Gabon

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.^[6] He founded the town of Franceville and was later colonial governor. Some Bantu groups lived in the area when France officially occupied it in 1885.

In 1910, Gabon became a territory of French Equatorial Africa,^[7] a federation that survived until 1958. In World War II, the Allies invaded Gabon in order to overthrow the pro-Vichy France colonial administration. On 28 November 1958, Gabon became an autonomous republic within the French Community, and on 17 August 1960, it became fully independent.^[8]

The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon M'ba, with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president. After M'ba's accession to power, the press was suppressed, political demonstrations suppressed, freedom of expression curtailed, other political parties gradually excluded from power, and the Constitution changed along French lines to vest power in the Presidency, a post that M'ba assumed himself. When M'ba dissolved the National Assembly in January 1964 to institute one-party rule, an army coup sought to oust him from power and restore parliamentary democracy. French paratroopers flew in within 24 hours to restore M'ba to power. After days of fighting, the coup ended and the opposition was imprisoned, with protests and riots.

When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president. In March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a 1-party state by dissolving BDG and establishing a new party – the Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG). He invited all Gabonese, regardless of previous political affiliation, to participate. Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development policies, using PDG as a tool to submerge the regional and tribal rivalries that had divided Gabonese politics in the past. Bongo was elected president in February 1975; in April 1975, the position of vice president was abolished and replaced by the position of prime minister, who had no right to automatic succession. Bongo was re-elected President in December 1979 and November 1986 to 7-year terms.^[9]

A map of West Africa in 1670

The Battle of Gabon resulted in the Free French Forces taking the colony of Gabon from Vichy French forces, 1940

In 1990, economic discontent and a desire for political liberalization provoked demonstrations and strikes by students and workers. In response to grievances by workers, Bongo negotiated with them on a sector-by-sector basis, making wage concessions. He promised to open up PDG and to organize a national political conference in March–April 1990 to discuss Gabon's future political system. PDG and 74 political organizations attended the conference. Participants essentially divided into 2 "loose" coalitions, ruling PDG and its allies, and the United Front of Opposition Associations and Parties, consisting of the breakaway Morena Fundamental and the Gabonese Progress Party.^[9]

The April 1990 conference approved political reforms, including creation of a national Senate, decentralization of the budgetary process, freedom of assembly and press, and cancellation of an exit visa requirement. In an attempt to guide the political system's transformation to multiparty democracy, Bongo resigned as PDG chairman and created a transitional government headed by a new Prime Minister, Casimir Oye-Mba. The Gabonese Social Democratic Grouping (RSDG), as the resulting government was called, was smaller than the previous government and included representatives from some opposition parties in its cabinet. RSDG drafted a provisional constitution in May 1990 that provided a basic bill of rights and an independent judiciary and retained "strong" executive powers for the president. After further review by a constitutional committee and the National Assembly, this document came into force in March 1991.^[9]

Opposition to PDG continued after the April 1990 conference, and in September 1990, 2 coup d'état attempts were uncovered and aborted. With demonstrations after the death of an opposition leader, the first multiparty National Assembly elections in almost 30 years took place in September–October 1990, with PDG garnering a majority.^[9]

President George W. Bush welcomes President Omar Bongo to the Oval Office, May 2004

Following President Omar Bongo's re-election in December 1993 with 51% of the vote, opposition candidates refused to validate the election results. Civil disturbances and violent repression led to an agreement between the government and opposition factions to work toward a political settlement. These talks led to the Paris Accords in November 1994, under which some opposition figures were included in a government of national unity. This arrangement broke down and the 1996 and 1997 legislative and municipal elections provided the background for renewed partisan politics. PDG won in the legislative election, and some cities, including Libreville, elected opposition mayors during the 1997 local election.^[9]

Facing a divided opposition, President Omar Bongo coasted to re-election in December 1998. While some Bongo's opponents rejected the outcome as fraudulent, some international observers characterized the results as representative "despite many perceived irregularities". Legislative elections held in 2001–2002 were boycotted by a number of smaller opposition parties and were criticized for their administrative weaknesses, produced a National Assembly dominated by PDG and allied independents. In November 2005 President Omar Bongo was elected for his sixth term. He won re-election, and opponents claim that the balloting process was marred by irregularities. There were some instances of violence following the announcement of his win.^[9] National Assembly elections were held in December 2006. Some seats contested because of voting irregularities were overturned by the Constitutional Court, and the subsequent run-off elections in 2007 yielded a PDG-controlled National Assembly.^[9]

