Article Outline
The economy of Gabon is largely dependent on the exploitation of mineral and forest resources, particularly oil. While Gabon’s gross domestic product of $5,821.10 per capita in 2005 was the highest in Africa, the economy fluctuates with world petroleum prices. The national budget in 1993 included revenues of $1.3 billion and expenditures of 1.6 billion.
The economy of Gabon has a large subsistence agriculture sector, occupying 52 percent of the active labor force. Cassava, plantains, sugarcane, yams, and taro are grown for home consumption, and small amounts of cacao, coffee, palm oil, peanuts, and pepper are grown for export. Surplus sugarcane is also refined and exported.
Gabon is the world’s largest producer of okoume, a softwood that is used to make plywood. In 2005 the timber cut in Gabon was 3.7 million cu m (132 million cu ft). The government is engaged in preservation and reforestation programs. The fish catch in 2004 was 46,040 metric tons.
Mining has developed rapidly since Gabon’s independence in 1960. Annual production of extremely high-grade manganese ore, from Moanda in the southeast, was 1,090,000 metric tons in 2004. The rich deposits of iron ore located at Mekambo and Bélinga in the northeast have reserves estimated at more than 500 million metric tons. Exploitation of the iron ore has been hampered by the lack of transportation facilities, particularly railroads. Uranium production annually totaled about 710 metric tons in the early 1990s. Petroleum is extracted along the coast and offshore. Petroleum production, which stood at 56.8 million barrels annually in the late 1980s, was declining due to depletion of reserves until a major new field was tapped. Production increased to 88 million barrels in 2004. Oil refineries are located at Port-Gentil and Pointe Clairette. Production of petroleum products is about 491,000 metric tons per year. Some gold also is mined.
Gabon has a small manufacturing sector, the leading products being refined petroleum and wood items. Other manufactures include processed food, beer, and cement. Some 1,487 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated in 2003. Hydroelectric facilities, primarily an installation at Kinguélé, near Libreville, accounted for 65 percent of the total amount.
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