Map:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue 

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea 

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E 

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France) 

Nationality: Gabonese

Capital City: Libreville

Population: 1,208,436 

Head of State:  Omar Bongo

Area: 267,667 sq km 

Type of Government: republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990) 

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes 

Major peoples: Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 6,000 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality 

Religion: Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist 

Official Language: French

Principal Languages:  French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi 

Major Exports: crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium (1998) 

History: In 1839, France signed a treaty with local chiefs that gave it powers over the southern coastal regions of Gabon.  The Berlin Conference of 1885 awarded all of the territory discovered by Pierre de BRAZZA to France.  This area was organized (in 1910) into French Equatorial Africa, and the separate colonies of Gabon, Congo, Chad, and Ubangi-Shari were formed.  Gabon achieved its independence from France in 1960, and under the 1961 constitution is a republic with a presidential form of government.  Leon M'ba was the first president of the republic and presided over the unicameral National Assembly.  At the death of M'ba in 1967, Omar Bongo succeeded to the presidency; he introduced a one-party system in 1968.  In 1990 popular protests forced constitutional revisions to legalize multiple parties, with Bongo to remain president until at least 1993. His party was accused of vote-rigging in multiparty elections held in September 1990.