Independence Day celebration in Gabon

On 8 June 2009, President Omar Bongo died of cardiac arrest at a Spanish hospital in Barcelona. In accordance with the amended constitution, Rose Francine Rogombé, the President of the Senate, became Interim President on 10 June 2009. The first contested elections in Gabon's history that did not include Omar Bongo as a candidate were held on 30 August 2009, with 18 candidates for president. The lead-up to the elections saw some isolated protests. Omar Bongo's son, ruling party leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, was formally declared the winner after a 3-week review by the Constitutional Court; his inauguration took place on 16 October 2009.^[9] The court's review had been prompted by claims of fraud by some opposition candidates, with the initial announcement of election results sparking violent protests in Port-Gentil. The citizens of Port-Gentil took to the streets, and some shops and residences were burned, including the French Consulate and a local prison. Officially, 4 deaths occurred during the riots. Gendarmes and the military were deployed to Port-Gentil to support the beleaguered police, and a curfew was in effect for more than 3 months.^[9]

A partial legislative by-election was held in June 2010. A coalition of parties, the Union Nationale (UN), participated for the first time. UN is composed mostly of PDG defectors who left the party after Omar Bongo's death. Of the 5 contested seats, PDG won 3 and UN won 2; both sides claimed victory.^[9]

In January 2019, there was an attempted coup d'état led by soldiers against the President Ali Bongo; the coup ultimately failed.^[10]

In June 2022, Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth of Nations.^[11]

Discover more about History related topics

History of Gabon

History of Gabon

Little is known of the history of Gabon prior to European contact. Bantu migrants settled the area beginning in the 14th century. Portuguese explorers and traders arrived in the area in the late 15th century. The coast subsequently became a center of the transatlantic slave trade with European slave traders arriving to the region in the 16th century. In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1849, captives released from a captured slave ship founded Libreville. In 1862–1887, France expanded its control including the interior of the state, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa and in 1960, Gabon became independent.

French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa, or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are today the countries of Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.

African Pygmies

African Pygmies

The African Pygmies (or Congo Pygmies, variously also Central African foragers, "African rainforest hunter-gatherers" or "Forest People of Central Africa" are a group of ethnicities native to Central Africa, mostly the Congo Basin, traditionally subsisting on a forager and hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They are divided into three roughly geographic groups:the western Bambenga, or Mbenga, the eastern Bambuti, or Mbuti, of the Congo basin the central and southern Batwa, or Twa. The more widely scattered Southern Twa are also grouped under the term Pygmoid.

Bantu peoples

Bantu peoples

The Bantu peoples, or Bantu, are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. They are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. There are several hundred Bantu languages. Depending on the definition of "language" or "dialect", it is estimated that there are between 440 and 680 distinct languages. The total number of speakers is in the hundreds of millions, ranging at roughly 350 million in the mid-2010s. About 60 million speakers (2015), divided into some 200 ethnic or tribal groups, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.

Bantu expansion

Bantu expansion

The Bantu expansion is a hypothesis about the history of the major series of migrations of the original Proto-Bantu-speaking group, which spread from an original nucleus around Central Africa across much of sub-Saharan Africa. In the process, the Proto-Bantu-speaking settlers displaced or absorbed pre-existing hunter-gatherer and pastoralist groups that they encountered.

Myene language

Myene language

Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages, though Nurse & Philippson (2003) place it in with the Tsogo languages (B.30). The more distinctive varieties are Mpongwe (Pongoué), Galwa (Galloa), and Nkomi.

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza

Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza was an Italian-French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogooué region of Central Africa, and later with the backing of the Société de Géographie de Paris, he reached far into the interior along the right bank of the Congo. He has often been depicted as a man of friendly manner, great charm and peaceful approach towards the Africans he met and worked with on his journeys, but recent research has revealed that he in fact alternated this kind of approach with more calculated deceit and at times relentless armed violence towards local populations. Under French colonial rule, the capital of the Republic of the Congo was named Brazzaville after him and the name was retained by the post-colonial rulers, one of the few African nations to do so.

Franceville

Franceville

Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former slaves and renamed it Francheville in 1880. The city later came to be called Franceville.

Battle of Gabon

Battle of Gabon

The Battle of Gabon, also called the Gabon Campaign, occurred in November 1940 during World War II. The battle resulted in forces under the orders of General de Gaulle taking the colony of Gabon and its capital, Libreville, from Vichy France, and the rallying of French Equatorial Africa to Free France.

French Community

French Community

The French Community was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial empire in 1946. While the Community remained formally in existence until 1995, when the French Parliament officially abolished it, it had effectively ceased to exist and function by the end of 1960, by which time all the African members had declared their independence and left it.

Léon M'ba

Léon M'ba

Gabriel Léon M'ba was a Gabonese politician who served as both the first Prime Minister (1959–1961) and President (1961–1967) of Gabon.

