Gabon

Gabon's original inhabitants were the pygmy peoples. Beginning in the 14th century, Bantu migrants began settling in the area as well. Since its independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had three presidents. In the 1990s, it introduced a multi-party system and a democratic constitution that aimed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed some governmental institutions. Despite this, the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) remained the dominant party until its removal from the 2023 Gabonese coup d'état.


Gabon is a developing country, ranking 112th in the Human Development Index. It is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa in terms of per capita income; however, large parts of the population are very poor. Omar Bongo came to office in 1967 and created a dynasty, which stabilized its power through a clientist network, Françafrique.^[10]


The official language of Gabon is French, and Bantu ethnic groups constitute around 95% of the country's population. Christianity is the nation's predominant religion, practised by about 76% of the population. With petroleum and foreign private investment, it has the fourth highest HDI^[9] (after Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa) and the fifth highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Seychelles, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) of any African nation. Gabon's nominal GDP per capita is $10,149 in 2023 according to OPEC.^[11]

Oil revenues constitute roughly 46% of the government's budget, 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of exports. Oil production declined from its higher point of 370,000 barrels per day in 1997. Some estimates suggest that Gabonese oil will be expended by 2025. Planning is beginning for an after-oil scenario.^[16] The Grondin Oil Field was discovered in 50 m (160 ft) water depths 40 km (25 mi) offshore, in 1971 and produces from the Batanga sandstones of Maastrichtian age forming an anticline salt structural trap which is about 2 km (1.2 mi) deep.^[41]


As of 2023, Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil.^[42]


"Overspending" on the Trans-Gabon Railway, the CFA franc devaluation of 1994, and periods of lower oil prices caused debt problems.^[16]


Successive International Monetary Fund (IMF) missions have criticized the Gabonaise government for overspending on off-budget items (in good years and bad), over-borrowing from the central bank, and slipping on the schedule for privatization and administrative reform. In September 2005 Gabon successfully concluded a 15-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF. A three-year Stand-By Arrangement with IMF was approved in May 2007. Because of the financial crisis and social developments surrounding the death of President Omar Bongo and the elections, Gabon was unable to meet its economic goals under the Stand-By Arrangement in 2009.^[16]


Gabon's oil revenues have given it a per capita GDP of $8,600. A "skewed income distribution" and "poor social indicators" are "evident".^[43] The richest 20% of the population earn over 90% of the income while about a third of the Gabonese population lives in poverty.^[16]


The economy is dependent on extraction. Before the discovery of oil, logging was the "pillar" of the Gabonese economy. Then, logging and manganese mining are the "next-most-important" income generators. Some explorations suggest the presence of the world's largest unexploited iron ore deposit. For some who live in rural areas without access to employment opportunity in extractive industries, remittances from family members in urban areas or subsistence activities provide income.^[16]


Foreign and local observers have lamented the lack of diversity in the Gabonese economy. Factors that have "limited the development of new industries" were listed as follows:


Further investment in the agricultural or tourism sectors is "complicated by poor infrastructure". Some processing and service sectors are "largely dominated by a few prominent local investors".^[16]


At World Bank and IMF insistence, the government embarked in the 1990s on a program of privatization of its state-owned companies and administrative reform, including reducing public sector employment and salary growth. A government has voiced a commitment to work toward an economic transformation of the country.^[16]