Gabon

The country of Gabon, in central Africa, was a French colony until it gained independence in 1960. With a population of 1.5 million (2005 estimate), it has a female life expectancy of 55.8 years. Gabon has a birth rate of 36.2 per 1,000 people, with an infant mortality rate of 54.5 per 1,000 live births.

Many precolonial traditions in Bantu society continue in modern Gabon, with girls marrying very young, sometimes at early as 11 or 12 years of age. This has helped contribute to the high maternal mortality rate of 420 deaths per 100,000 live births. Because of the income brought in by the country's oil boom starting in the 1980s, about 94 percent of pregnant women receive at least some professional prenatal care, with 86 percent of mothers having the help of a trained professional during childbirth.

The country's wealth has enabled the government to provide schools and education for girls, and it has been estimated that a third of females in the country have access to contraception. Abortion is only allowed in exceptional cases, but illegal abortions do take place. In spite of the fact that Libreville, the country's capital, has a well-developed health services system, some 60 percent of the population live in the countryside and rely on agriculture, and 12 percent of the population do not have easy access to clean drinking water. However, the government of President Omar Bongo has done much to improve the situation, and the oil wealth has ensured that conditions in the country remain much better than those of its neighbors; the country has 27 hospitals and nearly 700 clinics. Gabon is one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa where there are maternity benefits and family allowances for mothers.