Economy - overview:
Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. Gabon signed a 14 month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $7.966 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 46.7%
services: 45.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
650,000 (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25%
Unemployment rate:
21% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
21.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.129 billion
expenditures: $1.64 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2004 est.)
Public debt:
29.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish
Industries:
petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair; food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement
Industrial production growth rate:
1.6% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
1.161 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption:
1.08 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
264,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Oil - proved reserves:
2.022 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production:
80 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
80 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
66.47 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance:
$196.8 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$3.71 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)
Exports - partners:
US 51.9%, China 9.1%, France 7.7% (2004)
Imports:
$1.225 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials
Imports - partners:
France 46.1%, US 6.8%, UK 6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$268.6 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$3.804 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$331 million (1995)
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
