mar BONGO, president;
National Recovery Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons);
Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP);
National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original);
Association for Socialism in Gabon (APSG);
Gabonese Socialist Union (USG);
Circle for Renewal and Progress (CRP);
Union for Democracy and Development (UDD)

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 21

_#_Elections:

President--last held on 9 November 1986 (next to be held
November 1993);
results--President Omar BONGO was reelected without opposition;

National Assembly--last held on 28 October 1990 (next to be
held by February 1992);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(120 total, 111 elected) PDG 62, National Recovery
Movement-Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons) 19, PGP 18, National Recovery
Movement (Morena-Original) 7, ASPG 6, USG 4, CRP 1, independent 3

_#_Communists: no organized party; probably some Communist
sympathizers

_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24,
G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM,
OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Alexandre
SAMBAT; Chancery at 2034 20th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone
(202) 797-1000;

US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE; Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer,
Libreville (mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville); telephone 762003
or 762004, 743492

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until
the early 1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector. During the period
1981-85 oil accounted for about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and
65% of government revenues on average. The high oil prices of the early
1980s contributed to a substantial increase in per capita income,
stimulated domestic demand, reinforced migration from rural to urban
areas, and raised the level of real wages to among the highest in
Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of Gabon's economy, which
began with falling oil prices in 1985, was reversed in 1989 because of a
near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the economy
continued to grow, but debt servicing problems are hindering economic
advancement. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively
underdeveloped, except for oil.