1964 Gabonese coup d'état

1964 Gabonese coup d'état

The 1964 Gabonese coup d'état was staged between 17 and 18 February 1964 by Gabonese military officers who rose against Gabonese President Léon M'ba. Before the coup, Gabon was seen as one of the most politically stable countries in Africa. The coup resulted from M'ba's dissolution of the Gabonese legislature on 21 January 1964, and during a takeover with few casualties 150 coup plotters arrested M'ba and a number of his government officials. Through Radio Libreville, they asked the people of Gabon to remain calm and assured them that the country's pro-France foreign policy would remain unchanged. A provisional government was formed, and the coup's leaders installed Deputy Jean-Hilaire Aubame, who was M'ba's primary political opponent and had been uninvolved in the coup, as president. Meanwhile, M'ba was sent to Lambaréné, 250 kilometres (155 mi) from Libreville. There was no major uprising or reaction by the Gabonese people when they received word of the coup, which the military interpreted as a sign of approval.

The presidential republic form of government is stated under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975, rewritten in 1991, and revised in 2003). The president is elected by universal suffrage for a 7-year term; a 2003 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits. The president can appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the independent Supreme Court. The president has other powers such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referendums.^[9] Gabon has a bicameral legislature with a National Assembly and Senate. The National Assembly has 120 deputies who are popularly elected for a 5-year term. The Senate is composed of 102 members who are elected by municipal councils and regional assemblies and serve for 6 years. The Senate was created in the 1990–1991 constitutional revision, and was not brought into being until after the 1997 local elections. The President of the Senate is next in succession to the President.^[9]

In 1990, the government made changes to Gabon's political system. A transitional constitution was drafted in May 1990 as an outgrowth of the national political conference in March–April and later revised by a constitutional committee. Among its provisions were a Western-style bill of rights, creation of a National Council of Democracy to oversee the guarantee of those rights, a governmental advisory board on economic and social issues, and an independent judiciary. After approval by the National Assembly, PDG Central Committee, and the President, the Assembly unanimously adopted the constitution in March 1991. Multiparty legislative elections were held in 1990–91 when opposition parties had not been declared formally legal. In January 1991, the Assembly passed by unanimous vote a law governing the legalization of opposition parties.^[9]

After President Omar Bongo was re-elected in 1993, in a disputed election where only 51% of votes were cast, social and political disturbances led to the 1994 Paris Conference and Accords. These provided a framework for the next elections. Local and legislative elections were delayed until 1996–97. In 1997, constitutional amendments put forward years earlier were adopted to create the Senate and the position of vice president, and to extend the president's term to 7 years.^[9]

In October 2009, President Ali Bongo Ondimba began efforts to streamline the government. In an effort to reduce corruption and government bloat, he eliminated 17 minister-level positions, abolished the vice presidency and reorganized the portfolios of some ministries, bureaus and directorates. In November 2009, President Bongo Ondimba announced a new vision for the modernization of Gabon, called "Gabon Emergent". This program contains 3 pillars: Green Gabon, Service Gabon, and Industrial Gabon. The goals of Gabon Emergent are to diversify the economy so that Gabon becomes less reliant on petroleum, to eliminate corruption, and to modernize the workforce. Under this program, exports of raw timber have been banned, a government-wide census was held, the work day has been changed to eliminate a long midday break, and a national oil company was created.^[9]

On 25 January 2011, opposition leader André Mba Obame claimed the presidency, saying the country should be run by someone the people really wanted. He selected 19 ministers for his government, and the entire group, along with hundreds of others, spent the night at UN headquarters. On January 26, the government dissolved Mba Obame's party. AU chairman Jean Ping said that Mba Obame's action "hurts the integrity of legitimate institutions and also endangers the peace, the security and the stability of Gabon."^[12] Interior Minister Jean-François Ndongou accused Mba Obame and his supporters of treason.^[12] The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said that he recognized Ondimba as the only official Gabonese president.^[13]

The 2016 presidential election was disputed, with "very close" official results reported. Protests broke out in the capital and met a repression which culminated in the alleged bombing of opposition party headquarters by the presidential guard. Between 50 and 100 citizens were killed by security forces and 1,000 arrested.^[14] International observers criticized irregularities, including unnaturally high turnout reported for some districts. The country's supreme court threw out some suspect precincts, and the ballots have been destroyed. The election was declared in favor of the incumbent Ondimba. The European Parliament issued 2 resolutions denouncing the unclear results of the election and calling for an investigation on the human rights violations.^[15]

Foreign relations

Prime Minister of Gabon Julien Nkoghe Bekale and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi in Russia in October 2019

Since independence, Gabon has followed a nonaligned policy, advocating dialogue in international affairs and recognizing each side of divided countries. In intra-African affairs, it espouses development by evolution rather than revolution and favors regulated private enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic growth. It involved itself in mediation efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), and Burundi. In December 1999, through the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was signed in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) between the government and most leaders of an armed rebellion. President Bongo was involved in the continuing D.R.C. peace process, and played a role in mediating the crisis in Ivory Coast.

