Gabon

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official name	Gabonese Republic — République gabonaise
Former names	French Gabon within French Equatorial Africa (1910–1958); the Gabonese Republic within the French Community (1958–1960)
Demonym	Gabonese
Meaning of the name	From the Portuguese gabão, a hooded cloak — the shape the sailors saw in the Komo estuary in the 1470s
Motto	"Union, Travail, Justice" — union, work, justice; with "Uniti Progrediemur," united we shall go forward, on the arms

Quick facts

Capital	Libreville — founded 1849 for freed slaves, the capital since 1888; about 850,000, above a million with its suburbs
Largest cities	Libreville; Port-Gentil, about 150,000, the oil city; Franceville; Oyem; Moanda, the manganese town; Lambaréné; Mouila; Tchibanga
Official language	French — spoken by about 80%, the mother tongue of a third in Libreville; Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Punu, Teke, Kota and some 40 Bantu languages
Currency	Central African CFA franc — ISO code XAF, F CFA; 655.957 to the euro
Time zone	West Africa Time, UTC+1, all year
Calling code	+241
Internet domain	.ga
ISO 3166 codes	GA · GAB · 266
Vehicle registration code	G
Driving side	Right
Electricity	220 V, 50 Hz; plug type C
Independence	17 August 1960, from France — Léon M'ba the first president
National days	17 August, Independence Day; 30 August, Liberation Day, since 2024, for the coup of 2023; 12 March, Renovation Day, for the party of 1968; the Christian and Muslim feasts
Constitution	19 December 2024 — approved by the referendum of 16 November 2024 with 91.8%; a seven-year presidency renewable once, no prime minister, the president head of government; the fourth constitution since 1960
Population	1,811,079 at the census of 2013; about 2.6 million (UN and CIA World Factbook, 2025 est.) — a census taken in 2024, its results awaited
Area	267,667 km² (103,347 sq mi) — land 257,667 km², water 10,000 km²; about 88% forest

Flag & national symbols

National flag	A horizontal tricolor of green, yellow and blue — the forest, the equator's sun, the Atlantic — with the yellow band once narrower, for the equator, and the three made equal at independence; the only French colony's flag never to have carried the tricolor's colors, adopted 9 August 1960.Flag of Gabon
Coat of arms	A gold shield with three gold roundels for mineral wealth and a black ship for the sea trade, supported by two black panthers for the vigilance of the president, under an okoumé tree and the Latin motto, over the French motto — designed by the Swiss heraldist Louis Mühlemann, adopted 15 July 1963
National anthem	"La Concorde" — words and music by Georges Aleka Damas; adopted 1960
National motto	"Union, Travail, Justice"
National colors	Green, yellow and blue
National animal	The black panther — on the arms; the forest elephant, the gorilla and the mandrill widely cited
National tree	The okoumé — Aucoumea klaineana, the tree of the arms and of the timber trade
National dish	Poulet nyembwe — chicken in palm-nut sauce; smoked fish with manioc; widely cited
Symbol status	The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by law; the animal and tree by the arms; the dish widely cited

