Gabon: Map & History
Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, lying on the equator.
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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, and savanna in the east. Libreville is the capital and largest city; other major cities include Port-Gentil and Franceville.
Modern Countries Once Part of Gabon
At its mapped extent, Gabon covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Gabon's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Gabon in Depth
History
The prehistoric inhabitants of Gabon were rainforest hunter-gatherer peoples collectively known as the Bambenga. In the 13th century BCE, Bantu migrants began settling in the area and formed early agricultural communities. With the development of ironworking in the 7th century CE, Bantu tribes grew dominant in the region, largely absorbing and replacing the Bambenga. By the 14th century, the Vili Kingdom of Loango had extended its control northward along the Gabonese coastline.
Between the late 16th and 18th centuries, European merchants frequented the coast for the ivory and slave trades mediated by local brokers. Coastal communities exchanged such commodities and captives from the interior for sea salt, cloth, mirrors, cooking vessels, and weapons (including guns and iron machetes).
Economy
Gabon's economy is heavily dependent on oil and other natural resources, leaving it exposed to global market shifts and climate-related risks. Oil revenue constitutes roughly 46% of the government's budget, 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of exports. The rich Grondin Oil Field was discovered in 1971 in 50 m (160 ft) water depths 40 km (25 mi) offshore in an anticline salt structural trap in Batanga sandstones of Maastrichtian age, but about 60% of its estimated reserves had been extracted by 1978. As of 2023, Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
"Overspending" on the Trans-Gabon Railway, the CFA franc devaluation of 1994, and periods of lower oil prices caused debt problems.
Culture
Some traditionalists in Gabon, known as "raconteurs", work to continue practices like the mvett among the Fangs and the Ingwala among the Nzebis. Masks, like the n'goltang masks of the Fang people and the reliquary figures of the Kota, are a central part of Gabonese culture. These masks are used in ceremonies marking significant life events such as marriage, birth, and funerals. They are crafted using local, often rare materials including wood.
Music in Gabon reflects the ethnolinguistic diversity and combines traditional, ritual, popular and urban forms. Musical life has historically been closely linked to storytelling, dance, healing, initiation societies and oral literature.
Geography
Gabon is located on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa on the equator, between latitudes 3°N and 4°S, and longitudes 8° and 15°E. Gabon has an equatorial climate with a system of rainforests, with 89.3% of its land area forested.
There are coastal plains (ranging between 20 and 300 km [10 and 190 mi] from the ocean's shore), the mountains (the Crystal Mountains to the northeast of Libreville, the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and the savanna in the east.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Gabon (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Gabon: Key Facts
| Capital | Libreville |
|---|---|
| Official language | French |
| Form of government | presidential system |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc |
| Founded | 1960 |
Preceded by
- Middle Congo
Facts from Wikidata Q1000 (CC0).
Gabon: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Gabon exist?
Gabon is dated to 1961 CE – 2024 CE, in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of Gabon?
The capital of Gabon was Libreville.
How large was Gabon at its peak?
At its peak in 2024 Gabon covered about 264,939 km².
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