A U.S. Navy Captain greeted by the Gabonese Army

Gabon is a member of the United Nations (UN) and some of its specialized and related agencies, and of the World Bank; the IMF; the African Union (AU); the Central African Customs Union/Central African Economic and Monetary Community (UDEAC/CEMAC); EU/ACP association under the Lomé Convention; the Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA); the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC); the Nonaligned Movement; and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC). In 1995, Gabon withdrew from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), rejoining in 2016. Gabon was elected to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for January 2010 through December 2011 and held the rotating presidency in March 2010.^[9]

Military

It has a professional military of about 5,000 personnel, divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and police force. A 1,800-member guard provides security for the president.^[9]

Administrative divisions

It is divided into 9 provinces which are subdivided into 50 departments. The president appoints the provincial governors, the prefects, and the subprefects.^[9]

The provinces are (capitals in parentheses):

1. Estuaire (Libreville)
2. Haut-Ogooué (Franceville)
3. Moyen-Ogooué (Lambaréné)
4. Ngounié (Mouila)
5. Nyanga (Tchibanga)
6. Ogooué-Ivindo (Makokou)
7. Ogooué-Lolo (Koulamoutou)
8. Ogooué-Maritime (Port-Gentil)
9. Woleu-Ntem (Oyem)

Discover more about Politics related topics

Parliament of Gabon

Parliament of Gabon

The Parliament of Gabon consists of two chambers:The Senate The National Assembly

André Mba Obame

André Mba Obame

André Mba Obame was a Gabonese politician. After serving as an adviser to President Omar Bongo in the 1980s, he was a minister in the government of Gabon from 1990 to 1991 and again from 1997 to 2009; during that time, he was identified with the reformist wing of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). He held the key post of Minister of the Interior from 2006 to 2009 and then briefly served as Minister of the Coordination and Follow-up of Government Action in mid-2009. He was an independent candidate in the 30 August 2009 presidential election and placed third with 25.33% of the vote, according to official results, but he claimed victory and alleged that the PDG candidate, Ali Bongo, won through fraud.

Jean Ping

Jean Ping

Jean Ping is a Gabonese diplomat and politician who served as Chair of the African Union Commission from 2008 to 2012. Born to a Chinese father and Gabonese mother, he is the first individual of Chinese descent to lead the executive branch of the African Union.

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was the foreign minister of South Korea between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front runner.

Foreign relations of Gabon

Foreign relations of Gabon

Gabon has followed a non-aligned policy, advocating dialogue in international affairs and recognizing both parts of divided countries. Since 1973, the number of countries establishing diplomatic relations with Gabon has doubled. In inter-African affairs, Gabon espouses development by evolution rather than revolution and favors regulated free enterprise as the system most likely to promote rapid economic growth. Concerned about stability in Central Africa and the potential for intervention, Gabon has been directly involved with mediation efforts in Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Angola, and former Zaire. In December 1999, through the mediation efforts of President Bongo, a peace accord was signed in the Republic of Congo between the government and most leaders of an armed rebellion. President Bongo has remained involved in the continuing Congolese peace process. Gabon has been a strong proponent of regional stability, and Gabonese armed forces played an important role in the UN Peacekeeping Mission to the Central African Republic (MINURCA).

Julien Nkoghe Bekale

Julien Nkoghe Bekale

Julien Nkoghe Bekale is a Gabonese politician who served as the prime minister of Gabon from 2019 to 2020. In the aftermath of the 2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt, he was appointed prime minister by president Ali Bongo Ondimba on 12 January 2019.

Chad

Chad

Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad has a population of 16 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena.

Central African Republic

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west.

Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country located on the west coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population, and is the seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populous city is Luanda.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly known as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa bordered to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, and the Cabinda exclave of Angola.

Burundi

Burundi

Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and East Africa. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and southeast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Lake Tanganyika lies along its southwestern border. The capital cities are Gitega and Bujumbura, the latter being the country's largest city.

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and indigenous faiths such as Animism.

Satellite image of Gabon

Map of Köppen climate classification

It is located on the Atlantic coast of central Africa on the equator, between latitudes 3°N and 4°S, and longitudes 8° and 15°E. Gabon has an equatorial climate with a system of rainforests, with 89.3% of its land area forested.^[16]

There are coastal plains (ranging between 20 and 300 km [10 and 190 mi] from the ocean's shore), the mountains (the Cristal Mountains to the northeast of Libreville, the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and the savanna in the east. The coastal plains form a section of the World Wildlife Fund's Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion and contain patches of Central African mangroves including on the Muni River estuary on the border with Equatorial Guinea.^[17]

Geologically, Gabon is primarily Archean and Paleoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic basement rock, belonging to the stable continental crust of the Congo Craton. Some formations are more than 2 billion years old. Some rock units are overlain by marine carbonate, lacustrine and continental sedimentary rocks, and unconsolidated sediments and soils that formed in the last 2.5 million years of the Quaternary. The rifting apart of the supercontinent Pangaea created rift basins that filled with sediments and formed the hydrocarbons.^[18] There are Oklo reactor zones, a natural nuclear fission reactor on Earth which was active 2 billion years ago. The site was discovered during uranium mining in the 1970s to supply the French nuclear power industry.