Geography

Location	Central Africa on the Atlantic, astride the equator — between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north and the Republic of the Congo to the east and south; the Gulf of Guinea
Land borders	3,261 km (2,026 mi) with three countries
Border with the Republic of the Congo	2,567 km (1,595 mi)
Border with Cameroon	349 km (217 mi)
Border with Equatorial Guinea	345 km (214 mi) — the Mbanié island dispute referred to the International Court of Justice and decided in 2025
Coastline	885 km (550 mi)
Highest point	Mont Bengoué, 1,050 m (3,445 ft), by the CIA World Factbook; Mont Iboundji, once given as 1,575 m, remeasured below 1,000 m
Lowest point	The Atlantic Ocean, 0 m
Mean elevation	377 m (1,237 ft)
The Ogooué	1,200 km (750 mi) from the Congo border to the Atlantic — the largest river between the Niger and the Congo, draining most of the country; Lambaréné on its island; the delta and lagoons below Port-Gentil; the Ivindo and the Ngounié its tributaries
Terrain	A narrow coastal plain of lagoons and mangroves; the Crystal Mountains behind Libreville; the plateau under rainforest; the Chaillu massif in the south; the Batéké plateau of savanna in the southeast
Climate	Equatorial — hot and humid, rains from September to May with a short dry spell in December and January, the long dry season from June to August; Libreville about 3,000 mm a year
Natural hazards	Floods on the Ogooué and in Libreville; landslides; the Ebola outbreaks of the 1990s and 2000s in the northeast
Natural resources	Oil and gas, offshore and on the coast; manganese at Moanda, among the largest deposits in the world; iron ore at Belinga, undeveloped; timber; gold; diamonds; uranium at Mounana, mined 1961–1999
Land use	Agricultural land about 19%, nearly all pasture; forest about 88% — the most forested country in Africa
National parks	13, created together on 30 August 2002 — about 11% of the land: Loango, where hippos surf and elephants walk the beach; Lopé; Ivindo with the Kongou falls; Minkébé, the largest, with the forest elephants; Pongara; Akanda; Moukalaba-Doudou; the Batéké Plateau
UNESCO World Heritage	2 — the Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda (2007); Ivindo National Park (2021)
Administrative divisions	9 provinces — Estuaire with Libreville, Haut-Ogooué, Moyen-Ogooué, Ngounié, Nyanga, Ogooué-Ivindo, Ogooué-Lolo, Ogooué-Maritime with Port-Gentil, and Woleu-Ntem; 48 departments

People

Population	1,811,079 (census of 2013); about 2.6 million (2025 est.)
Population density	About 10 per km² (26 per sq mi) — among the lowest in Africa
Population growth	About 2% a year
Median age	About 21 years
Life expectancy	About 68 years
Fertility rate	About 3.5 births per woman
Urban population	About 91% — among the highest in Africa; half the country in Libreville
Adult literacy	About 85%
Ethnic groups	Some 40 Bantu peoples — the Fang about 32%, in the north and the capital; the Shira-Punu about 20%; the Nzebi; the Myene of the coast, the first to meet the Europeans; the Kota; the Teke; the Baka and other forest peoples; about 15% foreign-born — from Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Senegal, France and Lebanon
Languages	French by nearly all, and the only language of a growing share of the young; Fang the most spoken African language; Myene, Punu, Nzebi, Teke, Kota; the government's bid for English as a second official language, announced 2012, unfulfilled
Religion	Roman Catholic about 42%; Protestant about 12%; other Christian about 27%; Muslim about 10%, including the Bongo family since Omar's conversion of 1973; the Bwiti initiation religion of the forest with its iboga root
Human Development Index	0.733 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high; about 107th of 193 — the third in sub-Saharan Africa
Poverty	About a third of the population below the poverty line, in a country among the richest per head in Africa — the paradox of the oil years
Sport	Football — the Panthers, hosts of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 and 2017; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; taekwondo — Anthony Obame's silver of 2012, the country's only Olympic medal
Diaspora	In France above all, with Cameroon, the United States and Belgium

