Gabon Embassy

1,672,597

Central Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea

Africa

LIBREVILLE (capital) 686,000 (2011)

French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

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

Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%

El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world - dominated the country's political scene for four decades (1967-2009) following independence from France in 1960. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of electoral fraud during local elections in December 2002 and the presidential elections in 2005 exposed the weaknesses of formal political structures in Gabon. Following President BONGO's death in 2009, new elections brought Ali BONGO Ondimba, son of the former president, to power. Despite constrained political conditions, Gabon's small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make it one of the more stable African countries.

885 km

tropical; always hot, humid

narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower