The Gabonese Republic - Sub-Saharan's Richest Country Per Capita

The Gabonese Republic is a small country (both in geographic area and population) located in western Africa. The country, usually referred to by its unofficial name, Gabon, is the seventy-sixth largest country in the world in terms of geographic size with approximately 268,000 square miles. The country is even smaller in terms of population, with a mere 1,400,000 inhabitants. The capital of Gabon is a seaport known as Libreville, with approximately 600,000 people. The country's other major seaport is Port-Gentil, which has approximately 85,000 people living in the city. Both cities and their respective ports have an enormous impact on the Gabonese economy. More so than other African countries, the population of Gabon is largely made up of indigenous ethnic tribes, specifically the Omiene, the Fang, the Eshira, and the Bakota. Like most other countries in western Africa, Gabon was also a former French colony, and declared its independence from France in August of 1960, after being colonized in the late 19th century. Due to the heavy French influence on the country, the official language is still French, and numerous French instituted customs are still in place to this day. Additionally, much like other countries, those who adhere to more modern customs and ways of life live in the metropolitan areas, whereas the rural villagers tend to have more traditional beliefs.

The Gabonese people are fortunate in comparison to other African nations, in that oil has been discovered in the small African nation, which contributes to the Gabonese economy tremendously. In fact, the oil sector contributes roughly 80 percent of the Gross National Product. As a result of these high oil figures, the nation has the highest per-capita income in sub-Saharan Africa at $7,403, which still yields in comparison to other nations. At $7,403 a year, Gabon has the 88th highest per-capita income in the world. In addition, there is a large and thriving manganese thriving industry in Gabon, which was the largest contributor to the economy until oil was discovered in the 1960s. The Gabonese (though they're usually foreign companies) also mine and extract gold, iron, and uranium. The agricultural sector in the country pales in comparison to the industrial sector, though cassava and sugarcane are grown. Because of this diminished agricultural sector, the country must import their food supply in order to survive. They are able to afford this because of their petroleum, mineral, and timber exports. This fact also makes Gabon unique on the African continent, because most African countries practice subsistence farming and rarely export products or crops.

The country of Gabon has been fortunate to have much better political stability that most other African countries, and only two rulers have ruled the country since Gabon declared independence from France. The current president of Gabon is a gentleman named El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (typically known simply as Omar Bongo), has been president since 1967, making him one of the world's longest heads of state. Over his tenure, there have been allegations of fraud and corruption as well as rigging of the recently held multiparty elections, but none of these allegations have been proven as of yet. Though Omar Bongo is officially an autocratic ruler, the country is gradually making the transformation to a respectable democracy.