Government

Form of government	Presidential republic under the Constitution of 2024 — the president head of state and government, elected for seven years, once renewable; no prime minister; a vice president of the republic and a vice president of the government appointed by the president
President	Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (Democratic Union of Builders), since 3 May 2025 — the fourth; head of state as chairman of the transition from 30 August 2023; brigadier general, commander of the Republican Guard since 2020, a maternal cousin of the Bongos; born 3 March 1975 at Ngouoni in Haut-Ogooué
The 2025 election	Held 12 April 2025: Oligui Nguema 90.35% by the final count of the Constitutional Court — 94.85% provisional — against 3.02% for Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, Bongo's last prime minister, and six others; turnout about 70%; sworn in 3 May 2025 for a term to 2032
Vice Presidents	Alexandre Barro Chambrier, vice president of the republic since 1 January 2026, after Séraphin Moundounga; Hermann Immongault, vice president of the government since 1 January 2026 — the post created 5 May 2025 in place of the prime minister, held first by Barro Chambrier and, as interim, by Henri-Claude Oyima
Parliament	The National Assembly — 145 members elected in two rounds on 27 September and 11 October 2025, the first since the coup, the president's Democratic Union of Builders with a large majority; the Senate — 70 members, elected by the local councils
The next election	The presidential election due in 2032
The Bongo years	Omar Bongo, president 2 December 1967 to his death on 8 June 2009 — 41 years, the one-party state of 1968 to 1990, the oil money and the French connection; his son Ali Bongo, president 16 October 2009 to 30 August 2023, disputed in 2016 and struck by a stroke in 2018; 56 years of one family
The coup	On 30 August 2023, minutes after Ali Bongo was declared the winner of a third term, the officers of the Republican Guard seized power, dissolved the institutions and put Bongo under house arrest; Oligui Nguema was carried on the shoulders of the soldiers; the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions ruled to May 2025; Bongo was freed to Angola in May 2025; his wife Sylvia and son Noureddin were convicted in absentia in November 2025 and sentenced to twenty years for embezzlement
Legal system	Civil law on the French model with customary law; the Constitutional Court; the Court of Cassation; the Council of State
Provinces	9, each under a governor appointed by the president
United Nations	Member since 20 September 1960; Security Council seats in 1978–79, 1998–99 and 2010–11, 2022–23
Regional memberships	The African Union — suspended after the coup, readmitted 2025; CEMAC, the Central African monetary community; the Economic Community of Central African States, seated at Libreville; OPEC, left 1995 and rejoined 2016; the Commonwealth since 25 June 2022; the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

Economy

GDP (nominal)	About US$22 billion (2025, IMF)
GDP per capita	About US$9,000 (2025) — among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa
GDP per capita (PPP)	About US$20,000 (2025)
GDP growth	About 3% a year (2024–25)
Economy by sector	Industry about 55% — oil, mining, timber; services about 40%; agriculture about 5%, most food imported
Currency	Central African CFA franc (XAF), fixed to the euro
Oil	About 200,000 barrels a day, falling from the peak of 370,000 in 1997 — about 40% of GDP and 70% of exports; TotalEnergies, Perenco, Assala; the refinery of Port-Gentil; the fields offshore and in the Gamba
Manganese	The Moanda mine of Comilog, a subsidiary of France's Eramet — the second-largest producer of manganese ore in the world after South Africa, about a quarter of the high-grade supply; the ore railed to Owendo
Timber	Okoumé and the forest — the export of logs banned since 2010 to build the plywood and veneer works of the Nkok special economic zone; the world's largest FSC-certified tropical forest concessions
Public finances	Public debt about 70% of GDP and arrears to suppliers after the spending of the transition; the "year of seriousness" declared for 2026 by the finance minister; the Eurobond payments; no IMF program
Carbon	A net absorber of carbon for its forest — the first African country paid for reducing emissions, US$17 million from Norway's CAFI in 2021; the debt-for-nature swap of 2023 for the ocean
Income classification	Upper-middle income (World Bank)

Transport & infrastructure

Main airport	Léon-Mba International Airport, Libreville; Port-Gentil; Franceville M'Vengue
Airlines	Afrijet, the largest, based at Libreville; Fly Gabon, the new national carrier since 2023; the Gabonese carriers on the EU's list
Main ports	Owendo, the port of Libreville, for the manganese and timber; Port-Gentil for the oil; Mayumba
Railways	The Transgabonais — 669 km from Owendo to Franceville, built 1974–1986 through the forest, the country's one line; the manganese and timber trains and a passenger service
Roads	About 10,000 km (6,200 mi), about 1,100 km paved; the road to Cameroon through Oyem; the Trans-Gabon highway under construction; the forest tracks
The river	The Ogooué navigable to Ndjolé; the ferries and pirogues of Lambaréné

