*Gabon, Government
Member of:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
(vacant)
chancery:
2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
(202) 797-1000
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador John C. WILSON IV
embassy:
Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville
mailing address:
B. P. 4000, Libreville
telephone:
(241) 762003/4, or 743492
FAX:
[241] 745-507
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. In 1981-85, oil accounted for about 45% of GDP,
80% 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 national 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 subsequent slide of Gabon's economy,
which began with falling oil prices in 1985, was reversed in 1989-90, but
debt servicing obligations continue to limit prospects for further domestic
development. Real growth in 1991-92 was weak because of a combination of an
overstaffed bureaucracy, a large budget deficit, and the continued
underdevelopment of the whole economy outside the petroleum sector.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $4.6 billion (1991)
National product real growth rate:
13% (1990 est.)
National product per capita:
$4,200 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.7% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $247 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
crude oil 80%, manganese 7%, wood 7%, uranium 2%
partners:
France 48%, US 15%, Germany 2%, Japan 2%
Imports:
$702 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials,
manufactures, machinery
partners:
France 64%, African countries 7%, US 5%, Japan 3%
External debt: $4.4 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate - 10% (1988 est.); accounts for 45% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
315,000 kW capacity; 995 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
petroleum, food and beverages, lumbering and plywood, textiles, mining -
manganese, uranium, gold, cement
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 (FY70-90), $68 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2,342 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
Currency:
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
*Gabon, Economy
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January
1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85
(1988)
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
Airports:
total:
68
usable:
56
with permanent-surface runways:
10
with runways over 3,659 m:
0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
22
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 age 15-49 269,066; fit for military service 135,836; reach military
age (20) annually 9,680 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $102 million, 3.2% of GDP (1990 est.)