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Introduction to Gabon
created on:
2001-07-28
Gabon is located on the west coast of Africa. The country covers approximately 267 670 square kilometers and shares frontiers with the republic of Congo to the northeast, east and south, Cameroon to the north, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The capital city Libreville is situated on the west coast and is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Most of the country (nearly three-quarters) is covered in dense tropical rain forests. Also Gabon has narrow coastal plains with woodland areas, open savannah grasslands, lagoons and estuaries. The interior rises to the Central African Plateau until it reaches the the Crystal Mountains at over 1500m. In southern Gabon the coastal plain is dominated by granite hills.
The climate in Gabon is characterized by hot, wet and humid conditions. Temperatures are fairly constant with little variation and it is also extremely muggy most of the year. During the wet season plenty rainfall occurs while between May to September there is hardly no rain. The average daily temperature is 31°C all year.
The Gabonese people belong to fourthy Bantu tribes, but can be subdivided into four tribal groups: The Okande, Fang (north and north-east), M'bede (southeast) and Eshira (southwestern areas). The African language Fang is spoken widely in the north, but French is still the official language.
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