Gabon

The lands of Gabon were settled by Bantu peoples, organised into a variety of communities and small kingdoms, and the coast was visited by Portuguese and other European traders from the fifteenth century, becoming involved in the Atlantic trade. France gradually extended its control during the nineteenth century, and the capital, Libreville, was founded in part as a settlement for freed slaves. Gabon became a French colony and gained independence in 1960, after which it was dominated for over five decades by a single ruling family.

Gabon is dominated by tropical rainforest, which covers an estimated nine-tenths of the country, making it one of the most forested nations in the world. The land rises from a narrow Atlantic coastal plain of lagoons and estuaries to interior plateaus and hills, all cloaked in dense jungle and crossed by the wide Ogooue River and its tributaries. This vast, well-watered forest, sitting on the equator, is a haven of biodiversity, and Gabon has set aside a large share of its territory as national parks.

The flag of Gabon has three horizontal bands of green, yellow, and blue. The green at the top represents the country's vast forests, the central yellow band the equator that runs through the country and the sun, and the blue at the bottom the Atlantic Ocean along its coast. The clean, simple design, with its natural symbolism, reflects the defining features of a country shaped by its forests, its position on the equator, and the sea.

Gabon is a predominantly Christian country, the result of French and missionary influence, with the majority belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant churches. There is a Muslim minority, and traditional African religions remain influential, often practised alongside Christianity. Among the most distinctive elements of Gabonese spiritual life is the Bwiti tradition, a religion centred on the use of a psychoactive plant in initiation rites, which blends ancestral belief with elements of Christianity.

Gabonese cuisine makes the most of the produce of the forest, the rivers, and the sea. Cassava, plantains, and yams are staples, often pounded or boiled and served with rich sauces, while fish from the rivers and the Atlantic, and bushmeat from the forest, provide protein. A characteristic dish is nyembwe, chicken or fish cooked in a sauce made from the pulp of the palm nut. Spicy stews, leafy greens, and tropical fruits round out a food culture rooted in a lush, green land.

Agriculture plays a smaller role in Gabon than in most African countries, because the dense forest limits farmland and because oil has dominated the economy. Most farming is small-scale subsistence growing of cassava, plantains, and other food crops, while cocoa, coffee, and palm oil are produced commercially. The country's great natural resource has long been its oil, which made it relatively wealthy, and its vast forests yield valuable timber, increasingly managed with an eye to conservation.

The era of European trade, French colonisation, and the founding of Libreville as a haven for freed slaves shaped Gabon. After independence in 1960, the country was governed for more than five decades by the Bongo family, whose long rule rested in part on the country's oil wealth. In 2023 a military coup ended that dynasty. Gabon has also won international attention for its ambitious efforts to protect its rainforests and wildlife through a network of national parks.

Gabon has a population of around 2.4 million people, small for the size of the country, made up of various Bantu ethnic groups, the largest being the Fang, speaking many languages with French as the official tongue. The population is unusually urban for the region, with the great majority living in towns, above all the capital and main port, Libreville, on the Atlantic coast. Gabon's oil wealth has given it a higher average income than most of its neighbours, though that wealth is unevenly shared.