GABON

17 August 1960 – Gabon gains independence from France

On 17 August 1960, Gabon, a country in west central Africa, gained independence from France. It shares common borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. Autocratic presidents ruled Gabon since independence. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and institutional reforms.

A small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous sub-Saharan African countries. Gabon is Sub-Sahara’s third largest producer and exporter of crude oil.

Links

And for a broad overview of African independence go to our site’s coverage of African Independence (chronology and history)

Links to explore this further:

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/CIA_Maps/Gabon_19874.gif
-For a large, physical feature and provincial regions map

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/
Gabon.html
-Has an annotated list of a wide variety of Gabon sites

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/gabon.html
-Is an annotated collection of many Gabon related sites

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023203.stm
-For audio clips, brief facts and a Gabon

http://allafrica.com/gabon/
-For breaking news on Gabon

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gb.html
For what the CIA has on Gabon

http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/ga.html
-Has government information on Gabon

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/gabon.html
-Has economic information on Gabon

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107556.html
-Provides historic and geographic information