Gabon

**Gabon** officially be **Gabonese Republic** be country wey dey west coast of Central Africa. E dey locate for de equator top, Equatorial Guinea dey border am for de northwest, Cameroon for de north, de Republic of de Congo for de east den south, wey de Gulf of Guinea for de west. E get area of nearly 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) wey dem estimate ein population for 2.3 million people. Der be coastal plains, mountains (de Cristal Mountains den de Chaillu Massif for de centre insyd), den savanna for de east.

Since ein independence from France for 1960 insyd, de sovereign state of Gabon get three presidos. For de 1990s insyd, dem introduce multi-party system den democratic constitution wey dem aim for more transparent electoral process wey dem reform sam governmental institutions. Despite dis, de Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) remain de dominant party. Plus petroleum den foreign private investment, e get de fourth highest HDI for de region insyd (after Mauritius, Seychelles den South Africa) den de fifth highest GDP per capita (PPP) for all of Africa insyd (after Seychelles, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea den Botswana). Gabon ein nominal GDP per capita be $10,149 for 2023 insyd according to OPEC.

De official language be French. Bantu ethnic groups dey constitute around 95% for de country ein population, wey Christianity be de religion dem practice most, about 75% of de population dey practice am.

## Politics

### Foreign relations

### Military
E get professional military of about 5,000 personnel, dem divide go army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, den police force. 1,800-member guard dey provide security give de presido.

### Administrative divisions
Dem divide am go 9 provinces wey be subdivided go 50 departments. De presido dey appoint de provincial governors, de prefects, den de subprefects.

De provinces be (capitals for parentheses insyd):

# Estuaire (Libreville)
# Haut-Ogooué (Franceville)
# Moyen-Ogooué (Lambaréné)
# Ngounié (Mouila)
# Nyanga (Tchibanga)
# Ogooué-Ivindo (Makokou)
# Ogooué-Lolo (Koulamoutou)
# Ogooué-Maritime (Port-Gentil)
# Woleu-Ntem (Oyem)

## Geography

## Economy

## Demographics

E get population of approximately 2.3 million. Historical den environmental factors cause ein population make e decline between 1900 den 1940. E get one of de lowest population densities for any country for Africa insyd, den de fourth highest Human Development Index for Sub-Saharan Africa insyd.

### Ethnic groups
Gabon get at least 40 ethnic groups, wey dey include Fang, Myènè, Punu-Échira, Nzebi-Adouma, Teke-Mbete, Mèmbè, Kota, Akélé. Dem get indigenous Pygmy peoples: de Bongo, den Baka. De latter dey speak de non-Bantu language per for Gabon insyd. More dan 10,000 native French dey live for Gabon insyd, wey dey include 2,000 dual nationals dem estimate.

Dem spread sam ethnicities thru out Gabon, wey dey lead make dem contact, interact among de groups, den intermarriage.

### Population centres

### Languages
French be de sole official language. Dem estimate say 80% of de population fi speak French, wey 30% of Libreville residents be native speakers of de language.

Nationally, chaw of de Gabonese people dey speak indigenous languages, according to dema ethnic group, while dis proportion be lower dan for most of oda Sub-Saharan African countries insyd. De 2013 census find say 63.7% of Gabon ein population fi speak Gabonese language, dem break am down by 86.3% for rural areas insyd den 60.5% for urban areas insyd dey speak at least one national language.

### Religion
Religions dem practise for Gabon insyd dey include Christianity (Roman Catholicism den Protestantism), Islam, den traditional indigenous religious beliefs. Sam people dey practice elements of both Christianity den indigenous religious beliefs. Approximately 79% of de population (53% Catholic) dey practice one of de denominations of Christianity; 10% dey practice Islam (mainly Sunni); de remainder dey practice oda religions.

### Health

### Education

## Culture
Country plus primarily oral tradition til de spread of literacy for de 21st century insyd, e get folklore den mythology. "Raconteurs" dey job make dem keep traditions alive lyk de mvett among de Fangs den de ingwala among de Nzebis.

E dey feature masks dem internationally celebrate lyk de n'goltang (Fang) den de reliquary figures of de Kota. Every group get ein own set of masks dem use. Dem dey use am for ceremonies lyk marriage, birth den funerals insyd. Traditionalists dey job plus "rare local woods den oda precious materials".

### Music
E get array of folk styles. rock den hip hop dem import from de US den UK dey Gabon insyd, rumba, makossa den soukous. Sam folk instruments dey include de obala, de ngombi, de balafon den drums.

### Media

### Cuisine
French cuisine dey influence Gabonese cuisine, wey staple foods be available.

### Sports
De Gabon national football team represent de nation since 1962. De Under-23 football team chop de 2011 CAF U-23 Championship wey dem qualify for de 2012 London Olympics. Na Gabon be joint hosts, along plus Equatorial Guinea, for de 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, den de sole hosts for de competition ein 2017 tournament.

