Gabon

The country’s name derives from the Portuguese word "gabao" (also spelled "Gabão"), meaning "hooded cloak". Portuguese navigators in the 1470s applied the term to the Komo (Como) River estuary, whose outline they thought resembled a cloak; the usage later extended to the surrounding region and, eventually, the modern state. == History ==

in 1675 Pre-colonisation Bambenga in the area were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes as they migrated. By the 18th century, a Myeni-speaking kingdom known as the Kingdom of Orungu formed as a trading centre with the ability to purchase and sell slaves, and fell with the demise of the slave trade in the 1870s. French rule and independence Explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza led his first mission to the Gabon-Congo area in 1875. He founded the town of Franceville and was later colonial governor. Some Bantu groups lived in the area when France officially occupied it in 1885. resulted in the Free French Forces taking the colony of Gabon from Vichy French forces, 1940. In 1910, Gabon became a territory of French Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1958. In World War II, the Allies invaded Gabon to overthrow the pro-Vichy France colonial administration. On 28 November 1958, Gabon became an autonomous republic within the French Community, and on 17 August 1960, it became fully independent. M'ba rule The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon M'ba, with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president. After M'ba acceded to power, the press was suppressed, political demonstrations suppressed, freedom of expression curtailed, other political parties gradually excluded from power, and the Constitution changed along French lines to vest power in the Presidency, a post that M'ba assumed himself. When M'ba dissolved the National Assembly in January 1964 to institute one-party rule, an army coup sought to oust him from power and restore parliamentary democracy. French paratroopers flew in within 24 hours to restore M'ba to power. After days of fighting, the coup ended, and the opposition was imprisoned, with protests and riots ensuing. Bongo rule and PDG When M'ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president. In March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving BDG and establishing a new party – the Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG). He invited all Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation, to participate. Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development policies, using PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that had divided Gabonese politics in the past. Bongo was elected president in February 1975; in April 1975, the position of vice president was abolished and replaced by the position of prime minister, who had no right to automatic succession. Bongo was re-elected President to two 7-year terms in December 1979 and November 1986. In June 2021, Gabon became the first African country to receive payments for reducing deforestation and associated emissions. In June 2022, Gabon, along with Togo, joined the Commonwealth of Nations. 2023 coup d'état In August 2023, following the announcement that Ali Bongo had won a third term in the general election, military officers announced that they had taken power in a coup d'état and cancelled the election results. They also dissolved state institutions, including the Judiciary, Parliament and the constitutional assembly. On 31 August 2023, army officers who seized power, ending the Bongo family's 55-year hold on power, named Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as the country's transitional leader. On 4 September 2023, General Nguema was sworn in as interim president of Gabon. As a consequence of the coup, on the 18 September, 2023, Gabon was partially suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations. The partial suspension excluded Gabon from the Councils of the Commonwealth, and the organization's meetings and events, such as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This was done as a potential preamble to a full suspension from the Commonwealth, if "acceptable progress is not made within two years". Gabon was restored to a position of full membership within the Commonwealth on 15 July 2025, with the organization stating that the Presidential election held on 12 April 2025 “largely reflected the will of the people who voted and that it was conducted in a credible, transparent and inclusive manner". In November 2024, a referendum on a new constitution was approved, reforming the country's government. In April 2025, Brice Oligui Nguema won the 2025 presidential election with more than 90% of the vote, becoming the 4th president of Gabon. == Politics ==

