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Main Crops: food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining;chemicals; ship repair .
Natural Resources: Petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore .
Major Industries:Food Processing, Motor Vehicles, Consumer Durables.
Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most Sub-Saharan African nations, but because of high income inequality, a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon relied on timber and manganese exports until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. From 2010 to 2016, oil accounted for approximately 80% of Gabon’s exports, 45% of its GDP, and 60% of its state budget revenues.
Gabon faces fluctuating international prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. A rebound of oil prices from 2001 to 2013 helped growth, but declining production, as some fields passed their peak production, has hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. GDP grew nearly 6% per year over the 2010-14 period, but slowed significantly from 2014 to just 1% in 2017 as oil prices declined. Low oil prices also weakened government revenue and negatively affected the trade and current account balances. In the wake of lower revenue, Gabon signed a 3-year agreement with the IMF in June 2017.
Despite an abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management and over-reliance on oil has stifled the economy. Power cuts and water shortages are frequent. Gabon is reliant on imports and the government heavily subsidizes commodities, including food, but will be hard pressed to tamp down public frustration with unemployment and corruption.
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | |
| GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) | 4.58 | 3.8 | 12.76 | 15.65 |
| GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) | 4,820 | 3,100 | 7,850 | 7,030 |
| GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions) | 10.62 | 14.56 | 20.93 | 31.84 |
| GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) | 11,180 | 11,850 | 12,890 | 14,300 |
| GDP (current US$) (billions) | 5.95 | 5.08 | 14.37 | 15.32 |
| GDP growth (annual %) | 5.2 | -1.9 | 7.1 | -1.8 |
| Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) | 15.4 | 28.1 | 16.6 | -9.2 |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP) | 43 | 56 | 55 | 41 |
| Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 46 | 69 | 58 | 48 |
| Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 31 | 33 | 31 | 23 |
| Gross capital formation (% of GDP) | 22 | 22 | 30 | 20 |
| Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) | .. | .. | 29.8 | 19.4 |
| Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) | .. | .. | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| States and markets | ||||
| Time required to start a business (days) | .. | .. | 54 | 10 |
| Domestic credit provided by financial sector (% of GDP) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Tax revenue (% of GDP) | .. | .. | 14.1 | 11.5 |
| Military expenditure (% of GDP) | .. | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
| Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) | 0 | 9.8 | 99.1 | 138.8 |
| Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | 0 | 1.2 | 13 | 61 |
| High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Statistical Capacity Score (Overall Average) (scale 0 - 100) | .. | .. | 40 | 40 |
| Global links | ||||
| Merchandise trade (% of GDP) | 52 | 70 | 81 | 51 |
| Net barter terms of trade index (2000 = 100) | 157 | 100 | 195 | 133 |
| External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) (millions) | 3,983 | 3,930 | 2,929 | 7,616 |
| Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | 6.4 | 10 | 4.8 | .. |
| Net migration (thousands) | 5 | 25 | 100 | 16 |
| Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions) | 1 | 6 | 38 | 18 |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) | 73 | 278 | 524 | 1,717 |
| Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions) | 131.2 | 11.9 | 106.3 | 116.7 |