Gabon

Geography

Gabon is a country in Central Africa on the Gulf of Guinea and right on the equator. The land has a total area of 267,670 km² (103,348 mi²) and a total coastline of 885 km (549.9 mi). This land area is approximately 66% of the area of California. Gabon is thus the 30th smallest country in Africa and ranked 76th in the world. With 8.7 inhabitants per km² it is one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth. An exceptionally high proportion of residents (90%) belongs to the urban population. Almost every third resident lives in Libreville.

Gabon is comparatively low at an average elevation of 377 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Mont Bengoué) is at 1,070 meters. The country has about 30 islands. There are direct national borders with the three neighboring countries Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. The distance between New York City and the Capital Libreville is about 9,430 km (5,860 mi).

The climate in Gabon

In Gabon, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 27 and 31 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 34 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 20 °C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Gabon and 9 individual regions

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Fang	32.0 %
Punu	17.1 %
Mpongwe	14.6 %
French	2.0 %
other	34.3 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Animists	0.6%
Roman Catholics	43.0%
other Christs	27.0%
Protestants	13.0%
Muslims	10.0%
other	6.4%

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Economy

GDP:	20.22 bn $
Exportations:	10,800.0 M $
Importations:	5,020.0 M $
Tourism receipts:	28.70 M $
› Debt rate:	65.77 %
› Unemployment rate:	21.5 %
› Inflation rate:	4.23 %
› Corruption index:	29 (very bad)
› Energy consumption:	3.1 bn kWh

According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gabon is a developing country because of its lower economic performance.

In terms of revenues, Gabon ranks only 92nd in the world and, with an average annual income of 6,440 USD is one of the upper middle-income countries.

Land use

0% Urban areas:	836 km²
20% Agricultural areas:	53,614 km²
91% Forest:	244,436 km²
4% Water areas:	10,000 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	14,300 km
Railways:	810 km
Waterways:	1,600 km
Commercial harbors:	62
› Airports:	2