Geography of GabonRépublique Gabonaise Continent Africa Region Central Africa Coordinates 1°00′N 11°45′E / 1.000°N 11.750°E / 1.000; 11.750 Area Ranked 77th • Total 267,667 km2 (103,347 sq mi) • Land 96.3% • Water 3.7% Coastline 885 km (550 mi) Highest point Mont Bengoué , 1070 m (not Mont Iboundji as claimed by some authorities)Lowest point Atlantic Ocean , 0 mLongest river Ogooué River Climate Tropical monsoon ('Am'), Tropical savanna ('Aw'); always hot, humidTerrain narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south Natural resources Petroleum , natural gas , diamond , niobium , manganese , uranium , gold , timber , iron ore , hydropower Environmental issues deforestation , poaching
Gabon map of Köppen climate classification.
Satellite image of Gabon
Gabon is a country in Central Africa , lying along the Atlantic Ocean , just south of the Bight of Biafra .
Area and borders
Area
Total: 267,668 km²
country rank in the world: 76th/77th
Land: 257,670 km²
Water: 10,000 km²
Area comparative
Australia comparative: approximately 1 / 6 larger than Victoria
Canada comparative: approximately 2 / 3 the size of Newfoundland and Labrador
United Kingdom comparative: approximately 1 / 10 larger than the United Kingdom
United States comparative: slightly smaller than Colorado
EU comparative: approximately 1 / 10 smaller than Italy
Gabon has a total of 3,261 km of international boundaries. It borders Equatorial Guinea (335 km) and Cameroon (349 km) to the north and the Republic of the Congo (2,567 km) to the east and south. Gabon lies on the equator .
Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22 km)
Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44 km)
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370 km)
Terrain
Land Use
(2012)
• Arable land
1.26%
• Permanent crops
0.66%
• Other
98.08%
Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021). Gabon has the fourth highest percentage of forest cover in the world.
Narrow coastal plain with patches of Central African mangroves ; hilly interior; savanna in east and south. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 420 km2 of tidal flats in Gabon, making it the 50th ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.[ 1]
Irrigated land: 44.5 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 164 km3 (2011)
Environment
International agreements:
Party to: Biodiversity , Climate Change , Desertification , Endangered Species , Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea , Marine Dumping , Ozone Layer Protection , Ship Pollution , Tropical Timber 83 , Tropical Timber 94 , Wetlands , Whaling
Climate
The equatorial location of Gabon means that it has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am ) and a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw ), with the temperature being hot year-round and humid, although the Benguela Current can moderate temperatures.
Climate data for Libreville (1961–1990)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
29.5 (85.1)
30.0 (86.0)
30.2 (86.4)
30.1 (86.2)
29.4 (84.9)
27.6 (81.7)
26.4 (79.5)
26.8 (80.2)
27.5 (81.5)
28.0 (82.4)
28.4 (83.1)
29.0 (84.2)
28.6 (83.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)
26.8 (80.2)
27.0 (80.6)
27.1 (80.8)
26.6 (79.9)
26.7 (80.1)
