Gabon 2018
The population of Gabon in 2018 was estimated to be around 2 million people. The majority of the population is comprised of people of Bantu and other African descent with a smaller percentage of European ethnicities. The economy is largely reliant on exports, manufacturing, and services such as oil production, fishing and forestry. Foreign relations remain strong with Gabon’s neighbors in Central and West Africa as well as other countries in Europe and beyond. According to extrareference, Gabon has been a presidential republic since 1960. In 2018, President Ali Bongo Ondimba was re-elected for a second consecutive term after winning 49% of the popular vote in presidential elections held that year.
Yearbook 2018
Gabon. According to Countryaah.com, Libreville is the capital city of Gabon, a country located in Central Africa. Parliamentary elections were held in October, almost two years delayed. As a result of the delay, the Constitutional Court dissolved the government and the lower house in April. A transitional government was formed. President Ali Ben Bongo’s ruling party PDG (Gabon’s Democratic Party) won big, securing 98 of 143 seats after both rounds; small parties affiliated with PDG got 20 seats and partyless won 8 seats. Opposition parties squeeze 17 seats, including 11 for the newly formed Democrats, led by former Speaker Guy Nzouba-Ndama. In contrast, opposition politician Jean Ping, a former top diplomat whom Bongo defeated in 2016, did not run for office in a contentious presidential election.
- According to Abbreviationfinder: GAB is an three letter acronym for Gabon.
The president’s health created concern and overshadowed PDG’s election victory. Bongo, 59, became ill on a visit to Saudi Arabia on October 24 and was hospitalized there. For several weeks, there was silence about what he was afflicted with, which contributed to the spread of rumors. Parallels were drawn to 2009 when his father, longtime President Omar Ali Bongo, died. The confirmation that this death came only after several weeks of silence.
Bongo flew to Morocco in late November for continued care and the first pictures of him were shown. On December 9, Gabon’s vice president stated that Bongo suffered a stroke. On New Year’s Eve, a speech that Bongo recorded in Morocco was broadcast on TV and social media. He talked about a tough time and would eventually return to Gabon.
At the beginning of the year, amendments were made to the Constitution which strengthened the presidential power, even though there were concessions to the opposition. It was noted that a decisive round of elections would be held in presidential elections if no candidate got over half the votes in the first round, a return to past practice.
Population. – In the absence of regular censuses, UN estimates attribute the country to a population of 1,133,000 residents (1989), with a density of 5 residents / km 2; estimates by other international bodies provide different data. This is also due to the fact that the average natural growth rate is lower than in other Black African countries (19 ‰ in the period 1984-89), due to a lower birth rate and higher mortality, linked to persistence. of tropical diseases typical of the forest environment. Therefore migratory movements, which are more difficult to control, play a significant role in the rate of demographic growth. The exploitation of mineral resources brought numerous workers from neighboring countries to Gabon, but 10,000 Beninese were expelled in 1978 at a time of tension between the two countries.
The rapid development of the capital, Libreville (from 53,000 in 1967 to 352,000 in 1988), of the port and industrial center of Port-Gentil (from 25,000 to 164,000) and of the mining center of Franceville, renamed Masuku (from 5000 to 75,000), have promoted a strong rural exodus and the growth of the urban population, which is around 45%, one of the highest values in all of Africa. Urbanism has favored schooling which now affects 83% of school-age children, with a consistent reduction in illiteracy (38.4% in 1985). At the same time, Christian religions have gained ground on traditional cults (60%, mostly Catholics). The Fang language, belonging to the largest Bantu group (30%), is slowly joining French.