Its largest river is the Ogooué which is 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long. It has 3 karst areas where there are hundreds of caves located in the dolomite and limestone rocks. A National Geographic Expedition visited some caves in the summer of 2008 to document them.^[19]

In 2002, President Omar Bongo Ondimba designated roughly 10% of the nation's territory to be part of its national park system (with 13 parks in total). The National Agency for National Parks manages Gabon's national park system. Gabon had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.07/10, ranking it 9th globally out of 172 countries.^[20]

Discover more about Geography related topics

Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 km2 (41,100,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe, and Asia from the "New World" of the Americas in the European perception of the World.

Equator

Equator

The equator is a circle of latitude that divides a spheroid, such as Earth, into the northern and southern hemispheres. On Earth, it is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about 40,075 km (24,901 mi) in circumference, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also be used for any other celestial body that is roughly spherical.

3rd parallel north

3rd parallel north

The 3rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 3 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.

4th parallel south

4th parallel south

The 4th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 4 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.

8th meridian east

8th meridian east

The meridian 8° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

15th meridian east

15th meridian east

The meridian 15° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests

Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests

The Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, also known as the Congolian coastal forests, are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Central Africa, covering hills, plains, and mountains of the Atlantic coast of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion or ecozone is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation.

Central African mangroves

Central African mangroves

The Central African mangroves ecoregion consists of the largest area of mangrove swamp in Africa, located on the coasts of West Africa, mainly in Nigeria.

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea. As of 2021, the country had a population of 1,468,777.

Archean

Archean

The Archean Eon, in older sources sometimes called the Archaeozoic, is the second of four geologic eons of Earth's history and by definition representing the time from 4 to 2.5 billion years ago. The Archean was preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozoic.

Congo Craton

Congo Craton

The Congo Craton, covered by the Palaeozoic-to-recent Congo Basin, is an ancient Precambrian craton that with four others makes up the modern continent of Africa. These cratons were formed between about 3.6 and 2.0 billion years ago and have been tectonically stable since that time. All of these cratons are bounded by younger fold belts formed between 2.0 billion and 300 million years ago.

A proportional representation of Gabon exports, 2019

Change in per capita GDP of Gabon, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.

Oil revenues constitute roughly 46% of the government's budget, 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of exports. Oil production declined from its higher point of 370,000 barrels per day in 1997. Some estimates suggest that Gabonese oil will be expended by 2025. Planning is beginning for an after-oil scenario.^[9] The Grondin Oil Field was discovered in 50 m (160 ft) water depths 40 km (25 mi) offshore, in 1971 and produces from the Batanga sandstones of Maastrichtian age forming an anticline salt structural trap which is about 2 km (1.2 mi) deep.^[21]

"Overspending" on the Trans-Gabon Railway, the CFA franc devaluation of 1994, and periods of lower oil prices caused debt problems.^[9]

Successive International Monetary Fund (IMF) missions have criticized the Gabon government for overspending on off-budget items (in good years and bad), over-borrowing from the central bank, and slipping on the schedule for privatization and administrative reform. In September 2005 Gabon successfully concluded a 15-month Stand-By Arrangement with IMF. A 3-year Stand-By Arrangement with IMF was approved in May 2007. Because of the financial crisis and social developments surrounding the death of President Omar Bongo and the elections, Gabon was unable to meet its economic goals under the Stand-By Arrangement in 2009.^[9]

Gabon's oil revenues have given it a per capita GDP of $8,600. A "skewed income distribution" and "poor social indicators" are "evident".^[22] The richest 20% of the population earn over 90% of the income while about a third of the Gabonese population lives in poverty.^[9]

The economy is dependent on extraction. Before the discovery of oil, logging was the "pillar" of the Gabonese economy. Then, logging and manganese mining are the "next-most-important" income generators. Some explorations suggest the presence of the world's largest unexploited iron ore deposit. For some who live in rural areas without access to employment opportunity in extractive industries, remittances from family members in urban areas or subsistence activities provide income.^[9]

Foreign and local observers have lamented the lack of diversity in the Gabonese economy. Factors that have "limited the development of new industries" were listed as follows:

• the market is "small", about a million
• dependent on imports from France
• unable to capitalize on regional markets
• entrepreneurial zeal not always present among the Gabonese
• a "fairly regular" stream of oil "rent", even if it is diminishing

Further investment in the agricultural or tourism sectors is "complicated by poor infrastructure". Some processing and service sectors are "largely dominated by a few prominent local investors".^[9]

At World Bank and IMF insistence, the government embarked in the 1990s on a program of privatization of its state-owned companies and administrative reform, including reducing public sector employment and salary growth. A government has voiced a commitment to work toward an economic transformation of the country.^[9]

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Economy of Gabon

Economy of Gabon

The economy of Gabon is characterized by strong links with France, large foreign investments, dependence on skilled foreign labor, and decline of agriculture. Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa, its reliance on resource extraction industry releasing much of the population from extreme poverty.

Sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.

Maastrichtian

Maastrichtian

The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from 72.1 to 66 million years ago. The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian.

Anticline

Anticline

In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the location where the curvature is greatest, and the limbs are the sides of the fold that dip away from the hinge. Anticlines can be recognized and differentiated from antiforms by a sequence of rock layers that become progressively older toward the center of the fold. Therefore, if age relationships between various rock strata are unknown, the term antiform should be used.

Trans-Gabon Railway

Trans-Gabon Railway

The Trans-Gabon Railway is the only railway in Gabon. It runs 670 km (420 mi) east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjolé, Lopé, Booué, Lastoursville and Moanda.

International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944, started on 27 December 1945, at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had XDR 477 billion. The IMF is regarded as the global lender of last resort.

Bank of Central African States

Bank of Central African States

The Bank of Central African States is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa:Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Equatorial Guinea Gabon Republic of the Congo

Privatization

Privatization

Privatization can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when a heavily regulated private company or industry becomes less regulated. Government functions and services may also be privatised ; in this case, private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or performance of government services that had previously been the purview of state-run agencies. Some examples include revenue collection, law enforcement, water supply, and prison management.

Crowd on beach

It has a population of approximately 2.3 million.^[23][24] Historical and environmental factors caused its population to decline between 1900 and 1940.^[25] It has "one of the lowest population densities of any country in Africa",^[9] and the fourth highest Human Development Index in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[5]

Ethnic groups

Gabon has at least 40 ethnic groups,^[9] including Fang, Myènè, Punu-Échira, Nzebi-Adouma, Teke-Mbete, Mèmbè, Kota, Akélé.^[26] There are indigenous Pygmy peoples: the Bongo, and Baka.^[9] The latter speak the only non-Bantu language in Gabon. More than 10,000 native French live in Gabon, including an estimated 2,000 dual nationals.^[9]

Some ethnicities are spread throughout Gabon, leading to contact, interaction among the groups, and intermarriage. Among some tribes, marriage within the same tribe is prohibited because it is regarded as incest.

Population centres

Libreville

People in Libreville

Languages

French is the sole official language. It is estimated that 80% of the population can speak French, and that 30% of Libreville residents are native speakers of the language.

Nationally, a majority of the Gabonese people speak indigenous languages, according to their ethnic group, while this proportion is lower than in most other Sub-Saharan African countries. The 2013 census found that 63.7% of Gabon's population could speak a Gabonese language, broken down by 86.3% in rural areas and 60.5% in urban areas speaking at least one national language.^[28]

Religion

Religions practised in Gabon include Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Islam, and traditional indigenous religious beliefs.^[30] Some people practice elements of both Christianity and indigenous religious beliefs.^[30] Approximately 79% of the population (53% Catholic) practice one of the denominations of Christianity; 10% practice Islam (mainly Sunni); the remainder practice other religions.

Health

A private hospital was established in 1913 in Lambaréné by Albert Schweitzer. By 1985 there were 28 hospitals, 87 medical centers, and 312 infirmaries and dispensaries. As of 2004^[update], there were an estimated 29 physicians per 100,000 people, and "approximately 90% of the population had access to health care services".

In 2000, 70% of the population had access to "safe drinking water" and 21% had "adequate sanitation". A government health program treats such diseases as leprosy, sleeping sickness, malaria, filariasis, intestinal worms, and tuberculosis. Rates for immunization of children under the age of 1 were 97% for tuberculosis and 65% for polio. Immunization rates for DPT and measles were 37% and 56% respectively. Gabon has a domestic supply of pharmaceuticals from a factory in Libreville.

The total fertility rate has decreased from 5.8 in 1960 to 4.2 children per mother during childbearing years in 2000. 10% of all births were "low birth weight". The maternal mortality rate was 520 per 100,000 live births as of 1998. In 2005, the infant mortality rate was 55.35 per 1,000 live births and life expectancy was 55.02 years. As of 2002, the overall mortality rate was estimated at 17.6 per 1,000 inhabitants.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence is estimated to be 5.2% of the adult population (ages 15–49).^[31] As of 2009^[update], approximately 46,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS.^[32] There were an estimated 2,400 deaths from AIDS in 2009 – down from 3,000 deaths in 2003.^[33]

Education

Its education system is regulated by 2 ministries: the Ministry of Education, in charge of pre-kindergarten through the last high school grade, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Innovative Technologies, in charge of universities, higher education, and professional schools.

