Gambia – Military, Facts, and More

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Its total budget is US$267 million or around 1.7 percent of its GDP. This makes Gabon the 115th highest military spender in the world representing 0.013 percent of total global military expenditure.

Its military branches consist of an Army a Navy an Air Force and its national police.

Military membership

It is a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 68th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Gabon has not partaken in any international wars since its independence.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Gabon is a member of 11 international political organizations which makes it the 102nd most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
African Union
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Association of World Election Bodies

South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having the ability to choose its Parliament members, the president of Gabon is chosen by the members of Parliament. This has led to a consolidation of power by a single family which has ruled Gabon since 1967. This makes Gabon the 121st most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Gabon are in the form of a republic where the president is head of state as well as head of government. The president is chosen for a seven-year term while the national assembly as well as its senate is chosen for a five-year term.

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Gabon

Named after its pointy shaped River, Gabon is home to one of the largest oil reserves of Africa. Before its contact with European explorers, the area was inhabited by the Babinga people that were slowly taken over by other dominant African tribes. Its first contact with European explorers was with the Portuguese in 1472 which named it Gabao, from which Gabon derives its name. In 1630 the French arrived and placed a settlement along the shore of Gabon and colonized the region between 1839 and 1888. After gaining independence in 1960, Gabon established a one-party system. After a revision of the constitution in 1991, a multiparty system was established.

The landscape of Gabon is characterized by a dense rain forest that covers around 90 percent of its territory. Its Western area is a low-lying while its Eastern area is characterized as mountainous. It borders Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to its north and Congo Brazzaville to its east and south, and to the west it borders the Atlantic Ocean.

It has a total surface area of 296,000 square kilometers or 104,000 square miles which makes it the 76th largest state in the world being slightly smaller than New Zealand and slightly larger than Guinea.

Around 3.7 percent of Gabon is covered in water. It has a total water surface area of 10,000 square kilometers or 3900 square miles which makes it the 49th state with the largest amount of water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Gabon is considered to be a water rich state with a large amount of rivers and lakes which are well supplied by rainfall. However, due to a lack of water treatment as well as pollution from the extraction of oil, most of its water is not drinkable.

It is the 63rd warmest state in the world with an average temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius or 76.8 degrees Fahrenheit. It is characterized by a wet and a dry season but is considered to be warm and humid all year round.

The average high temperature occurs during its wet season which is from October to May with an average temperature to 28.3 degrees Celsius or 82.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

During its dry season from June to September, the temperature goes down to 21.2 degrees Celsius or 70.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is the 32nd state with the highest amount of precipitation which averages around 193 centimetres or 76 inches per year.

The capital, Libreville has a population of around 700,000 people. The capital that is closest located to Libreville is São Tome of São Tome and Principe with a distance of 293 kilometers or 182 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Libreville is Funafuti Tuvalu with a distance of 18,592 kilometers or 11,552 miles.

Until the 1970s, the economy of Gabon was mainly dependent on the extraction of manganese and timber. However, at the start of the 1970s large oil reserves were discovered. The oil industry of Gabon rapidly grew and today represents more than 50 percent of its GDP. Because of the fluctuation of the oil prices, the economy of Gabon fluctuates heavily. Corruption as well as mismanagement of funds are creating a large income gap between the wealthiest and the poorest inhabitants of Gabon. Despite efforts to diversify its economy, oil timber and manganese are still the most exported goods from Gabon. The United States is solely responsible for nearly 60 percent of its export while France solely provides more than 30 percent of its imports.

Gabon is a member of 11 international economic organizations which makes it the 124th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77
Group of 24

It has a GDP of nearly US$13 billion which makes it the 136th highest in the world and represents 0.015 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$46,800 or US$121,300 per square mile which makes it the 172nd largest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is relatively high and stands at US$5800 which makes it the 95th highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is the 77th highest in the world and stands at US$16,900.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

French is the official language in Gabon which is used for intertribal communication. However more than 40 languages are spoken between nearly 100 tribes. The largest of these are the fang people which represent around 600,000 of the 2.1 million inhabitants.

It has the 138 highest population density in the world with eight people per square kilometer or 21 people per square mile.

Nearly 60,000 people, or 2.8 percent of its population has migrated to other states which represents 0.023 percent of total global emmigration and makes it the 166th highest in the world. Instead of neighbouring states, around 70 percent has migrated to France and Germany and Mali.

Immigration to Gabon is limited with some harassment of immigrants by local officials. Despite having a low social and economic standard, around 19.2 percent or nearly 400,000 people have migrated to Gabon. One in four people originate from Equatorial Guinea and around 90 percent comes from central and west Africa.

Gabon has inherited its educational system from its French colonial times which it still uses today. Compulsory education between the ages of five and 16 reaches around 90 percent of children and has led to an increase in its literacy rate in recent decades. Currently, Gabon is the 132nd most literate state in the world with the literacy rate of 83.5 percent.

With an average life expectancy of 67.1 years, Gabon is the 143rd state with the highest life expectancy. Women reach the age of 69.3 years while men reach the age of 64.9 years. The most prevalent cause of death are communicable diseases with malaria being prevalent in nearly 10 percent of its people. Other communicable diseases such as HIV AIDS are relatively low compared to other sub-Saharan states.

Gabon provides freedom of religion towards all religions. However, religions that promote discrimination between its ethnic tribes may be limited in their freedom.

Christianity is the largest religion which is practiced by 78.4 percent of the population. Catholicism is the largest denomination due to its spread between the 16th and the 18th century by Catholic missionaries. At the start of the 19th century, Protestant missionaries arrived in Gabon as well, but currently represents a small portion of Christians.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is the second largest religion in Gabon and is followed by 10.8 percent of the population. The majority follows the Sunni branch of Islam and are considered to be the ruling class within Gabon.

There are no official organizations related to Buddhism in Gabon.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Gabon.

There are no official Jewish organizations in Gabon.

Around 4.5 percent of the population adheres to other religions. These are mainly practiced by the Babongo people that practice their Bwiti religion which is mainly based on ancestor worshiping and animism.

Irreligion is represented by 3.7 percent of the population.