Gabon has a developing economy. It is characterized by strong links with France, large foreign investments, dependence on skilled foreign labor, and decline of agriculture. It has a per capita income four times that of most nations of Africa, but its reliance on resource extraction industry fail to release much of the population from extreme poverty, as much as 30% of the population lives under the poverty threshold (Many Foreign Guest Workers). Gabon had a free market economy from the 1990s, other sources claim that Gabon had a mixed economic system with a heavy reliance on oil, combined with relatively weak centralized economic planning and government regulation. Current President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema advocated until mid 2025 for a free market economy system, from then to now, Oligui embraces economic nationalism, which shows in his support of nationalization.

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 (bpd) of crude oil.

The government has plans to diversify its economy away from its dwindling oil reserves.

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.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"

|- style="font-weight:bold;"

! Year

! GDP

(in bil. US$ PPP)

! GDP per capita

(in US$ PPP)

!GDP

(in bil. US$ nominal)

! GDP growth<br />(real, %)

! Inflation<br />(%)

! Government debt<br />(% of GDP)

|-

|1980

|5.9

|7947

|4.6

|0.0

|12.3

|n/a

|-

|1985

|8.7

|10410

|3.7

|5.8

|7.3

|n/a

|-

|1990

|10.5

|11335

|6.3

|5.1

|15.4

|90

|-

|1995

|13.8

|13000

|5.3

|5.0

|9.6

|73.4

|-

|2000

|15.2

|12645

|5.4

|-1.9

|0.5

|72.5

|-

|2005

|18.6

|13661

|9.5

|3.9

|1.2

|41.7

|-

|2006

|18.5

|13240

|10.2

|-3.6

|-1.4

|34.9

|-

|2007

|20.2

|14059

|12.5

|6.5

|5.0

|39.2

|-

|2008

|20.0

|13387

|15.6

|-3.0

|5.3

|20.1

|-

|2009

|19.9

|12821

|12.2

|-1.2

|1.9

|26

|-

|2010

|21.6

|13424

|14.4

|7.4

|1.4

|21.3

|-

|2011

|23.6

|14135

|18.2

|7.1

|1.3

|21.4

|-

|2012

|25.3

|14599

|17.2

|5.3

|2.7

|21.4

|-

|2013

|27.2

|15078

|17.6

|5.5

|0.5

|31.1

|-

|2014

|28.9

|15459

|18.2

|4.4

|4.5

|34.1

|-

|2015

|30.3

|15689

|14.4

|3.9

|-0.1

|44.7

|-

|2016

|31.2

|15764

|14.0

|2.1

|2.1

|64.5

|-

|2017

|31.9

|15761

|14.9

|0.5

|2.7

|62.9

|-

|2018

|34.0

|16587

|16.8

|0.9

|4.8

|62.3

|-

|2019

|36.2

|17385

|16.9

|3.8

|2.0

|59.8

|-

|2020

|33.6

|15952

|15.4

|-1.8

|1.7

|83

|-

|2021

|44.0

|20624

|19.5

|1.5

|1.1

|72.9

|-

|2022

|48.6

|22482

|20.5

|3.0

|4.3

|65.6

|-

|2023

|51.6

|23365

|20.1

|2.4

|3.6

|70.6

|-

|2024

|54.7

|24227

|20.9

|3.4

|1.2

|70.9

|-

|2025

|57.7

|25000

|21.6

|2.5

|2.0

|78.9

|-

|2026

|60.9

|25847

|23.4

|2.7

|2.5

|86.1

|}

See also

  • Agriculture in Gabon
  • Economy of Africa
  • Forestry in Gabon
  • List of companies based in Gabon
  • Mining in Gabon
  • Transport in Gabon
  • Chronology of Gabon
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

References

  • Gabon latest trade data on ITC Trade Map
  • MBendi Gabon overview
  • The Quicker Ticker- Gabon (in french)
  • Legabon.org
  • Gaboneco.com