Article Outline
Mineral production in Gabon has kept pressure off the forests as a source of revenue. As a result, about 69.3 percent (1995) of Gabon remains covered in forest, and wildlife is abundant. Protected areas cover 2.8 percent (1997) of the country, and hunting is prohibited. However, enforcement is weak, and some species of wildlife are under threat from poaching.
The ethnic makeup of the Gabonese is diverse, although almost all the inhabitants are Bantu-speaking. Of the country’s approximately 40 ethnic groups, most people belong to the Fang, Mpongwe, M’Bete, and Punu groupings. Europeans, mostly French, form a small but prominent minority. Pygmies are believed to have been the original inhabitants of the country, but only a few thousand remain. About 90 percent of the population is Christian, primarily Roman Catholic, and about 5 percent is Muslim. The official language is French.
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Population Characteristics
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Gabon has a population (2007 estimate) of 1,454,867. The overall population density is 6 persons per sq km (15 per sq mi). Some 85 percent of the people live in urban areas. Much of the country’s interior is uninhabited.
Libreville, the capital and largest city of Gabon, has a population (1993 estimate) of 365,650. Port-Gentil (125,000) is the center of the plywood and petroleum industries. Lambaréné is the center for the oil-palm plantations in the region and the site of the hospital established by German-born medical missionary Albert Schweitzer.
Schooling is officially compulsory in Gabon for all children between the ages of 6 and 16, though not all children in that age group actually attend schools. In the 2000 school year 265,700 pupils attended primary schools, and 101,700 students were enrolled in secondary schools. The country has technical institutions and teachers colleges, as well as a university, the Université Omar Bongo (founded in 1970). An estimated 71 percent of adults in Gabon are literate.
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