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| Official
Name : |
RÉPUBLIQUE
GABONAISE (Gabonese Republic) |
| Land
Area: |
267,660
sq kilometres / 103,060 sq miles. |
| Population: |
1,226,000
(est 1999). Density 4.6 persons per square kilometre. |
| Languages: |
French
(official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, others. |
| Religions: |
Christian 55%, Traditional 40%, Muslim 2%. |
| Capital: |
Libreville.
Population 330,000 |
| Currency: |
CFA
franc , divided into 100 centimes. |
| Political: |
Since
independence from France in 1960 autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon. They
introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s due to
unrest in the form of strikes and protests. The Chief of State is President Bongo.
He has held this position since 1967 and was last re-elected for a seven-year
term in 1998. Since 1999 the Head of Government, appointed by the President, is
Prime Minister Ntoutoume-Emane. |
| Geography: |
The
coastal plain is characterised by long shore bars, estuaries (including the mouth
of the Ogooue River) and lagoons, backed by gently rising land climbing towards
the African central plateau. A small population and oil and mineral reserves have
helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries. |
