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Concept
Gabon
Summary
Gabon (ɡəˈbɒn ; ɡabɔ̃; Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it 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 and its population is estimated at million people. There are coastal plains, mountains (the Cristal Mountains and the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and a savanna in the east. The largest city, as well as the capital, is Libreville.
Gabon's original inhabitants are the pigmy peoples. Beginning in the 14th century, Bantu migrants began settling in the area as well. Since its independence from France in August 1960, the sovereign state of Gabon has had three presidents. In the 1990s, it introduced a multi-party system and a democratic constitution that aimed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed some governmental institutions. Despite this, the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) remains the dominant party.
The official language is French. Bantu ethnic groups constitute around 95% of the country's population, and Christianity is the most widespread religion, practiced by about 75% of the population. With petroleum and foreign private investment, it has the fourth highest HDI in the region (after Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa) and the fifth highest GDP per capita (PPP) in all of Africa (after Seychelles, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea and Botswana). Its GDP grew by more than 6% per year from 2010 to 2012.
History of Gabon and French Equatorial Africa
Pygmy peoples in the area were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes as they migrated. By the 18th century, a Myeni-speaking kingdom known as the Kingdom of Orungu formed as a trading centre with the ability to purchase and sell slaves, and fell with the demise of the slave trade in the 1870s.
Explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza led his first mission to the Gabon-Congo area in 1875.
Official source
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