De Gabon national basketball team, dem nickname as *Les Panthères*, finish 8th for de AfroBasket 2015.

Gabon compete for most Summer Olympics since 1972. Ein Olympic medallist Anthony Obame chop silver medal insyd taekwondo for de 2012 Olympics dem hold for London insyd.

Gabon get recreational fishing wey dem consider am de "best place for de world insyd" make dem catch Atlantic tarpon.

## Wildlife of Gabon
Gabon get chaw number of animal den plant species dem protect. De country ein biodiversity be one of de most varied for de planet top.

### Fauna of Gabon
Gabon be home give 604 species of birds, 98 species of amphibians, between 95 den 160 species of reptiles wey different species of mammals. For Gabon insyd der be rare species, lyk de Gabon pangolin den de grey-necked rockfowl, anaa endemics, lyk de Gabon guenon.

De country be one of de most varied den important fauna reserves for Africa insyd: ebe important refuge give chimpanzees (na dem estimate dema number, for 2003 insyd, between 27,000 den 64,000) den gorillas (dem record 35,000 for 1983 insyd). Dem dedicate de "Gorilla den Chimpanzee Study Station" wey dey de Lopé National Park insyd for dema study.

E san so be home give more dan half de population of African forest elephants, mostly for Minkébé National Park insyd. Gabon ein national animal be de black panther.

### Flora of Gabon
More dan 10,000 species of plants, den 400 species of trees dey form de flora of Gabon. Dem consider Gabon ein rainforest de densest den most virgin for Africa insyd. Howeva, de country ein enormous population growth dey cause heavy deforestation wey dey threaten dis valuable ecosystem. Likewise, poaching dey endanger wildlife. Gabon ein national flower be Delonix Regia.
## References


## Bibliography

* Bachmann, Olaf. "Gabon: An Uneasy Civil‒Military Concord." *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics* (2020).
* Gardinier, David E. "France and Gabon since 1993: The reshaping of a neo-colonial relationship." *Journal of Contemporary African Studies* 18.2 (2000): 225–242. online

* Ghazvinian, John (2008). **'. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN <bdi>[[:en:Special:BookSources/978-0-15-101138-4|978-0-15-101138-4]]</bdi>.
* Gray, Christopher J. "Cultivating citizenship through xenophobia in Gabon, 1960-1995." ''Africa today'' 45.3/4 (1998): 389-409 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4187235 online]
* Gray, Christopher. "Who Does Historical Research in Gabon? Obstacles to the Development of a Scholarly Tradition1." ''History in Africa'' 21 (1994): 413–433.
* Jean-Baptiste, Rachel. ''Multiracial Identities in Colonial French Africa: Race, Childhood, and Citizenship'' (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
* Ngolet, François. "Ideological manipulations and political longevity: the power of Omar Bongo in Gabon since 1967." ''African Studies Review'' 43.2 (2000): 55–71. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/ideological-manipulations-and-political-longevity-the-power-of-omar-bongo-in-gabon-since-1967/1F2512D996B3D7655772152AF6D40DCE online]

* Rich, Jeremy (2007). ''A Workman Is Worthy of His Meat: Food and Colonialism in the Gabon Estuary''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN <bdi>[[:en:Special:BookSources/978-0-8032-0741-7|978-0-8032-0741-7]]</bdi>.
* Shaxson, Nicholas (2007). **'. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7194-4.
* Warne, Sophie (2003). *Bradt Travel Guide: Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe*. Guilford, CT: Chalfont St. Peter. ISBN 1-84162-073-4.
* Yates, Douglas A. (1996). *The Rentier State in Africa: Oil Rent Dependency and Neo-colonialism in the Republic of Gabon*. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. ISBN 0-86543-520-0.

* Yates, Douglas A. *Historical dictionary of Gabon* (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) online Archived 7 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine
* Yates, Douglas. "The dynastic republic of Gabon." *Cahiers d’études africaines* (2019): 483–513. online Archived 4 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine
* Yates, Douglas A. "The History of Gabon." *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History* (2020).
* Yates, Douglas Andrew. *The rentier state in Africa: Oil rent dependency and neocolonialism in the Republic of Gabon* (Africa World Press, 1996) online 7 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine.

## External links

* Official website
* Gabon. *The World Factbook*. Central Intelligence Agency.
* Gabon at Curlie
* Gabon from de BBC News
* Wikimedia Atlas of Gabon
* Key Development Forecasts for Gabon from International Futures
* 2009 report (PDF) from Direction générale de la statistique et des études économiques