Gabonese economy
The Economy of Gabon is constitutionally private sector oriented.
For this purpose, numerous state-owned companies have been privatized since 1995. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of 4,000 euros per capita, Gabon is one of the richest countries in Africa . Nevertheless, there are still a few problems in the country, including the high national debt and heavy dependence on the price of oil . The external debt of Gabon is 3.6 billion US dollars.
Agriculture
The agriculture consists mainly of shifting cultivation . Some of the crops are grown for personal use. These include cassava , sweet potatoes, and yams . Other important agricultural products are coffee , cocoa , peanuts and oil palms .
Natural resources
Gabon has rich mineral resources , which include oil and manganese . The oil is produced off-shore and on-shore, whereby the production costs are very high. However, the delivery rate has been falling for several years. While the output was still 18.4 million tons in 1997, it fell to 12.6 million tons by 2002. If no new rich deposits are found, production can drop to 9 million tons over the next five years. Gabon also produces 13% of the world's manganese produced. When uranium mining was stopped in 1999, the last 358 tons of uranium ore were mined.
Industry
In the course of privatization , the electricity and water supplier SEEG, the Gabonaise railway, the Air Gabon airline and the state telephone company have been converted.
Key figures
All GDP values are given in US dollars ( purchasing power parity ).
year | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (purchasing power parity) |
6.78 billion | 9.89 billion | 12.00 billion | 15.76 billion | 17.35 billion | 20.35 billion | 20.58 billion | 22.46 billion | 23.30 billion | 22.94 billion | 24.68 billion | 26.97 billion | 28.91 billion | 31.00 billion | 32.96 billion | 34.61 billion | 35.78 billion | 36.73 billion |
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) |
9,056 | 11,853 | 12,903 | 14,788 | 14,395 | 14,923 | 14,720 | 15,601 | 15,590 | 14,789 | 15,326 | 16,138 | 16,665 | 17,196 | 18,020 | 18,655 | 19,017 | 19,254 |
GDP growth (real) |
... | 5.8% | 5.1% | 5.0% | −1.9% | −0.8% | −1.9% | 6.3% | 1.7% | −2.3% | 6.3% | 7.1% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 2.1% | 0.8% |
Inflation (in percent) |
12.3% | 7.3% | 15.4% | 9.6% | 0.5% | 1.2% | −1.4% | −1.0% | 5.3% | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 0.5% | 4.5% | −0.1% | 2.1% | 3.0% |
Public debt (as a percentage of GDP) |
... | ... | 90% | 73% | 72% | 49% | 40% | 39% | 20% | 26% | 21% | 21% | 21% | 31% | 34% | 45% | 64% | 61% |
Foreign trade
The main export products are petroleum, manganese and wood. The USA is the main buyer of oil with 56%. Goods are imported from France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Japan. It exports to Germany, France, China, the USA and Japan. Gabon's trade balance is positive.
Individual evidence
- ^ Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. Retrieved September 5, 2018 (American English).