Claim: Gabon is bordered by the Republic of Congo to the east.

Gabon -LRB- -LSB- ɡəˈbɒn -RSB- -LSB- ɡabɔ̃ -RSB- -RRB- , officially the Gabonese Republic -LRB- République gabonaise -RRB- , is a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa . Located on the equator , Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest , Cameroon to the north , the Republic of the Congo on the east and south , and the Gulf of Guinea to the west . It has an area of nearly 270000 sqkm and its population is estimated at 1.5 million people . Its capital and largest city is Libreville .   Since its independence from France in 1960 , Gabon has had three presidents . In the early 1990s , Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions . Gabon was also a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010 -- 2011 term .   Abundant petroleum and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa , with the 4th highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita -LRB- PPP -RRB- -LRB- after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana -RRB- in the region . GDP grew by more than 6 % per year from 2010 to 2012 . However , because of inequality in income distribution , a significant proportion of the population remains poor .