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 Gabon| Facts & Figures |
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| President: El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba
(1967) Premier: Jean Eyeghe Ndong
(2006) Land area: 99,486 sq mi (257,669 sq km);
total area: 103,346 sq mi (267,667 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 1,514,993 (growth
rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 35.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 51.7/1000;
life expectancy: 53.1; density per sq km: 5
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Libreville, 661,600 Other large cities: Port-Gentil,
116,200; Franceville, 41,300 Monetary
unit: CFA Franc More Facts & Figures |
GeographyThis West African country with the
Atlantic as its western border is also bounded by Equatorial Guinea,
Cameroon, and the Congo. Its area is slightly less than Colorado's. Most
of the country is covered by a dense tropical forest.
GovernmentRepublic.
HistoryThe earliest humans in Gabon were believed to be
the Babinga, or Pygmies, dating back to 7000
B.C.
, who were later followed by Bantu groups from
southern and eastern Africa. Now there are many tribal groups in the
country, the largest being the Fang peoples, who constitute 25% of the
population.
Gabon was first explored by the Portuguese
navigator Diego Cam in the 15th century. In 1472, the Portuguese explorers
encountered the mouth of the Como River and named it “Rio de
Gabao,” river of Gabon, which later became the name of the country.
The Dutch began arriving in 1593, and the French in 1630. In 1839, the
French founded their first settlement on the left bank of the Gabon
estuary and gradually occupied the hinterland during the second half of
the 19th century. The land became a French territory in 1888, an
autonomous republic within the French Union after World War II, and an
independent republic on Aug. 17, 1960.
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