Economy of Gabon

Economy of Gabon
	Libreville is the capital and financial center of Gabon
Currency	1 Central African CFA franc (XAF) = 100 centimes
Fiscal year	calendar year
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Upper-middle income economy;
Statistics
Population	2,484,789 (2023)
GDP	$21.013 billion (nominal, 2024); $54.47 billion (PPP, 2024);
GDP rank	125th (nominal, 2024); 129th (PPP, 2024);
GDP growth	3% (2022) 2.4% (2023); 3.1% (2024e) 2.6% (2025f);
GDP per capita	$9,257 (nominal, 2024 est.); $24,129 (PPP, 2024 est.);
GDP per capita rank	83rd (nominal, 2024); 78th (PPP, 2024);
GDP by sector	agriculture: 4.5%; industry: 62.7%; services: 32.8% (2010 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	2.1% (2024)
Population below poverty line	33.4% (2017); 32.2% on less than $5.50/day (2017);
Labour force	771,230 (2023 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 60%; industry: 15%; services: 25% (2000 est.)
Unemployment	20.36% (2023 est.)
Main industries	petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement
External
Exports	$12.935 billion (2022 est.)
Export goods	crude oil 70%, timber, manganese
Main export partners	China 43%; South Korea 8%; Italy 7%; India 7%; Indonesia 5%; (2022 est.);
Imports	$3.499 billion (2022 est.)
Import goods	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials
Main import partners	China 22%; France 21%; United Arab Emirates 5%; United States 5%; Belgium 4% (2022 est.);
Gross external debt	$6.06 billion (2022 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	73.3% of GDP (2024 est.)
Foreign reserves	$1.372 billion (2019 est.)
Revenues	$2.939 billion (2021 est.)
Expenses	$2.732 billion (2021 est.)
Economic aid	recipient: $331 million (1995)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:; BB- (Domestic); BB- (Foreign); BBB- (T&C Assessment);
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

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 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 (Many Foreign Guest Workers). 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.