2016 Country Review
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Gabon 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 3 Gabon 4 Africa 5 Chapter 2 7 Political Overview 7 History 8 Political Conditions 9 Political Risk Index 23 Political Stability 38 Freedom Rankings 53 Human Rights 65 Government Functions 67 Government Structure 69 Principal Government Officials 72 Leader Biography 73 Leader Biography 73 Foreign Relations 77 National Security 82 Defense Forces 83 Chapter 3 85 Economic Overview 85 Economic Overview 86 Nominal GDP and Components 88 Population and GDP Per Capita 90 Real GDP and Inflation 91 Government Spending and Taxation 92 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 93 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 94 Data in US Dollars 95 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 96 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 97 World Energy Price Summary 98 CO2 Emissions 99 Agriculture Consumption and Production 100 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 102 Metals Consumption and Production 103 World Metals Pricing Summary 105 Economic Performance Index 106 Chapter 4 118 Investment Overview 118 Foreign Investment Climate 119 Foreign Investment Index 122 Corruption Perceptions Index 135 Competitiveness Ranking 147 Taxation 156 Stock Market 157 Partner Links 157 Chapter 5 158 Social Overview 158 People 159 Human Development Index 162 Life Satisfaction Index 166 Happy Planet Index 177 Status of Women 186 Global Gender Gap Index 188 Culture and Arts 198 Etiquette 199 Travel Information 199 Diseases/Health Data 209 Chapter 6 216 Environmental Overview 216 Environmental Issues 217 Environmental Policy 218 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 219 Global Environmental Snapshot 230 Global Environmental Concepts 241 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 255 Appendices 280 Bibliography 281 Gabon Chapter 1 Country Overview Gabon Review 2016 Page 1 of 293 pages Gabon Country Overview GABON Gabon is one of West Africa's more stable countries. Since independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had just two presidents. President Omar Bongo, who was in power for more than four decades, died in June 2009. His son, Ali Bongo Ondimba, won the presidential elections and became the country’s new leader in October 2009. Gabon enjoys a per capita income of over US$7000, which is well above that of most of sub-Saharan African nations, thanks to its oil wealth and political stability. However, since the oil wealth is not distributed equitably, nearly half the population still lives below the poverty line. Moreover, Gabon’s heavy dependence on oil makes the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in world oil prices and a decline of oil production. Gabon Review 2016 Page 2 of 293 pages Gabon Key Data Key Data Region: Africa Population: 1705336 Climate: Tropical; always hot, humid French (official language); also Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Duma, Punu, Sangu, Languages: Teke, Tsangi, Tsogo, as well others Currency: 1 CFAF = 100 centimes Holiday: Renovation Day is 12 March (1968), Independence Day is 17 August Area Total: 267670 Area Land: 257670 Coast Line: 885 Gabon Review 2016 Page 3 of 293 pages Gabon Gabon Country Map Gabon Review 2016 Page 4 of 293 pages Gabon Africa Regional Map Gabon Review 2016 Page 5 of 293 pages Gabon Gabon Review 2016 Page 6 of 293 pages Gabon Chapter 2 Political Overview Gabon Review 2016 Page 7 of 293 pages Gabon History Discoveries of tools from the end of the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age indicate early settlements in what is now Gabon, but little is known about the first inhabitants. During the last seven centuries, Bantu ethnic groups arrived in the area from several directions to escape enemies or to find new land. Little is known of tribal life before European contact, but tribal art suggests a rich cultural heritage. By the 13th century of the common era or C.E., the Mpongwe people were established in the country. The first contact with Europeans was with the Portuguese in the 1470s. During the following 350 years, first the Portuguese and later the French, Dutch and English carried on a lucrative trade in slaves. Gabon's first European visitors were Portuguese traders who arrived in the 15th century and named the country after the Portuguese word "gabao," a coat with sleeves and hood resembling the shape of the Como River estuary. The coast became a center of the slave trade. Dutch, British and French traders arrived in the 16th century. France assumed the status of protector by signing treaties with Gabonese coastal chiefs in 1839 and 1841. The French made the first permanent European settlement, with the agreement of the Mpongwe ruler, in 1839. American missionaries from New England established a mission at Baraka (now Libreville) in 1842. In 1849, the French captured a slave ship and released the passengers at the mouth of the Como River. The freed slaves named their settlement Libreville, meaning "free town." Over the next several years the French extended their rule inland, and in 1866 they appointed a governor to Gabon. French occupation was in full force by 1885 and French explorers had penetrated Gabon's dense jungles by 1887. The most famous explorer, Savorgnan de Brazza, used Gabonese bearers and guides in his searches for the headwaters of the Congo River. The territory was then attached to the French Congo. It was administererd by France from 1903 and it became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. At that time, Gabon was one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa -- a federation that survived until 1959. Gabon Review 2016 Page 8 of 293 pages Gabon During World War II (1939-1945), the Free French held Gabon, and in 1946 it became an overseas territory of France. The first Gabonese government council was formed in 1957, and Léon M'Ba became president of the council in 1958. Also in 1958, Gabon voted to become an autonomous republic in the French community. M'Ba then became prime minister (he would later become president of an independent Gabon). All four territories of French equatorial Africa became independent in 1960 as the Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Chad and Gabon. The country officialized its independence on Aug. 17, 1960. Note on History: In certain entries, open source content from the State Department Background Notes and Country Guides have been used. A full listing of sources is available in the Bibliography. Political Conditions Background Léon M'Ba became president of the council in 1958. Also in 1958, Gabon voted to become an autonomous republic in the French community. M'Ba then became prime minister. The country declared its independence on Aug. 17, 1960, and in 1961 M'Ba was elected president. A military coup overthrew President M'Ba's government in 1964, but French troops, in accordance with a Franco-Gabonese Defense Agreement, intervened and restored him to power; he was re- elected president in 1967. Upon M'Ba's death later that year, Vice President Albert Bernard Bongo succeeded to the presidency. Bongo, who later assumed the Islamic first name Omar, was re-elected in 1973. During the mid-1970s Gabon began to loosen its ties with France and the French-speaking regional organizations. With Gabonization (a process of political and cultural nationalization), the government became a partner in many foreign firms, and native Gabonese filled management positions once held by foreigners. Favorable markets for Gabonese exports, especially oil, natural gas, uranium and manganese, contributed to rapid economic expansion during the 1970s, but the economy cooled during the following decade. Re-elected to seven-year terms in December 1979 and November 1986, President Bongo faced Gabon Review 2016 Page 9 of 293 pages Gabon rising opposition as the 1990s began. Tentative steps toward a multi-party system were taken in 1990, but the newly legalized opposition parties accused the government of fraud in legislative elections held in September and October. The National Assembly enacted a new constitution in March 1991 formalizing the multi-party system. In December 1993 Bongo received 51.1 percent of the vote in the first presidential elections held under the new constitution. Opposition parties again accused the government of election fraud. Shortly after the elections a state of alert was declared, banning all demonstrations. Paul M'Ba Abessole, one of the opposition presidential candidates, formed an alternate government called the High Council of the Republic, which was later renamed the High Council for Resistance. In August 1994, the opposition agreed to participate in a transitional coalition government until new legislative elections could be held. These occurred in 1996, and the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party won a significant majority. Bongo was re-elected in December 1998 to a seven-year term. With his long tenure, Omar Bongo has become the driving force in Gabonese politics. He is both praised for the country's strong rise in economic productivity, and critiqued for the great class cleavages that have sprouted. He has faced electoral challenges stemming from his 1998 re-election and from challenges to the December 2001 parliamentary elections, as well as economic challenges in the face of ongoing recession. All of this takes place in the context of waning Gabon-French relations that has eroded support for the president. Electoral Challenges Through much of his administration, President Bongo has used the "Parti Démocratique Gabonais" (PDG) as a tool to submerge the regional and ethnic rivalries that had divided Gabonese politics in the past. Bongo sought to forge a single national movement in support of the government's development program. Opposition to the PDG mounted, however, and in September 1990, two coup d'etat attempts were uncovered and aborted. Economic discontent and the desire for political liberalization resulted in violent demonstrations and strikes by students and workers in early 1990.