25.4 (77.7)
24.3 (75.7)
24.3 (75.7)
25.4 (77.7)
25.7 (78.3)
25.9 (78.6)
26.2 (79.2)
25.9 (78.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
24.1 (75.4)
24.0 (75.2)
23.9 (75.0)
23.1 (73.6)
24.0 (75.2)
23.2 (73.8)
22.1 (71.8)
21.8 (71.2)
23.2 (73.8)
23.4 (74.1)
23.4 (74.1)
23.4 (74.1)
23.3 (73.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches)
250.3 (9.85)
243.1 (9.57)
363.2 (14.30)
339.0 (13.35)
247.3 (9.74)
54.1 (2.13)
6.6 (0.26)
13.7 (0.54)
104.0 (4.09)
427.2 (16.82)
490.0 (19.29)
303.2 (11.94)
2,841.7 (111.88)
Average rainy days
17.9
14.8
19.5
19.2
16.0
3.7
1.7
4.9
14.5
25.0
22.6
17.6
177.4
Average relative humidity (%)
86
84
84
84
84
81
81
81
84
87
87
86
84
Mean monthly sunshine hours
175.2
176.8
176.9
176.8
159.5
130.6
119.2
90.4
95.9
112.9
134.6
167.8
1,716.6
Source: NOAA[ 2]
Climate data for Port-Gentil (1961–1990, extremes 1950–present)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
32.6 (90.7)
38.0 (100.4)
34.6 (94.3)
33.7 (92.7)
33.2 (91.8)
33.2 (91.8)
30.8 (87.4)
33.1 (91.6)
33.3 (91.9)
33.0 (91.4)
34.0 (93.2)
35.0 (95.0)
38.0 (100.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
29.5 (85.1)
30.2 (86.4)
30.3 (86.5)
30.0 (86.0)
29.0 (84.2)
26.7 (80.1)
25.9 (78.6)
27.4 (81.3)
27.7 (81.9)
28.3 (82.9)
28.6 (83.5)
29.0 (84.2)
28.5 (83.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)
26.9 (80.4)
27.3 (81.1)
27.3 (81.1)
27.1 (80.8)
26.6 (79.9)
24.4 (75.9)
23.5 (74.3)
24.7 (76.5)
25.4 (77.7)
25.9 (78.6)
26.1 (79.0)
26.5 (79.7)
26.0 (78.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
24.2 (75.6)
24.4 (75.9)
24.3 (75.7)
24.2 (75.6)
24.1 (75.4)
22.0 (71.6)
21.1 (70.0)
21.9 (71.4)
23.0 (73.4)
23.5 (74.3)
23.5 (74.3)
24.0 (75.2)
23.3 (73.9)
Record low °C (°F)
17.6 (63.7)
19.4 (66.9)
19.5 (67.1)
18.0 (64.4)
19.0 (66.2)
16.4 (61.5)
16.0 (60.8)
13.2 (55.8)
18.2 (64.8)
19.5 (67.1)
15.8 (60.4)
18.2 (64.8)
13.2 (55.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
247.8 (9.76)
177.8 (7.00)
266.8 (10.50)
299.3 (11.78)
150.6 (5.93)
11.5 (0.45)
3.4 (0.13)
5.0 (0.20)
31.8 (1.25)
179.9 (7.08)
352.2 (13.87)
227.1 (8.94)
1,953.2 (76.90)
Average precipitation days
14.8
12.7
16.4
15.5
10.2
0.9
0.5
3.4
9.0
17.4
19.6
13.9
134.3
Average relative humidity (%)
84
84
83
84
85
84
83
82
82
84
86
84
84
Mean monthly sunshine hours
150.4
160.8
154.5
151.5
147.8
156.3
163.1
135.3
125.7
116.1
115.1
147.2
1,723.8
Source 1: NOAA[ 3]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[ 4]
Climate data for Lambaréné (1961–1990)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
31.5 (88.7)
32.2 (90.0)
32.3 (90.1)
32.5 (90.5)
31.3 (88.3)
28.9 (84.0)
27.9 (82.2)
28.4 (83.1)
30.0 (86.0)
31.0 (87.8)
30.8 (87.4)
30.9 (87.6)
30.6 (87.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)
27.2 (81.0)
27.6 (81.7)
27.6 (81.7)
27.8 (82.0)
27.2 (81.0)
25.3 (77.5)
23.9 (75.0)
24.7 (76.5)
26.1 (79.0)
26.9 (80.4)
26.9 (80.4)
27.1 (80.8)
26.5 (79.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
22.9 (73.2)
22.9 (73.2)
22.8 (73.0)
23.1 (73.6)
23.1 (73.6)
21.7 (71.1)
19.9 (67.8)
20.9 (69.6)
22.2 (72.0)
22.8 (73.0)
23.0 (73.4)
23.2 (73.8)
22.4 (72.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
175.3 (6.90)
145.2 (5.72)
253.8 (9.99)
212.8 (8.38)
162.2 (6.39)
20.9 (0.82)
3.2 (0.13)
6.9 (0.27)
71.0 (2.80)