Education is compulsory for children ages 6 to 16 under the Education Act. Some children in Gabon start their school lives by attending nurseries or "Crèche", then kindergarten known as "Jardins d'Enfants". At age 6, they are enrolled in primary school, "École Primaire" which is made up of 6 grades. The next level is "École Secondaire", which is made up of 7 grades. The planned graduation age is 19 years old. Those who graduate can apply for admission at institutions of higher learning, including engineering schools or business schools. As of 2012, the literacy rate of a population ages 15 and above was 82%.^[34]

The government has used oil revenue for school construction, paying teachers' salaries, and promoting education, including in rural areas. Maintenance of school structures, and teachers' salaries, has been declining. In 2002 the gross primary enrollment rate was 132%, and in 2000 the net primary enrollment rate was 78%. Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school. As of 2001, 69% of children who started primary school were "likely" to reach grade 5. Problems in the education system include "poor management and planning, lack of oversight, poorly qualified teachers", and "overcrowded classrooms".^[35]

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Demographics of Gabon

Demographics of Gabon

The Demographics of Gabon is the makeup of the population of Gabon. As of 2020, Gabon has a population of 2,225,287. Gabon's population is relatively young with 35.5% of its population under 15 years of age and only 4.3% of its population over 65 years old. Gabon has a nearly even split between males and females with 0.99 males for every female in the population. In the age range of 15–65, the ration is exactly 1 male to 1 female. The life expectancy of Gabon is lower than the world average. Gabon's population's life expectancy at birth is 53.11 years while the world average is 67.2 years as of 2010. Ethnically, the biggest group in Gabon are the Fang people with over 500,000 people, or about a third of Gabon's population, belonging to this ethnic group. The biggest religion in Gabon is Christianity, with between 55–75% of the population of Gabon being Christian.

Human Development Index

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. A country scores a higher level of HDI when the lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, and the gross national income GNI (PPP) per capita is higher. It was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and was further used to measure a country's development by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Human Development Report Office.

Fang people

Fang people

The Fang people, also known as Fãn or Pahouin, are a Bantu ethnic group found in Equatorial Guinea, northern Gabon, and southern Cameroon. Representing about 85% of the total population of Equatorial Guinea, concentrated in the Río Muni region, the Fang people are its largest ethnic group. The Fang are also the largest ethnic group in Gabon, making up about a quarter of the population. In other countries, in the regions they live, they are one of the most significant and influential ethnic groups notably in Cameroon, where the Fang are part of the Ekang, a tribe that dominates Cameroonian politics with, President Paul Biya belonging to this ethnic group.

Myene language

Myene language

Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages, though Nurse & Philippson (2003) place it in with the Tsogo languages (B.30). The more distinctive varieties are Mpongwe (Pongoué), Galwa (Galloa), and Nkomi.

Nzebi languages

Nzebi languages

The Nzebi languages are a series of Bantu languages spoken in the western Congo and in Gabon. They are coded Zone B.50 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), the Nzebi languages form a valid node with West Teke (B.70). The languages are:(B.50) Nzebi, Wanzi, Duma, Tsaangi, (B.70) West Teke

Kota people (Gabon)

Kota people (Gabon)

The Bakota are a Bantu ethnic group from the northeastern region of Gabon and Congo. The language they speak is called iKota, but is sometimes referred to as Bakota, ikuta, Kota, and among the Fang, they are known as Mekora. The language has several dialects, which include: Ndambomo, Mahongwe, Ikota-la-hua, Sake, Menzambi, Bougom. Some of these dialects themselves include regional variations of some kind.

Bongo people (Gabon)

Bongo people (Gabon)

The Bongo people, also called Babongo or Bazimba, are an agricultural people of Gabon in equatorial Africa who are known as "forest people" due to their recent foraging economy.

Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)

Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)

The Baka people, known in the Congo as Bayaka, are an ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rain forests of Cameroon, northern Republic of the Congo, northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They are sometimes called a subgroup of the Twa, but the two peoples are not closely related. Likewise, the name "Baka" is sometimes mistakenly applied to other peoples of the area who, like the Baka and Twa, have been historically called pygmies, a term that is now considered derogatory.

List of cities in Gabon

List of cities in Gabon

This article shows a list of cities and towns in Gabon:

Libreville

Libreville

Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying 65 square kilometres (25 sq mi) in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904.

Estuaire Province

Estuaire Province

Estuaire is the most populous of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 20,740 km2. The provincial capital is Libreville, which is also Gabon's national capital. The province is named for the Gabon Estuary, which lies at the heart of the province.

Franceville

Franceville

Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former slaves and renamed it Francheville in 1880. The city later came to be called Franceville.

A Gabonese mask

A country with a primarily oral tradition up until the spread of literacy in the 21st century, it has folklore and mythology. "Raconteurs" are working to keep traditions alive such as the mvett among the Fangs and the ingwala among the Nzebis.