The presidential republic form of government is stated under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975, rewritten in 1991, and revised in 2003). The president is elected by universal suffrage for a seven-year term; a 2003 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits. The president can appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the independent Supreme Court. The president has other powers, such as the authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referendums. Interior Minister Jean-François Ndongou accused Mba Obame and his supporters of treason. The 2016 presidential election was disputed, with "very close" official results reported. Protests broke out in the capital and met repression, which culminated in the alleged bombing of the opposition party headquarters by the presidential guard. Between 50 and 100 citizens were killed by security forces, and 1,000 were arrested. International observers criticized irregularities, including unnaturally high turnout reported for some districts. The country's supreme court threw out some suspect precincts, and the ballots have been destroyed. The election was declared in favour of the incumbent Ondimba. The European Parliament issued two resolutions denouncing the unclear results of the election and calling for an investigation into the human rights violations. A few days after the controversial presidential election in August 2023, a group of military officials declared a military coup and that they had overthrown the government and deposed Ali Bongo Ondimba. The announcement came hours after Bongo was officially re-elected for a third term. General Brice Oligui Nguema was appointed as the transitional leader. This event marked the eighth instance of military intervention in the region since 2020, raising concerns about democratic stability. Foreign relations and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in Russia in October 2019 Since independence, Gabon has followed a nonaligned policy, advocating dialogue in international affairs and recognizing each side of divided countries. In intra-African affairs, it espouses development by evolution rather than revolution and favours regulated private enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic growth. It involved itself in mediation efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), and Burundi. In December 1999, through the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was signed in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) between the government and most leaders of an armed rebellion. President Bongo was involved in the continuing D.R.C. peace process and played a role in mediating the crisis in Ivory Coast. Gabon is a member of the United Nations (UN) and some of its specialized and related agencies, and of the World Bank; the IMF; the African Union (AU); the Central African Customs Union/Central African Economic and Monetary Community (UDEAC/CEMAC); EU/ACP association under the Lomé Convention; the Communauté Financière Africaine (CFA); the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC); the Nonaligned Movement; and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC). In 1995, Gabon withdrew from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), rejoining in 2016. Gabon was elected to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council from January 2010 through December 2011 and held the rotating presidency in March 2010. In 2024, ruling junta leader Brice Oligui Nguema assured American and French leaders that Gabon would be an ally of the West moving forward, as a part of his broader plan to solve the ongoing debt crisis. On 31 August 2023, Gabon was suspended from the African Union following a coup d'etat. On May 1, 2025, Gabon was re-instated after Brice Oligui Nguema was elected. Military It has a professional military of about 5,000 personnel, divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and police force. A 1,800-member guard provides security for the president. Administrative divisions It is divided into 9 provinces, which are subdivided into 50 departments. The president appoints the provincial governors, the prefects, and the subprefects. The provinces are (capitals in parentheses): • Estuaire (Libreville) • Haut-Ogooué (Franceville) • Moyen-Ogooué (Lambaréné) • Ngounié (Mouila) • Nyanga (Tchibanga) • Ogooué-Ivindo (Makokou) • Ogooué-Lolo (Koulamoutou) • Ogooué-Maritime (Port-Gentil) • Woleu-Ntem (Oyem) == Geography ==

Gabon is located on the Atlantic coast of central Africa on the equator, between latitudes 3°N and 4°S, and longitudes 8° and 15°E. Gabon has an equatorial climate with a system of rainforests, with 89.3% of its land area forested. There are coastal plains (ranging between from the ocean's shore), the mountains (the Cristal Mountains to the northeast of Libreville, the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and the savanna in the east. The coastal plains form a section of the World Wildlife Fund's Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion and contain patches of Central African mangroves including on the Muni River estuary on the border with Equatorial Guinea. Geologically, Gabon is primarily Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic basement rock, belonging to the stable continental crust of the Congo craton. Some formations are more than 2 billion years old. Some rock units are overlain by marine carbonate, lacustrine and continental sedimentary rocks, and unconsolidated sediments and soils that formed in the last 2.5 million years of the Quaternary. The rifting apart of the supercontinent Pangaea created rift basins that filled with sediments and formed the hydrocarbons. There are Oklo reactor zones, a natural nuclear fission reactor on Earth which was active 2 billion years ago. The site was discovered during uranium mining in the 1970s to supply the French nuclear power industry. Its largest river is the Ogooué, which is long. It has three karst areas where there are hundreds of caves located in the dolomite and limestone rocks. A National Geographic Expedition visited some caves in the summer of 2008 to document them. Gabon is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its dense coastal population, economic hubs along the shore, and dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Rising sea levels threaten to erode the coastline and contaminate freshwater sources with saltwater. The country is already experiencing more frequent and severe extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and storms, which damage infrastructure, displace communities, and disrupt food security and livelihoods. To adapt, Gabon prioritises protecting its coastal areas, as well as its fishing, agriculture, and forestry industries. It is recognized as a global leader in climate action and is widely considered the most carbon-positive country in the world, due to its strong conservation efforts. Wildlife Gabon has a large number of protected animal and plant species. The country's biodiversity is one of the most varied on the planet. Gabon is home of 604 species of birds, 98 species of amphibians, between 95 and 160 species of reptiles and 198 different species of mammals. In Gabon there are rare species, such as the Gabon pangolin and the grey-necked rockfowl, or endemics, such as the Gabon guenon. The country is one of the most varied and important fauna reserves in Africa: it is an important refuge for chimpanzees (whose number, in 2003, was estimated between 27,000 and 64,000) and gorillas (28,000-42,000 estimated in 1983). The "Gorilla and Chimpanzee Study Station" inside the Lopé National Park is dedicated to their study. The nation is also home to more than half the population of African forest elephants, many of them living in Minkébé National Park. However, from 2004-2014, the population in the park declined by 78-81%, a loss of more than 25,000 elephants, primarily due to poaching. Gabon's national symbol is the black panther. More than 6,000 species of plants and 400 species of trees form the flora of Gabon. Gabon is densely forested, with more than 85% of the country covered by forest, much of it largely undisturbed. The deforestation rate in Gabon is low, although some forests face localized pressures due to urbanization. == Economy ==

