Gabon - Tourism and Travel

The Gabonese Republic is a country in west central Africa, on the Atlantic Coast.

Gabon has an area of 103,347 square miles (267,667 square kilometers).

There is a coastal plain with mangroves swamps and lagoons.

The interior of the country has low plateaus.

The Massif du Chaillu, in south-central Gabon, separates the Congo basin from the coastal plain and forms a watershed between the Ogooué and Ngounié rivers systems

Over three fourths of the land in Gabon is covered in tropical rainforest.

The capital of Gabon is Libreville.

Port-Gentil is an important seaport.

1,475,000 people live in Gabon.

More than 70% live in urban areas.

26% of the population is Fang, 24% is Shira-Punu, 11% is Nzabi-Duma and 8% are Mbede-Teke.

French is the official language. Other languages spoken include Punu, Nzebi, Sira and Mpongwe.

55% of the people are Christian, 40% practice traditional religions and 1% are Muslim.

Oil accounts for three fourths of all exports.

Other important exports are timber, uranium and manganese.

Agriculture consists mostly of subsistence farming.

Gabon has a presidential system of government.

The official currency is the CFA franc, which equals 100 centimes.