about gabon

official name: Gabonese Republic
capital: Libreville
head of state: President El Hadj Omar Bongo
state: multi party democracy
population: 1,424,906 
independence: from France in 1960
languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
religion: Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%
currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)
media: NA

legal wise

status of homosexuality: legal
age of consent: 15 (heterosexual) 21 (homosexual male and female))
laws covering homosexual activity: Homosexual conduct not mentioned in criminal law as being offence. Gabon has no sodomy law.

background information and government attitudes: Here is a provision from the penal code of Gabon, setting unequal ages of consent for hetero- and homosexual sex. The law came into force in 1969 (there was no specific mention of homosexual sex before that date) and may still be in force. Note, however, that I�ve dated it 1969-94, given that the last official publication I have is from 1994.

Penal Code 1969-94
Article 258: Whoever commits an indecent assault, real or attempted without violence, on a child of either sex under 15, shall be punished with imprisonment of 3 to 6 years. Whoever has perpetrated an act of gross indecency or an act against nature on an individual of his or her own sex under 21 shall be punished with imprisonment of 1 to 3 years.

(David John Frank, Associate Professor, Harvard University - February 2002) Source ILGA

communication

Main lines in use: 39,100 (2005)
Cellular telephones: 649,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)
Internet hosts: 322 (2006)
Internet users: 67,000 (2005)