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Country of the Day: Gabon, Africa
Mar. 15th, 2010 12:42 pmOne of the theater peeps is headed to Gabon this week to test scary virus-buggers like ebola. Yet another country that I don't know much about. Yes, it's in Africa.
So I looked it up on Google maps. Just type in Gabon. It's on the Atlantic on the West Coast, between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon on the north, and Congo around the other sides, near the top of the bend.
Wikipedia says the Gabonese Republic was a French Colony until 1960, now a multi-party democracy and "one of the most prosperous countries in the region." 1.5 million people. It's 85% rainforest. They are into conservation with a 13 national parks that give it 11% park land, one of the highest proportions in the world. The economy rests on export of natural resources such as offshore oil, manganese, iron and wood. Most Gabonese are of Bantu origin, but there are at least 40 ethnic groups, including the Fang. 80% speak French. 32% speak Fang. The majority are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. There doesn't seem to be a "reason you might have heard of it" for Gabon, but maybe you know one.
So I looked it up on Google maps. Just type in Gabon. It's on the Atlantic on the West Coast, between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon on the north, and Congo around the other sides, near the top of the bend.
Wikipedia says the Gabonese Republic was a French Colony until 1960, now a multi-party democracy and "one of the most prosperous countries in the region." 1.5 million people. It's 85% rainforest. They are into conservation with a 13 national parks that give it 11% park land, one of the highest proportions in the world. The economy rests on export of natural resources such as offshore oil, manganese, iron and wood. Most Gabonese are of Bantu origin, but there are at least 40 ethnic groups, including the Fang. 80% speak French. 32% speak Fang. The majority are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. There doesn't seem to be a "reason you might have heard of it" for Gabon, but maybe you know one.
