Gabon
Updated: Oct 1, 2022
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Country Name
Gabon, or the Gabonese Republic.
Location
Gabon is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west.
Capital
Libreville.
The reason for naming the country
Gabon's name originates from gabão, Portuguese for "cloak", which is roughly the shape of the estuary of the Komo River by Libreville.
Flag
The Gabon flag was adopted on August 9, 1960, just over a week before Gabon gained its independence from France on August 17, 1960.
The flag of Gabon consists of three equal horizontal stripes of green;
yellow; and blue. The flag represents Gabon's geographical position in the world.
The green color represents the country's lush vegetation and forests, The yellow color represents the equator that runs through Gabon and also represents the sun. The blue color represents the Atlantic Ocean which laps Gabon's shores.
Language
French is the country's sole official language. Gabonese people speak the Fang language as a mother tongue. In October 2012, the country declared an intention to add English as a second official language.
Religion
The majority of people in Gabon are Christians. Major religions practiced in Gabon include Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism ), Bwiti, Islam, and indigenous animistic religion. Many persons practice elements of both Christianity and traditional indigenous religious beliefs.
Currency
Central African CFA franc (XAF).
Time Zone
+01:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary dominant-party presidential republic.
Climate
In Gabon, the climate is hot and humid all year round in the north and inland areas, with a short dry season from June to August, while in the central and southern parts of the coast, the temperature becomes cooler during the dry season. In the far south, the dry season is longer, and it goes from mid-May to mid-September. The temperature varies little over the year in the north and the center of the country: the warmest period is from January to May, when highs are around 30 °C (86 °F), while it drops a bit from June to September, hovering around 24/25 °C (75/77 °F) in the central and southern part of the coast and around 27/28 °C (81/82 °F) in inland areas. In the northern inland areas, near the Equator, there are two rainy seasons, from March to May and from September to November, caused by the two zenith passages of the sun that is when it shines directly overhead in the sky at midday. Much of Gabon is occupied by forests and mangroves, except the extreme east, which is occupied by the savannah. There are many national parks, designed to protect the biodiversity of the region. The amount of sunshine is not great, and it's even worse in the dry season, from June to August, when the sky is often cloudy. The (relatively) sunniest period runs from December to February. The best time to visit Gabon is from June to mid-September, particularly, in July and August.
International Phone Code
+241
Internet Code
.ga