History in dates

c. 400,000 years ago	Stone tools at Elarmekora — among the oldest in Central Africa
c. 2 billion years ago	The natural nuclear reactors of Oklo — discovered 1972
1472	The Portuguese reach the estuary — the gabão
1839	The French treaty with King Denis on the estuary
1849	Libreville founded for the freed slaves of the Elizia
1910	French Equatorial Africa
1913	Albert Schweitzer's hospital at Lambaréné
1960	Independence, 17 August — Léon M'ba
1964	The coup against M'ba reversed by French paratroops, February
1967	Omar Bongo president, 2 December
1968	The one-party state, 12 March
1986	The Transgabonais completed
1990	The National Conference; multiparty rule
2002	The thirteen national parks, 30 August
2009	Omar Bongo dies, 8 June; Ali Bongo president, 16 October
2016	The disputed election; the Assembly burned
2019	The coup attempt of 7 January foiled
2022	The Commonwealth, 25 June
2023	The election of 26 August; the coup of 30 August
2024	The referendum on the constitution, 16 November
2025	Oligui Nguema elected, 12 April; sworn in, 3 May; the legislative elections, September–October
2026	The two vice presidents, 1 January

Records & firsts

The most forested country in Africa	About 88%
The only natural nuclear reactors ever found	Oklo, two billion years old
The surfing hippos	Loango, where the forest meets the beach
The most forest elephants	About 95,000 — most of the world's
The second manganese producer	Moanda
Thirteen national parks in a day	30 August 2002
Fifty-six years of one family	The Bongos, 1967–2023
A capital named Freetown	Libreville, 1849
Among the richest per head in Africa	And a third in poverty
Schweitzer's hospital	Lambaréné, 1913 — and his Nobel of 1952
The first paid for its forest	Norway's US$17 million of 2021

Frequently asked questions

What is the official name of Gabon?

The Gabonese Republic — République gabonaise — since independence from France on 17 August 1960. The name comes from the Portuguese gabão, a hooded cloak, which the sailors of the 1470s thought the estuary of the Komo resembled; the estuary became the Gabon, and the colony took the river's name. It was part of French Equatorial Africa from 1910 to 1958.

What is the capital of Gabon?

Libreville — "Freetown" — founded in 1849 on the Gabon estuary by the French for slaves freed from a captured ship, and the capital since 1888, with about 850,000 people in the city and more than a million with Akanda and Owendo, nearly half the country. Port-Gentil, the oil city on the island of Mandji, is the second city; Franceville in the southeast the Bongos' home region; Oyem in the Fang north; Lambaréné on the Ogooué, the town of Albert Schweitzer's hospital.

How big is Gabon, and how many people live there?

About 267,667 km² (103,347 sq mi) — a little smaller than Colorado, about the size of the United Kingdom — on the equator between Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo, nearly nine-tenths of it forest, the most forested country in Africa. The census of 2013 counted 1,811,079 people; the UN and the CIA World Factbook estimate about 2.6 million for 2025, one of the emptiest countries on the continent, with most of its people in the two cities on the coast.

What are the highest and lowest points of Gabon?

Mont Bengoué, 1,050 m (3,445 ft), in the northeast by the CIA World Factbook's measure — Mont Iboundji in the center, long given as 1,575 m, has been remeasured lower — and the Atlantic. The country is a plateau under forest, cut by the Ogooué, which drains most of it and reaches the sea in a delta below Port-Gentil, with the Crystal Mountains behind the coast and the Chaillu massif in the south.

What currency does Gabon use?

The Central African CFA franc (ISO code XAF), shared with Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Congo and Equatorial Guinea and fixed at 655.957 to the euro, issued by the Bank of Central African States. Clocks keep West Africa Time, UTC+1, all year.

Who governs Gabon?

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the general of the Republican Guard who overthrew Ali Bongo on 30 August 2023, hours after Bongo was declared re-elected, ending fifty-six years of rule by the Bongo family — his own cousins. He led the transition, won the presidential election of 12 April 2025 with 90.35 percent of the vote by the final count, and was sworn in on 3 May 2025 for a seven-year term under the constitution approved by referendum in November 2024, which abolished the post of prime minister and makes the president head of government. Alexandre Barro Chambrier has been vice president of the republic and Hermann Immongault vice president of the government since 1 January 2026. His new party, the Democratic Union of Builders, won the legislative elections of September and October 2025.

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