Gabon: Economic and Political Overview
Heavily dependent on the oil sector and on food imports, the Gabonese economy is vulnerable to global fluctuations in commodity prices. The August 2023 coup d’état led to significant shifts in Gabon’s economic policies, including the adoption of more expansionary fiscal measures and enhanced efforts to strengthen institutions and improve transparency in public financial management. In 2023, Gabon's GDP grew by 2.4%, a slowdown from 2022, as railway blockages caused by landslides disrupted manganese and wood exports. Moderate growth is expected to continue at around 2.9% in 2024-26. Declining reserves will begin to reduce oil output in 2025, but growth will be supported by the expansion of the wood industry, oil palm and rubber plantations, and the start of production at new iron and manganese deposits. Additionally, major public projects will drive growth in construction and services.
Gabon’s fiscal stance has loosened significantly since the August 2023 regime change, driven by the new leadership’s focus on addressing social demands through increased government spending. This has included hiring more civil servants and raising the wage bill by 7% annually in both 2024 and 2025. The budget balance shifted from a 2.5% surplus in 2023—when spending remained moderate and revenue growth was strong—to an estimated 0.2% deficit in 2024 on a cash basis. Additionally, in 2024, the government accumulated substantial payment arrears, with Fitch Ratings estimating the deficit on a commitment basis at 1.7% of GDP, compared to a 1.8% surplus in 2023. Fitch also estimates that the non-oil primary balance to non-oil GDP deteriorated to 13.7% of GDP in 2024, from 10.3% in 2023 and 8.5% in 2021; projecting budget deficits of 1.2% of GDP in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026 on a cash basis, rising to 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively, when factoring in the accumulation of new arrears. Meanwhile, debt declined to 67% of GDP in 2024 from 71% one year earlier, driven by external debt repayments and strong nominal GDP growth. However, it is expected to rise again to 71% in 2025 and 72% in 2026 due to lower nominal oil GDP and wider budget deficits. Inflation continued to ease in 2024 due to expanded price ceilings on essential goods, fuel subsidies, and tight monetary policy, and should remain below the 3.0 regional convergence criteria over the forecast horizon.
Gabon is classified as an upper-middle-income country with a GDP per capita above its neighbours (at USD 24,128 PPP in 2024 as per the IMF). However, social indicators lag behind the country's wealth. A third of the population lives below the poverty line (nearly 5% live on less than a dollar and a half every day), and unemployment is very high: in 2023, it stood at 20.3% (World Bank, ILO estimate). The dominance of non-labour-intensive oil and mining industries, limited private sector growth, and mismatched labour skills contribute to such high unemployment. Persistent joblessness, along with underfunded and poorly targeted social protection, is expected to keep poverty levels high, reaching a projected 39.0% by 2025. The absolute number of people living in poverty in Gabon is expected to exceed one million by 2026 (World Bank).
| Main Indicators | 2023 (E) | 2024 (E) | 2025 (E) | 2026 (E) | 2027 (E) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 20.06 | 20.90 | 20.97 | 21.50 | 22.06 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 9,079 | 9,257 | 9,094 | 9,128 | 9,168 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 72.1 | 73.3 | 80.0 | 85.4 | 91.0 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 3.6 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | 1.08 | 1.06 | 0.66 | 0.44 | 0.24 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | 5.4 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 |
Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database, October 2021
Gabon is rich in natural resources. It is among Africa’s largest wood and oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa. The agricultural sector accounts for an estimated 6.5% of GDP (World Bank, latest data available), employing 29.2% of the workforce. Gabon has 22 million hectares of forest, one million hectares of arable agricultural land, and over 800 kilometres of coastline. The sector includes food crops, rubber (especially in the north), and palm oil, with the country relying heavily on food imports: according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Gabon imports food products worth 450 billion CFA annually.
Industry contributes to 53.5% of the country's GDP and around 15.7% of total employment (World Bank). The sector is dominated by petroleum, manganese mining, and timber processing. Hydrocarbons account for 80% of Gabon’s exports and almost half of its GDP (Coface, U.S. ITA). However, the country is facing a decline in its oil reserves. Other activities include textile plants, cement factories, chemical plants, breweries, shipyards, and cigarette factories. Most industrial establishments are located near Libreville and Port-Gentil. Overall, the manufacturing sector is estimated to account for one-fifth of GDP.
The services sector accounts for 38.2% of GDP, employing 55.1% of the active workforce (World Bank). The government is the biggest employer in the sector. Tourism is still embryonic due to poor infrastructures and the country’s landscape mostly covered in forests. Gabon's banking system includes one development bank - the Gabonese Development Bank (BGD) - and five main commercial banks. The International Gabonese and French Bank (BGFI) is the principal bank in Gabon and the largest financial group in the CEMAC zone.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 29.2 | 15.7 | 55.1 |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 6.5 | 53.5 | 38.2 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | -2.0 | 3.9 | 2.5 |
Source: World Bank, Latest Available Data. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.}}
Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
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