional short form: Seychelles local long form: Republic of Seychelles local short form: Seychelles
Death rate	12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$3.903 billion (2005 est.)	$957 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY embassy: Boulevard du Bord de 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	the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Jules Marius 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 Jean Ronald JUMEAU chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786
Disputes - international	UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only a few hundred out of the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who fled militia fighting in 2000 remain in Gabon	together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
Economic aid - recipient	$331 million (1995)	$18.81 million (2005)
Economy - overview	Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. 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, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in 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 mandated progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon 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. Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.	Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the pre-independence, near-subsistence level, moving the island into the upper-middle income group of countries. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years, the government has encouraged foreign investment to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. Sharp drops illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf War and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Economic growth slowed in 1998-2002 and fell in 2003-04, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2005-07. Real GDP grew by 5.8% in 2007, driven by tourism and a boom in tourism-related construction. The Seychelles rupee was allowed to depreciate in 2006 after being overvalued for years and fell by 10% in the first 9 months of 2007.
Electricity - consumption	1.383 billion kWh (2003)	193.4 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	1.487 billion kWh (2003)	208 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; poaching	water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands 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	mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)	Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 6.5 (2007), 5.5 (2006), 5.5 (2005), 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe NDONG (since 20 January 2006) 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 (no term limits); election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba 79.2%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 13.6%, Zacharie MYBOTO 6.6%	chief of state: President James Alix MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 28-30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: President James MICHEL elected president; percent of vote - James MICHEL 53.73%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN 45.71%, Philippe BOULLE 0.56%; note - this was the first election in which President James MICHEL participated; he was originally sworn in as president after former president France Albert RENE stepped down in April 2004
Exports	NA bbl/day	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)	canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports)
Exports - partners	US 53.5%, France 6.4%, China 6.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4% (2005)	UK 25.5%, France 17.5%, Italy 11.9%, Mauritius 8.5%, Japan 8.3%, Spain 8.2%, Netherlands 4.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue	five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 6.1% industry: 59.2% services: 34.8% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 2.4% industry: 25.6% services: 72% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.9% (2005 est.)	5.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	1 00 S, 11 45 E	4 35 S, 55 40 E
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	41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	NA bbl/day	5,800 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners	France 40.6%, US 6.4%, Cameroon 4.2% (2005)	Saudi Arabia 17.7%, South Africa 9.7%, Spain 8.1%, France 7.8%, Singapore 7.2%, Italy 4.8%, UK 4% (2006)
Independence	17 August 1960 (from France)	29 June 1976 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	1.6% (2002 est.)	1% (2007 est.)
Industries	petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement	fishing, tourism, processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages
Infant mortality rate	total: 54.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 63.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.1% (2005 est.)	2.9% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	70 sq km (2003)	NA
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	Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force	640,000 (2005 est.)	30,900 (1996)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 60% industry: 15% services: 25%	agriculture: 10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1989)
Land boundaries	total: 2,551 km border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 1.21% permanent crops: 0.64% other: 98.15% (2005)	arable land: 2.17% permanent crops: 13.04% other: 84.79% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi	Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)
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	based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law
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: Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next to be held by January 2009); National Assembly - last held 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9; 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	unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats; 25 members elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 10-12 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 56.2%, SNP 43.8%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 54.49 years male: 53.21 years female: 55.81 years (2006 est.)	total population: 72.34 years male: 66.98 years female: 77.86 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: 91.8% male: 91.4% female: 92.3% (2002 census)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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	registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2006)	total: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 108,348 GRT/165,593 DWT by type: cargo 1, carrier 1, chemical tanker 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 1, Nigeria 1, South Africa 1) (2007)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police	Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Naval Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$253.5 million (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.4% (2005 est.)	2% (2006 est.)
National holiday	Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968)	Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993)
Nationality	noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese	noun: Seychellois (singular and plural) adjective: Seychellois
Natural hazards	NA	lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower	fish, copra, cinnamon trees
Net migration rate	-2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-5.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 272 km; oil 1,354 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	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 [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA] (former sole party); Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; National Rally of Woodcutters or RNB; 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]; Union for Democracy and Social Integration or UDIS; Union of Gabonese People or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]	Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Paul CHOW]; Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN] (formerly the United Opposition or UO); Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] (the governing party)
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Roman Catholic Church; trade unions
Population	1,424,906 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 2006 est.)	81,895 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	2.13% (2006 est.)	0.432% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001)	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	total: 814 km standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)	-
Religions	Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%	Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.955 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.465 male(s)/female total population: 0.932 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; universal	17 years of age; universal
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: country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia	general assessment: effective system domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 110 telephones per 100 persons; radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	39,100 (2005)	20,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	649,800 (2005)	70,300 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)	2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south	Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs
Total fertility rate	4.74 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.74 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	21% (1997 est.)	NA%
Waterways	1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2005)	-

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