GABON
Independent State, formerly part of French Equatorial Africa. It is bounded on the north by Equatorial Guinea and United Republic of Cameroon, on the east and south by the Republic of Congo and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. A member of the French Community and the Central African Customs and Economic Union (UDEAC), it is also associated with the EU through the Lome Convention. |
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| CAPITAL | Libreville. |
| PRINCIPAL PORTS | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil. |
| POPULATION | 1.2 million. |
| LANGUAGE | French, Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi. |
| WEIGHTS AND MEASURES | Metric system. |
| ELECTRICITY SUPPLY | 220-240v. 50 cycles AC. |
| DIALLING CODE | 00 241. |
| CURRENCY(-IES) | 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine Franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes |
| EXCHANGE RATE | 1012.64 CFA Francs = £1 Sterling (fluctuating rate). |
| TIME | 1 hour ahead of GMT. (Same as BST.) |
| PUBLIC HOLIDAYS | 1 Jan; 12 Mar; 1, 6 May; 15–16 Aug; 1 Nov; 25 Dec; in addition, the following which have variable dates: Eid Al Fitr; Eid Al Adha; Easter Monday; Whit Monday. |
| EMBASSY (-IES) | 27 Elvaston Place, London SW7 5NL. Tel: 020 7823 9986, fax: 020 7584 0047. Office Hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1500. |
| BRITISH EMBASSY | None located
within this country. (All Libreville embassy staff reside at: British High Commission,
Avenue Winston Churchill, BP 547 Yaounde, Cameroon. Tel: 00 237 220545, fax: 00 237
220148, e-mail: BHC@yaounde.mail.fco.gov.uk or BHC.yaounde@camnet.cm).
British Consulate, c/o Brossette, BP 486, Libreville. Tel: 00 241 762200, fax: 00 241 765789. |
| CHAMBER(S) OF COMMERCE | Chambre de Commerce d’Agriculture, d’Industrie et des Mines au Gabon, BP 2234, Libreville. |