It features internationally celebrated masks such as the n'goltang (Fang) and the reliquary figures of the Kota. Each group has its own set of masks used. They are used in ceremonies such as marriage, birth and funerals. Traditionalists work with "rare local woods and other precious materials".

Music

It has an array of folk styles. Imported rock and hip hop from the US and UK are in Gabon, as are rumba, makossa and soukous. Some folk instruments include the obala, the ngombi, the balafon and drums.^[36]

Media

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Radio-Diffusion Télévision Gabonaise (RTG) which is owned and operated by the government broadcasts in French and indigenous languages. Color television broadcasts have been introduced in some cities. In 1981, a commercial radio station, Africa No. 1, began operations. It has participation from the French and Gabonese governments and private European media.

In 2004, the government operated 2 radio stations and another 7 were privately owned. There were 2 government television stations and 4 privately owned. In 2003, there were an estimated 488 radios and 308 television sets for every 1,000 people. About 11.5 of every 1,000 people were cable subscribers. In 2003, there were 22.4 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 26 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. The national press service is the Gabonese Press Agency which publishes a daily paper, Gabon-Matin (circulation 18,000 as of 2002).

L'Union in Libreville, the government-controlled daily newspaper, had an average daily circulation of 40,000 in 2002. The weekly Gabon d'Aujourdhui is published by the Ministry of Communications. There are about 9 privately owned periodicals which are either independent or affiliated with political parties. These publish in certain numbers that have been delayed by financial constraints. The constitution of Gabon provides for free speech and a free press, and the government supports these rights. Some periodicals actively criticize the government and foreign publications are available.

Cuisine

Gabonese cuisine is influenced by French cuisine, and staple foods are available.^[37]

Sports

The Gabon national football team has represented the nation since 1962.^[38] The Under-23 football team won the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship and qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. Gabon were joint hosts, along with Equatorial Guinea, of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations,^[39] and the sole hosts of the competition's 2017 tournament.^[40]

The Gabon national basketball team, nicknamed Les Panthères,^[41] finished 8th at the AfroBasket 2015.

Gabon has competed at most Summer Olympics since 1972. Its Olympic medallist Anthony Obame won a silver medal in taekwondo at the 2012 Olympics held in London.^[42]

Gabon has recreational fishing and is considered the "best place in the world" to catch Atlantic tarpon.^[43]

Discover more about Culture related topics

Culture of Gabon

Culture of Gabon

The Gabonese people have forged since the independence of the country, in 1960, their own culture which is neither the traditional culture of the different ethnic groups which compose it, nor modern Western culture. It is a culture in movement, a mixture of diversity and common traits, bringing together the most diverse beliefs and practices.

Folklore

Folklore

Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes and other oral traditions. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites. Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain in a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstration. The academic study of folklore is called folklore studies or folkloristics, and it can be explored at undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. levels.

Kota people (Gabon)

Kota people (Gabon)

The Bakota are a Bantu ethnic group from the northeastern region of Gabon and Congo. The language they speak is called iKota, but is sometimes referred to as Bakota, ikuta, Kota, and among the Fang, they are known as Mekora. The language has several dialects, which include: Ndambomo, Mahongwe, Ikota-la-hua, Sake, Menzambi, Bougom. Some of these dialects themselves include regional variations of some kind.

Music of Gabon

Music of Gabon

Gabon's music includes several folk styles and pop. Gabonese pop artist Patience Dabany, who now lives in the US, produces albums recorded in Los Angeles with a distinctively Gabonese element; they are popular throughout Francophone Africa. Other musicians include guitarists Georges Oyendze, La Rose Mbadou and Sylvain Avara, and the singer Oliver N'Goma. Imported rock and hip hop from the US and UK are popular in Gabon, as are rumba, makossa and soukous.

Makossa

Makossa

Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a lesser extent abroad.

Balafon

Balafon

The balafon is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now found across West Africa from Guinea to Mali. Its common name, balafon, is likely a European coinage combining its Mandinka name ߓߟߊ bala with the word ߝߐ߲ fôn 'to speak' or the Greek root phono.

French language

French language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, and file sharing.

L'Union

L'Union

L'Union is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.

Gabonese cuisine

Gabonese cuisine

Gabonese cuisine is the cooking traditions, practices, foods and dishes associated with Gabon, a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa. French cuisine is prevalent as a notable influence, and in larger cities various French specialties are available. In rural areas, food staples such as cassava, rice and yams are commonly used.

Gabon national football team

Gabon national football team

The Gabon national football team represents Gabon in men's international football. The team's nickname is The Panthers and it is governed by the Gabonese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but have qualified eight times for the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Gabon national under-23 football team

Gabon national under-23 football team

Gabon national under-23 football team represents Gabon in international football competitions in the Olympic Games and the CAF U-23 Championship. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23 but the Olympics allows for the addition of up to three overage players. The team is controlled by the Gabonese Football Federation. Gabon made its first appearance in football at the 2012 Olympics in London.