Gabon 🇬🇦
Gabon is a country in Africa with a population of 2,388,992. Its capital is Libreville. The official currency is XAF, and the main languages are French.
Quick facts
- Capital: Libreville
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 2,388,992
- Area: 267,668 km²
- Density: 8.9 people per km²
- Currency: XAF
- Languages: French
- ISO code: GA
Where Gabon sits
Gabon 🇬🇦 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Libreville. It covers 267,668 square kilometres — 76th in the world — and is home to about 2,388,992 people, 144th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Gabon compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Gabon sits closest to Lesotho and Namibia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are New Zealand and Burkina Faso.
At 8.9 people per square kilometre it is about 6.7 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
French is an official language in 30 countries here, among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi, and 25 others. The XAF is shared with 5 other countries, including Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad, and 2 others.
To see Gabon next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Gabon
Libreville is French for 'free town'. Read Gabon's flag from top to bottom like a map from the inside out: green forest, the yellow line of the equator, then the blue Atlantic.
The flag of Gabon: green, yellow and blue
🇬🇦 The flag is three horizontal stripes of green, yellow and blue. Green stands for the forests, yellow for the equator and the sun, and blue for the sea.
Region and neighbours
Gabon is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, lying on the equator. It shares land borders with 3 countries: Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Congo.
- Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 — capital Malabo
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Three facts about Gabon
- The equator runs through Gabon.
- Rainforest covers most of the country, and the Lopé National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Libreville was founded in 1849 as a settlement for people freed from a slave ship, which is how it got its name.
Sources: Wikipedia: Gabon, Wikipedia: Flag of Gabon, Wikipedia: Libreville, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Gabon
- African capitals quiz — match Gabon to Libreville
- African flags quiz — spot the Gabon flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Gabon
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Gabon those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Libreville
- Gabon capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Gabon
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Gabon
- Capital of Gabon: Libreville — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Gabon flag?
The flag of Gabon is three horizontal stripes of green, yellow and blue. Green stands for the forests, yellow for the equator and the sun, and blue for the sea.
Which countries border Gabon?
Gabon shares land borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Congo.
How can I remember the capital of Gabon?
Libreville is French for 'free town'. Read Gabon's flag from top to bottom like a map from the inside out: green forest, the yellow line of the equator, then the blue Atlantic.