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Compare Gabon (2007) - Reunion (2005)

Compare Gabon (2007) z Reunion (2005)

 Gabon (2007)Reunion (2005)
 GabonReunion
Administrative divisions 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons
Age structure 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 307,444/female 305,468)


15-64 years: 53.9% (male 391,194/female 393,103)


65 years and over: 4% (male 23,978/female 33,680) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)


15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143)


65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Airports 53 (2007) 2 (2004 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 (2007)
total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 43


1,524 to 2,437 m: 7


914 to 1,523 m: 13


under 914 m: 23 (2007)
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Area total: 267,667 sq km


land: 257,667 sq km


water: 10,000 sq km
total: 2,517 sq km


land: 2,507 sq km


water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Colorado slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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 country'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. The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
Birth rate 35.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.027 billion


expenditures: $2.146 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $1.26 billion


expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)
Capital name: Libreville


geographic coordinates: 0 23 N, 9 27 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Saint-Denis
Climate tropical; always hot, humid tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Coastline 885 km 207 km
Constitution adopted 14 March 1991 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name conventional long form: Gabonese Republic


conventional short form: Gabon


local long form: Republique gabonaise


local short form: Gabon
conventional long form: Department of Reunion


conventional short form: Reunion


local long form: none


local short form: Ile de la Reunion


former: Bourbon Island
Death rate 12.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $3.849 billion (2006 est.) $NA
Dependency status - overseas department of France
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
none (overseas department of France)
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
none (overseas department of France)
Disputes - international UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and lesser islands and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay none
Economic aid - recipient $53.87 million (2005) NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)
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. The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Electricity - consumption 1.241 billion kWh (2005) 1.084 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 1.52 billion kWh (2005) 1.166 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; poaching NA
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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 French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005)


head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993)


cabinet: NA


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Exports NA bbl/day NA
Exports - commodities crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001) sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)
Exports - partners US 27.6%, China 15.9%, France 7.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 5.4%, Thailand 4.3% (2006) France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue the flag of France is used
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 6%


industry: 58.4%


services: 35.6% (2006 est.)
agriculture: 8%


industry: 19%


services: 73% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1.2% (2006 est.) 2.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 1 00 S, 11 45 E 21 06 S, 55 36 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 this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean
Highways - total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


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


highest 10%: NA%
Imports NA bbl/day NA
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners France 35.3%, US 7.7%, Netherlands 5.6%, Cameroon 4.5%, Belgium 4.4% (2006) France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)
Independence 17 August 1960 (from France) none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate 1.6% (2002 est.) NA%
Industries petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
Infant mortality rate total: 53.65 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 62.53 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 44.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2006 est.) NA%
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO InOC, UPU, WFTU
Irrigated land 70 sq km (2003) 120 sq km (1998 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 Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Labor force 574,000 (2006 est.) 309,900 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 60%


industry: 15%


services: 25%
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)
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: 13.6%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.2% (2001)
Languages French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi French (official), Creole widely used
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 French law
Legislative branch bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies to serve six-year terms) 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 17 and 24 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011)


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 82, RPG 8, UPG 8, UGDD 4, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PGP-Ndaot 2, PSD 2, independents 4, others 5
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010)


election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7


note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
Life expectancy at birth total population: 53.99 years


male: 52.85 years


female: 55.17 years (2007 est.)
total population: 73.95 years


male: 70.55 years


female: 77.52 years (2005 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: 88.9%


male: 87%


female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references Africa World
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2007) total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT


by type: chemical tanker 1


foreign-owned: 1 (France 1)


registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 3.4% (2005 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 17 August (1960) Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)


adjective: Gabonese
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)


adjective: Reunionese
Natural hazards NA periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower fish, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate -3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (former sole party) [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; Gabonese Union for Democracy and Development or UGDD [Zacherie MYBOTO]; 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 Patriots or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU] Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 1,454,867


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 2007 est.)
776,948 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% NA%
Population growth rate 2.036% (2007 est.) 1.38% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors - Le Port
Radio broadcast stations AM 6, FM 7 (plus 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Railways total: 814 km


standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
-
Religions Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.995 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.712 male(s)/female


total population: 0.987 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 21 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of a growing mobile cell network system with three providers; mobile-cellular subscribership exceeded 50 per 100 persons in 2006


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; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis


domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use 36,500 (2006) 300,000 est (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 764,700 (2006) 489,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2001) 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Total fertility rate 4.71 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 21% (2006 est.) 36% (1999 est.)
Waterways 1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2007) -
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