Economy

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...

In a country where public investment programmes have been pivotal for economic growth over the past several years, authorities are nonetheless well aware of the value of stoking private sector growth. However, there are challenges ahead, as, according to the World Bank, Gabon was ranked 144th out of 189 countries in its 2015 “Doing Business”...

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...

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.