Gabon: Introduction

Gabon is an upper-middle-income, resource-rich country currently undergoing a political transition following a September 2023 coup. While it is Africa's seventh-largest oil producer and aims to double production to 500,000 bpd by 2025 via offshore reserves, it struggles with high youth unemployment, poverty affecting one-third of the population, and a lack of economic diversification.

• Gabon is an upper-middle-income country with significant natural resource wealth, including timber, manganese, natural gas, and crude oil. Forests cover 85% of its landmass, making it the second-largest forest area in Africa.
• Following a coup d'état in September 2023 that ended the Bongo family's rule, Gabon is under a transition government led by Brice Oligui Nguema. A new constitution adopted by referendum in November 2024 introduces presidential term limits and bans family members of a sitting president from running for office, with elections scheduled for 12 April 2025.
• Gabon is the seventh-largest oil producer in Africa and a net exporter, though it holds a small share of global markets. In 2023, its share of OPEC members' crude oil exports was 1.04%. To counter the depletion of mature fields, the transition government aims to double oil production to 500,000 barrels per day by 2025 by developing offshore, deep-water resources, which constitute over 70% of the country's approximately 2 billion barrels of proven reserves.
• Despite its high GDP per capita driven by oil, Gabon faces significant development gaps, including high unemployment (especially among youth), entrenched inequality, and a growing dependence on food imports. Approximately one-third of the population lives in poverty.

APA

Bello-Schünemann, J., & Cilliers, J. (2026). Gabon: Introduction. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=GA&topic=01-introduction

Chicago

Bello-Schünemann, Julia, and Jakkie Cilliers. Gabon: Introduction. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=GA&topic=01-introduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bello-Schünemann |first1=Julia |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=Gabon: Introduction |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=31 May 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=GA&topic=01-introduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{belloschnemann2026gabon, author = {Bello-Schünemann, Julia and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Gabon: Introduction}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=GA&topic=01-introduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }