Country Foundations

Gabon

Constitution in force since 1991, 12,230 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
63%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
68%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+5%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
39%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 69%, gap +69%Right to life0%69%+69%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 63%, gap −37%Freedom from torture100%63%−37%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 79%, gap +79%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%79%+79%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 0%, practiced 68%, gap +68%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…0%68%+68%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 73%, gap +40%Right to a fair and public trial33%73%+40%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure50%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Due process of law100%73%−27%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 66%, gap −34%Freedom of expression100%66%−34%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 52%, gap +52%Freedom of the press0%52%+52%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Freedom of thought and conscience100%83%−17%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Freedom of religion100%75%−25%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 68%, gap +68%Academic freedom0%68%+68%Freedom of assembly — declared 0%, practiced 71%, gap +71%Freedom of assembly0%71%+71%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom of association100%71%−29%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 75%, practiced 64%, gap −11%Right to form and join trade unions75%64%−11%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 65%, gap +15%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%65%+15%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Right to privacy100%85%−15%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Freedom of movement100%84%−16%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Right to own property100%81%−19%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Equality before the law100%79%−21%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Right to education100%65%−35%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 55%, gap −45%Right to health care100%55%−45%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 44%, gap +44%Right to shelter or housing0%44%+44%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 38%, gap −62%Independent judiciary100%38%−62%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001961: constitutional text changed (+5 pts declared)1991: constitutional text changed (+18 pts declared)2018: constitutional text changed (−4 pts declared)19752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1960–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −37%
  • Due process of law −27%
  • Freedom of expression −34%
  • Freedom of religion −25%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +69%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +79%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) +68%
  • Freedom of the press +52%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1983
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1983
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1980
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1983
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2000
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1994
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2007
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2011
Migrant Workers (ICMW)signed only

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.