Country Profile
From The Report: Gabon 2016
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Gabon covers an area of 267,667 sq km, with 10,000 sq km of narrow coastline stretching across 885 km of the Gulf of Guinea. Gabon’s vast forested areas are home to more than 3000 species of vegetation and at least 190 species of mammals. The population comprises 40 separate ethnic groups, the majority of which speak Bantu languages, which are classified into 10 linguistic groups. According to the latest available official data, as of 2013 Gabon’s population totalled just 1.8m, compared to 22.3m in Cameroon and 4.6m in the Republic of the Congo. Like many oil-dependent nations, Gabon’s economy has felt the impact of depressed global oil prices in recent years, with the World Bank reporting that real GDP fell from $18.18bn in 2014 to $14.34bn in 2015. As a result, the government, which in 2009 launched its guiding economic strategy, Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan, has hastened its efforts to expand the scope of economic activity, with several major new agricultural projects due to come on-stream in the near future.

This chapter includes interviews with President Ali Bongo Ondimba; Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank; Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry; and Pierre Moussa, President, CEMAC Commission.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Harnessing potential: Diversification key as activity contracts in major industries
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An oil-rich equatorial country in West Africa, Gabon’s abundant natural resources have given it one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa, though lower oil revenues has seen growth contract in recent years. Nonetheless, thousands of kilometres of dense jungle rich in minerals and timber, decades of political stability and strong ties with both the EU and Gabon’s regional neighbours should help the country withstand near-term oil shocks. History Although there is little historical record…

Overview

Strength in numbers: Broadening international partnerships central to non-oil growth
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Unlike many of its regional neighbours, Gabon’s independence from its colonial European government did not result in years of civil conflict. Today, the country stands as one of the most wealthy nations in sub-Saharan Africa, which it largely owes to its robust hydrocarbons reserves. President Ali Bongo Ondimba has served as head of state for the past seven years – following the death in 2009 of his father and former leader Omar Bongo Ondimba – and won re-election in August 27, 2016 in the…

Interview

Shared dynamics: OBG talks to President Ali Bongo Ondimba
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Interview:President Ali Bongo Ondimba How effective has the Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan (Plan Stratégique Gabon Emergent, PSGE) been in achieving its goals? PRESIDENT ALI BONGO ONDIMBA: When I was named president in 2009, the world had just started to recuperate from the financial crisis of 2007-08. We were seeing how the economic and social model based on oil revenues was eroding and no longer able to drive growth. Therefore, the priority has been to rebuild confidence among investors…

Analysis

High priority: The role of education is key in attaining the country’s goals
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One of the three key pillars of the Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan is Services Gabon, which addresses the development of a skilled labour force and aims to establish the country as a regional centre for financial services, tertiary education, health and environmentally sustainable development. To this end, efforts are now under way to increase the number of schools and training institutions, train and recruit more teachers, and produce reliable statistics on student performance. Adaptation According…

Interview

A resilient future: OBG talks to Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB)
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Interview:Akinwumi Adesina How can the vulnerability of African markets to global shocks be reduced? AKINWUMI ADESINA: Several commodity exporters in Africa, including South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and oil exporters such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo have been severely hit by the dip in commodity prices and the slowdown in China’s economy. These events have led to significant revenue shortfalls in these countries. The…

Overview

Stronger together: Gabon serves as a leading member of one of Africa’s ascendant regional economic blocs
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Gabon is one of the member nations of CEMAC, which was created to integrate regional economies and boost trade. While the bloc has successfully established the free movement of capital, a shared currency and a wide range of common regional institutions, a number of the other aspects of the proposed integration have proceeded sluggishly. This has slowed economic growth and trade, and helped sustain a dependence on oil revenues for some of the member states. Regional Bloc The CEMAC zone was founded…

Interview

Developing potential: OBG talks to Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade)
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Interview:Lim Hng Kiang What are the advantages to investing in resource-rich African markets such as Gabon? LIM HNG KIANG: The challenging global near-term outlook for resource-based sectors has encouraged governments to intensify their economic diversification efforts. Resource-rich countries such as Gabon can strengthen their industrial bases against downturns in the commodity markets by staying the course towards greater diversification and committing to reinvesting their natural resource…

Interview

Made to measure: OBG talks to Pierre Moussa, President, CEMAC Commission
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Interview:Pierre Moussa What do current economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations with the EU entail? PIERRE MOUSSA: The ongoing EPA negotiations between the EU and CEMAC are a result of findings published in the EU’s “Green Papers”, which showed that the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) had not fully benefited from non-reciprocal preferential trade arrangements. The primary reasons for this were identified as a lack of production capacity and the non-compliance…