347.7 (13.69)
393.9 (15.51)
172.0 (6.77)
1,968.9 (77.52)
Average precipitation days
12.1
10.7
15.0
14.1
13.8
2.9
2.1
5.1
9.6
21.9
20.8
12.5
140.6
Average relative humidity (%)
83
81
81
81
83
84
82
81
80
81
83
84
82
Mean monthly sunshine hours
142.9
145.2
145.1
143.1
123.9
74.2
70.6
53.4
55.9
70.9
117.1
129.4
1,271.7
Source: NOAA[ 5]
Climate data for Makokou (1961–1990, extremes 1949–present)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
34.0 (93.2)
41.5 (106.7)
37.0 (98.6)
39.5 (103.1)
41.1 (106.0)
37.3 (99.1)
32.5 (90.5)
33.0 (91.4)
35.4 (95.7)
37.2 (99.0)
36.0 (96.8)
33.5 (92.3)
41.5 (106.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
29.2 (84.6)
30.1 (86.2)
30.5 (86.9)
30.5 (86.9)
29.8 (85.6)
27.7 (81.9)
25.8 (78.4)
26.6 (79.9)
28.7 (83.7)
29.2 (84.6)
28.7 (83.7)
27.6 (81.7)
28.7 (83.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)
24.4 (75.9)
24.9 (76.8)
25.2 (77.4)
25.3 (77.5)
24.8 (76.6)
23.4 (74.1)
22.2 (72.0)
22.5 (72.5)
24.0 (75.2)
24.4 (75.9)
24.1 (75.4)
23.5 (74.3)
24.1 (75.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
19.5 (67.1)
19.7 (67.5)
19.8 (67.6)
20.0 (68.0)
19.8 (67.6)
19.0 (66.2)
18.6 (65.5)
18.4 (65.1)
19.2 (66.6)
19.5 (67.1)
19.5 (67.1)
19.3 (66.7)
19.4 (66.9)
Record low °C (°F)
15.9 (60.6)
15.0 (59.0)
16.3 (61.3)
16.6 (61.9)
16.8 (62.2)
14.2 (57.6)
11.5 (52.7)
13.0 (55.4)
13.5 (56.3)
15.0 (59.0)
17.0 (62.6)
15.2 (59.4)
11.5 (52.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
88.1 (3.47)
106.9 (4.21)
190.0 (7.48)
206.7 (8.14)
187.7 (7.39)
54.1 (2.13)
9.0 (0.35)
29.3 (1.15)
142.9 (5.63)
297.3 (11.70)
225.7 (8.89)
103.3 (4.07)
1,641 (64.61)
Average precipitation days
7.3
8.9
13.7
14.7
15.4
6.5
2.6
3.6
11.2
20.9
17.9
8.8
131.5
Average relative humidity (%)
82
79
79
79
80
83
85
83
80
80
81
83
81
Mean monthly sunshine hours
131.6
137.4
158.2
160.5
150.4
101.5
60.9
58.1
95.5
134.1
132.3
122.8
1,443.3
Source 1: NOAA[ 6]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[ 7]
Extreme points
Topography of Gabon
Gabon's cities, towns and villages
See also
References
^ Murray, N.J.; Phinn, S.R.; DeWitt, M.; Ferrari, R.; Johnston, R.; Lyons, M.B.; Clinton, N.; Thau, D.; Fuller, R.A. (2019). "The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats" . Nature . 565 (7738): 222–225. doi :10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8 . PMID 30568300 . S2CID 56481043 .
^
"Libreville Climate Normals 1961–1990" . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved September 10, 2015 .
^ "Port-Gentil Climate Normals 1961–1990" . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved March 8, 2015 .
^
"Station Port Gentil" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 11 June 2016 .
^ "Lambarn (Lambaréné) Climate Normals 1961–1990" . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved 6 November 2016 .
^ "Makokou Climate Normals 1961–1990" . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved 6 November 2016 .
^
"Station Makokou" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 6 November 2016 .
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook . CIA .
External links
Sovereign states States with limited recognition
Dependencies and other territories
Sovereign states States with limited recognition
Dependencies and other territories