Since 1953, when oil was first discovered near Port-Gentil, Gabon’s economy has been dominated by the petroleum industry. According to the BP “Statistical Review of World Energy 2012”, Gabon is the sixth-largest crude oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa and has the region’s fourth-largest proven reserves.
The defining trait of Gabon’s political climate for the past 40 years has been that of stability. While the first decade of independence saw a modicum of unrest and a coup, the country has in general seen little of the turbulence that has plagued other countries in the region.
Straddling the equator along Central Africa’s western coast, Gabon is a former French colony of 1.5m people with a territory covered up to 85% by equatorial rainforest. Following the colonial period (1886-1960), the country’s first president, Léon Mba, ruled Gabon until his death in 1967. He was followed into office by Omar Bongo Ondimba, who...
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