US:
Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE; Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville
(mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville); telephone (241) 762003/4, or
743492
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue
:Gabon Economy
Overview:
The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now
dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85, oil accounted for
about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government revenues on
average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a substantial
increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand, reinforced
migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real wages to
among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of Gabon's
economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, was reversed in 1989
because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the
economy posted strong growth despite serious strikes, but debt servicing
problems are hindering economic advancement. The agricultural and industrial
sectors are relatively underdeveloped, except for oil.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $3.3 billion, per capita $3,090; real growth rate
13% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital
expenditures of $277 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$1.16 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities:
crude oil 70%, manganese 11%, wood 12%, uranium 6%
partners:
France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan
Imports:
$0.78 billion (c.i.f., 1989)
commodities:
foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials,
manufactures, machinery
partners:
France 48%, US 2.6%, FRG, Japan, UK
External debt:
$3.4 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -10% (1988 est.)
Electricity:
315,000 kW capacity; 995 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
petroleum, food and beverages, timber, cement, plywood, textiles, mining -
manganese, uranium, gold
Agriculture:
accounts for 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cash crops -
cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock not developed; importer of food; small
fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons; okoume (a
tropical softwood) is the most important timber product
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $66 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,225 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
= 100 centimes
:Gabon Economy
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 269.01 (January
1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54
(1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Gabon Communications
Railroads:
649 km 1.437-meter standard-gauge single track (Transgabonese Railroad)
Highways:
7,500 km total; 560 km paved, 960 km laterite, 5,980 km earth
Inland waterways:
1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Ports:
Owendo, Port-Gentil, Libreville
Merchant marine:
2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,563 GRT/25,330 DWT
Civil air:
15 major transport aircraft
Airports:
70 total, 59 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
adequate system of cable, radio relay, tropospheric scatter links and
radiocommunication stations; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 6
FM, 3 (5 repeaters) TV; satellite earth stations - 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
and 12 domestic satellite
:Gabon Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, National
Police
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 267,580; 134,665 fit for military service; 9,262 reach military
age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $102 million, 3.2% of GDP (1990 est.)
:The Gambia Geography