Country data

Location: Central West Africa

Time zone: CET (during summer time: CET – 1)

Total area: 267,667 km²

Land area: 257,667 km²

Water area: 10,000 km²

Length of the state border: 3,261 km

Bordering countries are attributable to:
Equatorial Guinea: 345 km
Cameroon: 349 km
Congo: 2,567 km

Coastline: 885 km

Capital: Libreville

Provinces: 9
Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

Telephone code: 00 241 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m

Population

Population: approx. 1.7 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 1.9% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 6

Life expectancy: 52 (male), 52 (female)

Official language: French

Religions:

• 55-75% Christians
• 25-45% other

Climate

In the hot and humid tropical rainforest climate, the average temperature is 26 ° C in the annual mean.

The humidity is very high all year round and is often 98%.

The rainy seasons last from February to April and from October to November. When it rains then often for a long time with very high amounts of precipitation.

The dry seasons last from May to September and from December to January.

Trade winds determine the climate during the dry season.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: CFA franc (XAF)

Classification: 1 Franc = 100 Centimes

ATMs: not available

International credit cards: These are accepted by larger hotels.

Regulations: There is no limit to the amount of foreign currencies that can be imported. The import and export of the local currency is limited to 200,000 CFA francs.

It is not possible to exchange the local currency outside of the countries in the CFA Francs zone.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g tobacco (women only cigarettes!)
• 2 liters of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free. However, these must all be carried out again when you leave the country.

Travel advice

Since medical care is inadequate throughout the country, we recommend that you take out travel health insurance that includes a pick-up with a medical rescue flight.

Behavioral advice

Photographing military and police objects is prohibited. This also includes train stations and airfields.

Economy

The abundant natural resources have made Gabon one of the richest countries in Africa.

The export of crude oil, wood, manganese and uranium have allowed economic development to advance rapidly.

Industries: mining, wood processing, food processing, shipbuilding, textiles

Natural resources: iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, gold, wood, magnesium, manganese, uranium

Land use:

• Usable land: 1%
• Grain cultivation: 1%
• Pasture area: 18%
• Forests: 77%
• other: 3%

Plants

The dense rainforest on the large plateaus is replaced by the lowlands in the west with wet savannahs and mangrove forests.

Several thousand different types of plants are native here.

Animals

A popular destination for tourists are the three national parks and the many reserves, which are home to a large number of land animals and bird species.

You can often see antelopes, buffalo and elephants, as well as eagles, vultures and herons.

The country’s savannahs provide a habitat for antelopes, buffalo, elephants, hyenas and jackals.