Oil revenue constitutes roughly 46% of the government's budget, 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of exports. Oil production declined from its higher point of 370,000 barrels per day in 1997. Some estimates suggest that Gabonese oil will be expended by 2025. Planning is beginning for an after-oil scenario. The rich Grondin Oil Field was discovered in 1971 in water depths offshore in an anticline salt structural trap in Batanga sandstones of Maastrichtian age, but about 60% of its estimated reserves had been extracted by 1978. As of 2023, Gabon produced about 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil. Gabon’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil and other natural resources, leaving it exposed to global market shifts and climate-related risks. "Overspending" on the Trans-Gabon Railway, the CFA franc devaluation of 1994, and periods of lower oil prices caused debt problems. The richest 20% of the population earn over 90% of the income while about a third of the Gabonese population lives in poverty. Just under half (48%) of Gabon's share of power generation comes from renewables. The country aims to provide electricity to 85% of rural areas by 2025 and universal access to electricity by 2035. In 2023, the country accounted for just over 0.04% of global greenhouse gas emissions (24.7 million tonnes). Gabon has pledged to stay carbon neutral beyond 2050 and, with adequate support, aims to maintain net carbon removals of 100 million tons CO2 equivalent per year beyond that date. Manganese Gabon is currently the world’s second-largest producer of manganese, an ore vital for steel and battery production. Manganese ore exports are one of Gabon’s top sources of revenue, and in 2023, they accounted for 16% of Gabon’s exports. Despite the country's large production of ore, Gabon currently lacks any domestic manganese processing capabilities; as such, the government announced in June 2025 that Gabon would ban domestic exports of manganese ore. By stopping raw exports, Gabon’s government seeks to encourage the construction of domestic processing, which would generate skilled employment, boost tax revenues, and capture greater value from Gabon's natural resources. The ban on exports will come into effect on January 1, 2029, giving the mining industry three years to construct manganese processing plants domestically. A public-private partnership is being established by the government to help prepare for the transition. == Transport ==

Gabon has a population of approximately million. Historical and environmental factors caused its population to decline between 1900 and 1940. It has one of the lowest population densities of any country in Africa, There are indigenous Pygmy peoples: the Bongo, and Baka. Population centres Languages French is the sole official language. It is estimated that 80% of the population can speak French and that 30% of Libreville residents are native speakers of the language. Nationally, a majority of the Gabonese people speak indigenous languages according to their ethnic group; this proportion is lower than in most other Sub-Saharan African countries. The 2013 census found that 63.7% of Gabon's population could speak a Gabonese language, broken down by 86.3% in rural areas and 60.5% in urban areas, speaking at least one national language. Religion Religions practised in Gabon include Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Islam, and traditional indigenous religious beliefs. Some people practise elements of both Christianity and indigenous religious beliefs. , approximately 46,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS. There were an estimated 2,400 deaths from AIDS in 2009 – down from 3,000 deaths in 2003. In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Gabon ranks 78th out of 127 countries with sufficient data. Gabon's GHI score is 17.4, which indicates a moderate level of hunger. Education Its education system is regulated by two ministries: the Ministry of Education, in charge of pre-kindergarten through the last high school grade, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Innovative Technologies, in charge of universities, higher education, and professional schools. Education is compulsory for children ages 6 to 16 under the Education Act. Some children in Gabon start their school lives by attending nurseries or "Crèche", then kindergarten, known as "Jardins d'enfants". At age 6, they are enrolled in primary school, "École Primaire", which is made up of 6 grades. The next level is "École Secondaire", which is made up of 7 grades. The planned graduation age is 19 years. Those who graduate can apply for admission to institutions of higher learning, including engineering schools or business schools. As of 2012, the literacy rate of a population ages 15 and above was 82%. The government has used oil revenue for school construction, paying teachers' salaries, and promoting education, including in rural areas. Maintenance of school structures and teachers' salaries has been declining. In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 132%, and in 2000, the net primary enrollment rate was 78%. Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school. As of 2001, 69% of children who started primary school were "likely" to reach grade 5. Problems in the education system include "poor management and planning, lack of oversight, poorly qualified teachers", and "overcrowded classrooms". Various universities in Gabon are being chartered, licensed, or accredited by the appropriate Gabonese higher education-related organization. == Culture ==

