Gabon Economy - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

natural resource-rich, upper-middle-income, Central African economy; sparsely populated but high urbanization; young labor force; oil, manganese, and rubber exporter; foreign investment dependent; data integrity issue on poverty and income

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$32.34 billion (2021 est.)

$31.874 billion (2020 est.)

$32.471 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

1.46% (2021 est.)

-1.84% (2020 est.)

3.92% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$13,800 (2021 est.)

$13,900 (2020 est.)

$14,500 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$16.064 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.18% (2020 est.)

2.46% (2019 est.)

4.75% (2018 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: CCC (2020)

Moody's rating: Caa1 (2018)

Standard & Poors rating: N/A (2016)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 5% (2017 est.)

industry: 44.7% (2017 est.)

services: 50.4% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 37.6% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 14.1% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 29% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: -0.6% (2016 est.)

exports of goods and services: 46.7% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -26.8% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

plantains, cassava, sugar cane, yams, taro, vegetables, maize, groundnuts, game meat, rubber

Industries

petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

Industrial production growth rate

3.2% (2021 est.)

Labor force

718,400 (2021 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 64%

industry: 12%

services: 24% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate

22.26% (2021 est.)

21.97% (2020 est.)

20.74% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 38.4%

male: 33.7%

female: 44.4% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

33.4% (2017 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

38 (2017 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.5%

highest 10%: 32.7% (2005)

Budget

revenues: $3.296 billion (2019 est.)

expenditures: $2.937 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-1.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

62.7% of GDP (2017 est.)

64.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

11.48% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$725 million (2017 est.)

-$1.389 billion (2016 est.)

Exports

$10.8 billion (2019 est.)

$9.533 billion (2018 est.)

$9.145 billion (2017 est.)

Exports - partners

China 63%, Singapore 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, manganese, lumber, veneer sheeting, refined petroleum (2021)

Imports

$5.02 billion (2019 est.)

$4.722 billion (2018 est.)

$4.749 billion (2017 est.)

Imports - partners

France 22%, China 17%, Belgium 6%, United States 6%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

poultry meats, excavation machinery, packaged medicines, cars, rice (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$1.372 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

$1.321 billion (31 December 2018 est.)

$965.054 million (31 December 2017 est.)

Debt - external

$6.49 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$5.321 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar -

554.531 (2021 est.)

575.586 (2020 est.)

585.911 (2019 est.)

555.446 (2018 est.)

580.657 (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Gabon on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gabon 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gabon 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.