Gabon
Africa · Middle Africa
Overview
Gabon lies in Central Africa, straddling the Equator on the Atlantic coast, bordered by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo. About 85 percent of the country is covered by rainforest, one of the highest forest coverage rates in the world, with most of the population concentrated in a handful of urban centers, mainly the capital, Libreville. France administered the territory as a colony until 1960, and French remains the official language today. Gabon's economy relies heavily on oil extraction, and this relatively high per capita income is one reason the country has faced less pressure toward large-scale deforestation than some of its neighbors.
Libreville, the capital, founded in 1849 by freed slaves, takes its name from the French for "free town" and today serves as the country's economic and administrative center. Lopé National Park, encompassing both rainforest and savanna landscapes, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007, home to prehistoric rock art as well as significant gorilla and elephant populations. Loango National Park, on the southwestern coast, brings rainforest and ocean shoreline together in close proximity, a rare combination where forest elephants occasionally appear on the beach. Franceville, in the country's interior, the hometown of former president Omar Bongo, marks a meeting point of colonial-era history and modern Gabonese development policy.
Gabon's national parks, covering about 11 percent of the country's territory, form part of a network established in 2002 and rank among the continent's most extensive systems of contiguous protected rainforest. On guided tours in Loango National Park, visitors can observe hippos swimming in the ocean surf, one of the region's more unusual wildlife phenomena. Ivindo National Park, in one of the least disturbed sections of the Congo Basin rainforest, is home to the Kongou Falls and a rich primate population, making it one of the country's main ecotourism destinations. Local cuisine is built around cassava and plantains, with nyembwe, a chicken stew made with palm oil, as a signature dish, often served with rice or fufu.
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Browse all UNESCO sites →Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda
The Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda demonstrates an unusual interface between dense and well-conserved tropical rainforest and relict savannah environments with a great diversity of species, including endangered large mammals, and habitats. The site illustrates ecological and biological processes in terms of species and habitat adaptation to post-glacial climatic changes. It contains evidence of the successive passages of different peoples who have left extensive and comparatively well-preserved remains of habitation around hilltops, caves and shelters, evidence of iron-working and a remarkable collection of some 1,800 petroglyphs (rock carvings). The property’s collection of Neolithic and Iron Age sites, together with the rock art found there, reflects a major migration route of Bantu and other peoples from West Africa along the River Ogooué valley to the north of the dense evergreen Congo forests and to central east and southern Africa, that has shaped the development of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.
Ivindo National Park
Situated on the equator in northern Gabon the largely pristine site encompasses an area of almost 300,000 ha crossed by a network of picturesque blackwater rivers. It features rapids and waterfalls bordered by intact rainforest, which make for a landscape of great aesthetic value. The site’s aquatic habitats harbour endemic freshwater fish species, 13 of which are threatened, and at least seven species of Podostemaceae riverweeds, with probable micro-endemic aquatic flora at each waterfall. Many fish species in the property are yet to be described and parts of the site have hardly been investigated. Critically Endangered Slender-snouted Crocodiles (Mecistops cataphractus) find shelter in Ivindo National Park which also boasts biogeographically unique Caesalpinioideae old-growth forests of high conservation value, supporting, for instance, a very high diversity of butterflies alongside threatened flagship mammals and avian fauna such as the Critically Endangered Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), the Endangered Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) as well as the Vulnerable Grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas), Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), Leopard (Panthera pardus), and African Golden Cat (Caracal aurata), and three species of Pangolin (Manidae spp.).
Data: UNESCO WHC · CC BY-SA 4.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Gabon?
The capital of Gabon is Libreville.
What is the area of Gabon?
The area of Gabon is 267,668 km².
What is the population of Gabon?
The population of Gabon is 2,538,952.
What is the currency of Gabon?
The currency of Gabon is Central African CFA franc (XAF).
What is the official language of Gabon?
The official language of Gabon: French.
What side of the road does Gabon drive on?
Gabon: Right-hand traffic.
Is Gabon a member of the United Nations?
Yes, Gabon is a member of the United Nations.