Gabon is an ancient and mysterious African coastal country. Not only is there a dense primeval forest, beautiful white sand beaches and other isolated beautiful scenery, but also a paradise for gorillas, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes and other wild animals, because the country is relatively small, many people may not know much about her, but this small African country maintains a close relationship with the mainland. Recently, the continent's new foreign minister chose the African continent for his first visit of the new year, and the second stop was to this beautiful country. Today we will learn about the different customs of this African country.
Geographical location:
Located on the west coast of central Africa, across the equatorial line. It is bordered by Congo to the east and south, Cameroon to the north, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with a coastline of 800 km. Gabon covers an area of 268,000 square kilometers. The coastal area is alluvial plain, and the inland area is plateau and mountainous land. The largest river in the territory is the Ogooué River, which originates in the Bataeke plateau in the Congo, is 1,200 kilometers long, flows from east to west, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the port of Gentil.
Gabon's very sparse population, with a population of only 2.22 million, has a population density of only 7.9 people per square kilometre, ranking 13th from the bottom of all countries and the sixth smallest in Africa.
Historical process:
The earliest inhabitants of this area were the pygmies (dwarfs living in jungle areas), who were largely replaced and absorbed when the Bantu tribes migrated in large numbers to the heart of Africa. Before the 15th century, a number of tribal emirates were formed along the coast and on the banks of the Ogooué River. In 1472, Portuguese colonists arrived in the Gulf of Gabon, followed by Dutch, English and French colonists. From the late 15th century to the 19th century, Gabon became an important site for European colonists to seize black slaves. It has been a French colony since 1880.
After the end of World War II, the Gabonese people launched a vigorous anti-imperialist and anti-colonial movement for independence, and after more than ten years of unremitting struggle, finally won full independence and established a republic on August 17, 1960.
Natural resources:
Gabon is rich in natural resources, known as the "treasure trove of resources" and the "country of green gold", with a forest coverage rate of up to 85% and an exploitable area of about 60% of the country's land area, making it a major producer of oil, manganese ore and timber in Africa. Mainly oil, timber, manganese ore and so on. The recoverable oil reserves are about 400 million tons. Manganese ore reserves of 200 million tons, accounting for a quarter of the world's proven reserves. Niobium ore reserves are about 400,000 tons, accounting for 5% of the world's total reserves. Iron ore reserves range from 8 to 1 billion tonnes at grades above 60%. Other mineral deposits include phosphate, gold, barite, nickel, chromium, zinc, etc. Forests cover 85% of the country's land area. The log reserves are about 400 million cubic meters, ranking third in Africa.
The proven crude oil reserves are 2.2 billion barrels, manganese ore 200 million tons (accounting for 1/4 of the world's proven reserves), niobium ore about 400,000 tons (accounting for 5% of the world's total reserves), iron ore 8-1 billion tons (grade above 60%). In addition to the above major minerals, the reserves of gold, phosphate, barite, nickel, chromium, zinc and other minerals are also quite rich, which can be called a country sitting on a "cornucopia".
economic development
Gabon is a middle-income developing country with a rapid economic development after independence. In 2021, Gabon's GDP was US$18.269 billion, per capita GDP was US$8,229, and the economic growth rate was 1.5%. The processing industry and agricultural base are weak. Oil, manganese, uranium and timber are the four pillars of Gabon's economy. Extractive industries, dominated by oil, are the main economic sector of Gabon, accounting for around 11% of GDP.
In addition, the development of Gabon's timber industry has become more and more prosperous, from 1.9 million cubic meters in 2012 to 3.7 million cubic meters in 2021, and Gabon's timber production has almost doubled in the past nine years. Among them, the proportion of log production fell from nearly 90% in 2012 to 67% in 2021. Gabon has the highest timber production among the six ECCAS countries. With the smooth operation of the Gabonese Wood Processing Economic Zone, compared to 2005, the actual amount of logs cut in Gabon has declined, the income of the timber industry has increased fourfold, and the number of employed people in the industry has increased threefold. Nearly half of the timber products produced in Gabon are exported to China.
Geopolitics:
Gabon attaches importance to the development of relations with African countries, particularly with its neighbours, Congo Brazzaville and Cameroon, and is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States and the Central African Customs and Economic Union. Because it was once a French colony, the two countries are still closely linked, and French influence on Gabon is reflected in all aspects of Gabon.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada on April 20, 1974, the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have developed smoothly. The leaders of the two countries have exchanged frequent visits, especially Omar Bongo, former President of Gabon, who has visited China 11 times. The results of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries have also been very remarkable. The mainland mainly imports petroleum, manganese ore, timber, etc., and exports mechanical and electrical products, cement and steel. Gabon covers an area of 22 million hectares of forest, and its total timber reserves rank first in Africa, and it has become one of the important countries for China's wood industry to "go global". In the Encock Special Economic Zone in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, there are a number of Chinese companies engaged in wood processing and trading.
Jean Ping, who served as Gabonese Foreign Minister, President of the United Nations General Assembly and Chairperson of the African Union Commission, is a descendant of the Hakka people in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and is a prominent Chinese in Africa. Not only that, Jean Ping once led the current president Bongo Jr. in the 2016 election, and although he lost to his opponent by 3%, he still let the world witness his extraordinary influence.
Future development
Gabon's economic development is mainly due to oil resources, economic development is very dependent on oil exports, the political situation has been relatively stable for a long time, so that economic development has not been too much disturbed, coupled with a small population, Gabon has the leading per capita GDP in Africa.
At the same time, Gabon's economic and trade development also faces obstacles and difficulties, such as the inability of the Canadian education system to provide the skills required by the labor market, the tariff structure is not conducive to the development of the value chain, there are major deficiencies in logistics and infrastructure, insufficient financing channels, and bureaucracy is rampant. If those problems were addressed, Gabon's future would be all the more promising.