Gabon (GA)

1. Language information / Données sur les langues

1.1 Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

French

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

"National languages" as a category are recognized.

Some forty languages are spoken. Ethnologue has an extensive list at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=GA

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Beti (Fang)

1.2 Language policy / Politique de langue

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Gabon at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/gabon.htm

b) Agencies / Agences :

Faculté des Lettres Universite du Gabon
B.P. 13131 - LIBREVILLE
(Source: UNESCO, 1985)

The interAfrican organisation, CICIBA (le Centre international des civilisations bantu) is based in Libreville.

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 71.0%

1.3 Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

National languages are written with the Latin script, probably extended-Latin (it is not clear if Fang uses extended characters like some other Beti languages or only diacritics; no information on other languages).

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

1.4 Other comments / Autre commentaire :

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2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.1 Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines:
  • Telephone mainlines: 30 per 1000 people (APC)
  • 38,700 (2.86 per 100 people) (ITU 2004 cited in Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)
  • "Historic fixed operator": Gabon Telecom (ITU 2004 cited in Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)
• Mobile subscriptions:
  • 300,000 (22.4 per 100 people) (ITU 2004 cited in Vodafone 2005)
  • 500,000 (Pro€Invest 2006)
  • Operators: Libertis, Celtel, Telecel (Pro€Invest 2006)
• Ratio of mobile / total telephone subscribers: 92.7% (Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI: 3 (Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)
  • Technologies used: RTC, LS, XDSL, Wi-Fi (Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.2 Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 40,000 (2.96 per 100 people) (ITU 2004 cited in Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

b) Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 40,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 2.8% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.33 (ITU 2006)

2.3 ICT policy / Politique de TIC

ARTEL is the telecommunications regulatory body (Pro€Invest-CDE 2006)

According to Pro€Invest-CDE (2006) there has been

• "Realisation of a development plan for the telecommunications network"
• Coordinating institution(s): Ministry of Communication, Post, Telecommunications and New information technologies

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Gabon" has some information and links:

• In English: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21853e_1
• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21853e_1

2.4 ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

2.5 Resources / Ressources

Institutions:

• Institut Supérieur de Technologies (IST) http://www.educasup.gouv.ga/Univers_Ecoles/ist.htm
• Institut Africain d'Informatique (IAI), Cameroon (also serves Gabon)

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3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.1 Country web content / Contenu web du pays

Selected pages:

• Présidence http://www.omarbongo.org/
• Gabonews http://www.gabonews.ga/
• Portail commercial de GabonTelecom http://www.ogooue.ga/

3.2 Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(See also specific language pages.)

3.3 Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

Not aware of any software localisation activities.

(See also specific language pages.)

3.4 Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

3.5 Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

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4. References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Gabon," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21853e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Gabon," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21853e_1 )

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Gabon," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/gabon.htm

Pro€Invest - Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE). 2006. "Investment opportunities in the ICT and e-business services sector in Central Africa." Presented at NOVATECH 2006 (West & Central Africa), Bamako, Mali, 7-9 November 2006 http://www.proinvest-eu.org/files/pubs/37/NOVATECH%20-%20Etude_CAF%20en.pdf ("Opportunités d'investissement dans les TIC et des services e.business en Afrique Centrale," http://www.proinvest-eu.org/files/pubs/36/NOVATECH%202006%20-%20Etude_sectorielle%20CAF.pdf )

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Gabon," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=GA

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

Wikipedia, "Languages of Gabon," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Gabon

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