Economy of Gabon
The economy of Gabon is characterized by strong links with France, large foreign investments, dependence on skilled foreign labor, and decline of agriculture. Gabon on paper enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of GDP (PPP) per capita|Africa], but its reliance on resource extraction industry fail to release much of the population from extreme poverty, as much of 30% of the population lives under the poverty threshold. Gabon has a free market economy, while other sources claim that Gabon has a mixed economic system with a heavy reliance on oil, combined with relatively weak centralized economic planning and government regulation.
Resources
The country is rich in natural resources such as timber, manganese and oil. The country is the fifth largest oil producing nation in Africa, which has helped drive its strong growth in the later 20th century.The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP and 80% of exports. Although there have been recent offshore finds, oil production is now declining from its peak of in 1997, and periods of low oil prices have had a negative impact on government revenues and the economy. In 2012 there were six active oil rigs in Gabon.
As of 2023, Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels a day of crude oil.
The government has plans to diversify its economy away from its dwindling oil reserves. The government announced in 2012 that it would reassess exactly how much iron ore the Belinga site contains before awarding the concession to a mining company, most likely to be China's CMEC, which temporarily secured the rights to the ore in 2007.
Around 80% of Gabonese live in cities. The capital city, Libreville is home to 59% of the total population. The remainder of the country is still sparsely populated, as those areas remain densely forested.
Statistics
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture:
5.7%
industry:
53,53%
services:
37%
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate :
5%
Labour force:
592,000
Labour force - by occupation:
agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15%
Unemployment rate:
21%
Budget:
revenues:
$4.46 billion
expenditures:
$2.75 billion
Industries:
food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining; chemical production; ship repair
Industrial production growth rate:
1.5%
Oil - production
Oil - consumption
Oil - exports
Oil - imports
Oil - proven reserves
Natural gas - production
100 million cu m
Natural gas - consumption
100 million cu m
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m
Natural gas - proven reserves
28.32 billion cu m
Electricity - production:
1.671 TWh
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
27.8%
hydro:
72.2%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0%
Electricity - consumption:
1.365 GWh
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh
Agriculture - products:
cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume ; fish
Current account - balance
$591 million
Currency:
1 Communauté financière africaine franc = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Communauté financière africaine francs per US$1 – 507.71, 472.19, 447.81, 481.83, 522.89, 647.25, 615.70, 589.95, 583.67, 511.55, 499.15
note:
since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro
Statistics table
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017.| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | GDP | GDP growth | Inflation | Government debt |
| 1980 | 6.78 | 9,056 | 4.56 | ... | 12.3% | ... |
| 1985 | 9.89 | 11,853 | 3.74 | 5.8% | 7.3% | ... |
| 1990 | 12.00 | 12,903 | 6.34 | 5.1% | 15.4% | 90% |
| 1995 | 15.76 | 14,788 | 5.28 | 5.0% | 9.6% | 73% |
| 2000 | 17.35 | 14,395 | 5.40 | −1.9% | 0.5% | 72% |
| 2005 | 20.35 | 14,923 | 9.47 | −0.8% | 1.2% | 49% |
| 2006 | 20.58 | 14,720 | 10.16 | −1.9% | −1.4% | 40% |
| 2007 | 22.46 | 15,601 | 12.46 | 6.3% | −1.0% | 39% |
| 2008 | 23.30 | 15,590 | 15.57 | 1.7% | −5.3% | 20% |
| 2009 | 22.94 | 14,789 | 12.19 | −2.3% | 1.9% | 26% |
| 2010 | 24.68 | 15,326 | 14.38 | 6.3% | 1.4% | 21% |
| 2011 | 26.97 | 16,138 | 18.21 | 7.1% | 1.3% | 21% |
| 2012 | 28.91 | 16,665 | 17.18 | 5.3% | 2.7% | 21% |
| 2013 | 31.00 | 17,196 | 17.60 | 5.5% | 0.5% | 31% |
| 2014 | 32.96 | 18,020 | 18.21 | 4.4% | 4.5% | 34% |
| 2015 | 34.61 | 18,655 | 14.39 | 3.9% | −0.1% | 45% |
| 2016 | 35.78 | 19,017 | 14.02 | 2.1% | 2.1% | 64% |
| 2017 | 36.73 | 19,254 | 14.92 | 0.8% | 3.0% | 61% |
| 2018 | 40.78 | 20,123 | 16.83 | 0.4% | 2.0% | 62% |