Gabon

Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, lying on the equator. It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, while sharing a maritime border with São Tomé and Príncipe to the west in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.6 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains (the Cristal Mountains and the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and savanna in the east. Libreville is the capital and largest city; other major cities include Port-Gentil and Franceville. Gabon's original inhabitants were the Bambenga. In the 13th century BCE, Bantu migrants began settling in the area. The Kingdom of Orungu was established around 1700. France colonised the region in the late 19th century. Since its independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had four presidents. In the 1990s, it introduced a multi-party system and a democratic constitution that aimed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed some governmental institutions. Despite this, the Gabonese Democratic Party remained the dominant party until its removal from power during the 2023 Gabonese coup d'état. Gabon is a developing country, ranking 108th in the Human Development Index. It is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa in terms of per capita income; however, large parts of the population are very poor. Omar Bongo came to office in 1967 and created a dynasty which stabilized its power through a client network, Françafrique. The official language is French, and Bantu ethnic groups constitute around 95% of the population. Christianity is the predominant religion, practised by about 80% of the population. With petroleum and foreign private investment, it has the fourth highest HDI (after Mauritius, Seychelles, and South Africa) and the fifth highest GDP per capita (PPP) of the Sub-Saharan African nations. Gabon's nominal GDP per capita was $10,149 in 2023.