Country · Africa
Gabon
Gabonese Republic
Gabon is a country in Middle Africa. About 2.1 million people live there, in an area of 267 668 square kilometres. Its capital city is Libreville.
Picture credit: VIGNA christian (CC BY-SA 4.0) · David Stanley (CC BY 2.0) · Salim hamouche (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Shirmy25 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Manuel Dohmen (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Gabon?
Gabon lies in Middle Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 111 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 885 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo.
How big is Gabon?
Gabon covers 267 668 square kilometres.
That is about 6.5 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 76th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 7.9 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Gabon?
About 2.1 million people live in Gabon.
That is the 142nd biggest population in the world.
People here speak French.
They pay with the Central African CFA franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 50 years.
The land of Gabon
The land of Gabon sits on average 377 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 885 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 44 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Gabon different?
A dish the country is known for: Poulet Nyembwe.
Websites from here often end in .ga.
Gabon and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Gabon.
It takes up about 0.2 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 30th of 54 by size, and 44th by population.
Gabon and its neighbours
Cameroon, its largest neighbour, is about 1.8 times bigger.
Cameroon has more people: 25.2 million against 2.1 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Gabon: Gorilla. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Bengoué, at 1 070 metres. The longest river in the country is the Ogooué. The largest lake in the country is Lake Onangué.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Gabon compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 35 times as big as Gabon: 9 372 610 km² against 267 668 km².
- Gabon and the United Kingdom are almost the same size: 267 668 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Gabon?
The capital of Gabon is Libreville. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Gabon?
About 2.1 million people live in Gabon, which makes it the 142nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Gabon?
Gabon borders Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo — 3 neighbours in total.
How big is Gabon?
Gabon covers 267 668 square kilometres, making it the 76th largest country in the world. That is about 6.5 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Gabon?
The highest mountain in Gabon is Mount Bengoué, 1 070 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Gabon?
The longest river in Gabon is the Ogooué, about 1 200 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Gabon?
The largest lake in Gabon is Lake Onangué. It covers about 160 km².
Which continent is Gabon in?
Gabon is in Africa, in the part called Middle Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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