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Compare Gabon (2008) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Gabon (2008) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Gabon (2008) | British Virgin Islands (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 53 (2007) | 3 (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 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 23 (2007) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Area | total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Colorado | about 0.9 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 country's political scene for 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. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 35.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.353 billion
expenditures: $2.283 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| 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: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical; always hot, humid | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 885 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | adopted 14 March 1991 | 13 June 2007 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Death rate | 12.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $3.579 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Eunice S. REDDICK
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 territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos BOUNGOU
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 territory of the UK) |
| 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 |
| Economy - overview | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. but 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. The devaluation of the CFA franc - 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 since 1999 have helped growth, but drops in production have hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains, and will continue to temper the gains for most of this decade. 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, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.241 billion kWh (2005) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 1.52 billion kWh (2005) | 45 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; poaching | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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 | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | the US dollar is used |
| 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
| Exports | 228,000 bbl/day (2004) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001) | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | US 27.6%, China 15.9%, France 7.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 5.4%, Thailand 4.3% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.8%
industry: 58.8% services: 35.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 11 45 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 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 | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | 2,436 bbl/day (2004) | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | France 35.4%, US 7.6%, Netherlands 5.5%, Cameroon 4.5%, Belgium 4.3% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| 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: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2007 est.) | 2% (2005) |
| 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, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| 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 | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 582,000 (2007 est.) | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 60%
industry: 15% services: 25% |
agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| 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: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | English (official) |
| 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 | English 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 House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.99 years
male: 52.85 years female: 55.17 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 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: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2007) | - |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (2005 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 August (1960) | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) |
| Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | NA | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | -3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 384 km; oil 1,427 km (2007) | - |
| 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 [Benoit Mouity NZAMBA]; 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]; Party of Development and Social Solidarity or PDS [Seraphin Ndoat REMBOGO]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; 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] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| 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.) |
23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.036% (2007 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 7 (plus 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 814 km
standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
- |
| Religions | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) |
| 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: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 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: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 36,500 (2006) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 764,700 (2006) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 4.71 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 21% (2006 est.) | 3.6% (1997) |
| Waterways | 1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2007) | - |
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