Country Profile
From The Report: Gabon 2015
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Situated on Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, Gabon is part of a select grouping of upper-middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Timber, oil and mineral reserves form the backbone of the economy. The political system is stable and the country plays a leading role in the region through its membership in the CEMAC economic bloc. Gabon has strong ties with Europe, and especially France, for historical reasons, but it has strived in recent years to broaden its economic and diplomatic partners, and several emerging powers from elsewhere in Asia and Africa are playing a bigger role in investment flows. Exogenous pressures, including a drop in commodity prices, especially oil, have presented short-term challenges and prompted budgetary revisions.

This chapter also includes interviews with President Ali Bongo Ondimba and Prime Minister Daniel Ona Ondo, as well as viewpoints from US Vice-President Joe Biden and Pierre Moussa, President, CEMAC Commission.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Steady ahead: An upper-middle-income economy driven by commodities
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Situated on Africa’s Gulf of Guinea and bordered by a host of low- and lower-middle-income economies, Gabon is part of a select grouping of upper-middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is in large part due to it being endowed with substantial natural resources, including oil, metal and mineral reserves, alongside fertile soil and a favourable climate, which greatly benefit the country’s small population. With a political system that has seen only two heads of state over the past…

Overview

Finding the path: Short-term cyclical pressures present political challenges
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Over the past five decades, Gabon has proven itself to be one of the most politically stable countries on the continent, in spite of the challenges it shares with so many of its neighbours, such as a dependence on commodities. Relatively smooth transitions of power, a modest population size, high per-capita income levels, and a lack of major social or political rifts have provided a favourable environment for growth. However, the government now faces trying times as short-term cyclical pressures…

Analysis

Continental links: Cooperation between and within African regions increases
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As evidenced by its participation in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale, CEMAC), Gabon has long sought to cultivate strong business and trade ties within Africa (see analysis). As the continent’s GDP and economic clout have risen over the past decade, those efforts have intensified, yielding some notable success in terms of inbound investment and technical assistance. New Arrivals In recent years, Gabon…

Interview

OBG talks to President Ali Bongo Ondimba: Interview
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Interview: President Ali Bongo Ondimba What are the priority measures to be implemented under Gabon’s Social Pact? PRESIDENT ALI BONGO ONDIMBA: Gabon has the highest per capita health care spending of any country in Africa. We have seen significant progress in the health sector, with universal health coverage reaching out to more than half of the population and improvements in antenatal care. Huge efforts have also been made to create a performing health care system that should lead to a rapid…

Analysis

Partners new and old: Broadening its diplomatic and economic ties
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Although it remains deeply influenced by its historical ties to Europe, Gabon has strived in recent years to broaden its economic and diplomatic partners. France remains one of the country’s closest trading partners and also one of its largest investors. With several emerging economic powers from elsewhere in Asia and Africa playing a bigger role in investment flows, Libreville has sought to adopt a more multifaceted approach to its economic diplomacy. Traditional Partners As the former colonial…

Interview

OBG talks to Prime Minister Daniel Ona Ondo: Interview
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Interview: Daniela Ona Ondo How can diversification efforts be accelerated? DANIELA ONA ONDO: In recent years, Gabon’s guiding policy for economic and social development has been centred around the Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan, which was passed in 2010 and emphasises diversification. The plan has paid off: in the 2012-14 period the Gabonese economy posted average growth of 5.3%, while inflation was contained to an average of 1.8%. The economy is expected to post higher growth of 7.2% in the…

Analysis

All together: Regional economic integration holds promise beyond the hurdles
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Although it has one of the region’s smallest populations, Gabon has long been a visible and effective diplomatic player in Central Africa, aided in part by strong ties to France – and more recently Asian economies – as well as by a comparatively high per-capita income and GDP. The clearest example of the country’s clout is within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Communauté Économique et Monétaire des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale, CEMAC), the regional economic body…

Viewpoint

Joe Biden, US Vice-President, on fostering entrepreneurship and fighting corruption
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People everywhere in the world are hungry for economic opportunity. And it’s about a lot more than being able to make money. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about your place in your community. And to be frank, the challenges ahead for all of us are immense, especially in regions with developing economies and rapidly growing populations. In the Middle East and Africa, for example, in a race to create tens of millions of jobs, just to break even, as the demographic wave of…

Viewpoint

Pierre Moussa, President, CEMAC Commission, on the solutions for and challenges to regional development
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CEMAC countries have to face major challenges with regards to their economic and political situations. On the security side, the political upheaval in the Central African Republic and the development of terrorism along CEMAC borders, notably from Boko Haram, is threatening the entire region and, consequently, the capacity to attract investment. On the economic side, almost all CEMAC countries are oil producers. With the sharp drop in oil prices since 2014, budget revenues have been cut by 50%. This…