Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that
of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp
decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a
large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on
timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early
1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to
face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium
exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is
hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened
to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral
debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with
official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone
currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary
surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a
one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95 and a three-year Enhanced
Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late
1995. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal
discipline. France provided additional financial support in January
1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF
mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on
off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on
its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound
of oil prices in 1999 helped growth, but drops in production hampered
Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. With support from higher
oil prices, growth will move up in 2000-01.

purchasing power parity - $7.9 billion (1999 est.)

1.7% (1999 est.)

purchasing power parity - $6,500 (1999 est.)

agriculture: 10%
industry: 60%
services: 30% (1999 est.)

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

2.9% (1999 est.)

600,000

agriculture 60%, services and government
25%, industry and commerce 15%

21% (1997 est.)

revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302
million (1996 est.)

food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement;
petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold
mining; chemicals; ship repair

2.3% (1995)

1.025 billion kWh (1998)

fossil fuel: 27.8%
hydro: 72.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

953 million kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber;
cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish

$2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium
(1998)

US 68%, China 9%, France 8%, Japan 3% (1998)

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals,
petroleum products, construction materials

France 39%, US 6%, Cameroon 5%, Netherlands 5%,
Cote d'Ivoire, Japan (1998)

$4.6 billion (1999 est.)

$331 million (1995)

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
centimes

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1
- 647.25 (January 2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997),
511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995)
note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate
of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

calendar year