Grenada (2001) | Gabon (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 59 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 47
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
Area | total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Colorado |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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. |
Birth rate | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.24 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Libreville |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 121 km | 885 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | adopted 14 March 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $182.8 million (1998) | $3.6 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $331 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.6 million kWh (1999) | 790.5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (1999) | 850 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian | 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 |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
Exports | $62.3 million (2000 est.) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | crude oil 81%, timber, manganese, uranium (2000) |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | US 51%, France 17%, China 8%, Netherlands Antilles 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $394 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 1 00 S, 11 45 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | 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 |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 8,454 km
paved: 838 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,616 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | - |
Imports | $217.5 million (2000 est.) | $921 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | France 62%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%, Belgium 3% (2000) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 17 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | -6.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 1 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 600,000 600,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66% other: 98.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Legal system | based on English common law | 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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.01 years female: 50.25 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential (Republican) Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $70.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2% (FY01) |
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 | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | NA |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2001 est.) | 0.97% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 208,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 649 km
standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single-track (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 39,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 120,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 4 (plus four low-powered repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1997) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) |