Some traditionalists in Gabon, known as "raconteurs", work to continue practices like the mvett among the Fangs and the Ingwala among the Nzebis. Masks, like the n'goltang masks of the Fang people and the reliquary figures of the Kota, are a central part of Gabonese culture. These masks are used in ceremonies marking significant life events such as marriage, birth, and funerals. They are crafted using local, often rare materials including wood. Music Music in Gabon reflects the country's ethnolinguistic diversity and combines traditional, ritual, popular and urban forms. Musical life has historically been closely linked to storytelling, dance, healing, initiation societies and oral literature. Among the best-known traditional forms is the Fang mvet, which refers both to a stringed harp-zither and to an epic genre of sung and spoken narration performed with the instrument. Ritual music associated with bwiti and bwete religious traditions has also played a major cultural role, especially through chant, responsorial singing and harp performance. Gabonese traditional instruments include the ngombi harp, balafon, drums, rattles, horns and a variety of stringed instruments. Regional musical styles are associated with communities such as the Fang, Myènè, Teke, Punu, Kota, Mitsogo and Babongo peoples. Scholars have emphasized that Gabon does not have a single national folk style, but rather many localized repertoires shaped by language, ceremony and geography. From the late colonial period onward, Gabonese musicians absorbed outside influences including church music, French-language chanson, rumba, makossa, soukous, zouk, rock and later hip hop. In the post-independence era, music became an important part of national cultural identity. Internationally known artists include Pierre Akendengué, noted for poetic and pan-African songwriting, and Oliver N'Goma, whose 1990 album Bane became a major Afro-zouk success. Since the late 1980s, hip hop has become an important urban genre, particularly in Libreville. Media Radio-Diffusion Télévision Gabonaise (RTG) is Gabon's national state-owned broadcaster. Its output is primarily in French, and the group airs regular news bulletins in indigenous languages. Colour television using the SECAM standard was introduced in 1975, following French cooperation that financed a colour TV studio in Gabon by that year. In 2004, the government operated 2 radio stations, and another 7 were privately owned. There were 2 government television stations and 4 privately owned. In 2003, there were an estimated 488 radios and 308 television sets for every 1,000 people. About 11.5 of every 1,000 people were cable subscribers. In 2003, there were 22.4 personal computers for every 1,000 people, and 26 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. The national press service is the Gabonese Press Agency, which publishes a daily paper, Gabon-Matin (circulation 18,000 as of 2002). ''L'Union in Libreville, the government-controlled daily newspaper, had an average daily circulation of 40,000 in 2002. The weekly Gabon d'Aujourd'hui'' is published by the Ministry of Communications. There are about 9 privately owned periodicals that are either independent or affiliated with political parties. These are published in certain numbers that have been delayed by financial constraints. The constitution of Gabon provides for free speech and a free press, and the government supports these rights. Some periodicals actively criticize the government, and foreign publications are available. Cuisine Gabonese cuisine is influenced by French cuisine, and staple foods are available. Sports The Gabon national football team has represented the nation since 1962. The Under-23 football team won the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship and qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. Gabon were joint hosts, along with Equatorial Guinea, of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, and the sole hosts of the competition's 2017 tournament. The Gabon national basketball team, nicknamed Les Panthères, finished 8th at the AfroBasket 2015. Gabon has competed at most Summer Olympics since 1972. Anthony Obame won a silver medal in taekwondo at the 2012 Olympics held in London. Gabon has recreational fishing and is considered the "best place in the world" to catch Atlantic tarpon. Since 2006, Gabon has hosted La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, a professional week-long bicycle race which includes both European and African teams. == See also ==