Economy (Gabon)
===============


     Overview:
         The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now
         dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85, oil accounted for
         about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government revenues on
         average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a substantial
         increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand, reinforced
         migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real wages to
         among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of Gabon's
         economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, was reversed in 1989
         because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the
         economy posted strong growth despite serious strikes, but debt servicing
         problems are hindering economic advancement. The agricultural and industrial
         sectors are relatively underdeveloped, except for oil.
     GDP:
         exchange rate conversion - $3.3 billion, per capita $3,090; real growth rate
         13% (1990 est.)
     Inflation rate (consumer prices):
         3% (1989 est.)
     Unemployment rate:
         NA%
     Budget:
         revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital
         expenditures of $277 million (1990 est.)
     Exports:
         $1.16 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
       commodities:
         crude oil 70%, manganese 11%, wood 12%, uranium 6%
       partners:
         France 53%, US 22%, FRG, Japan
     Imports:
         $0.78 billion (c.i.f., 1989)
       commodities:
         foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials,
         manufactures, machinery
       partners:
         France 48%, US 2.6%, FRG, Japan, UK
     External debt:
         $3.4 billion (December 1990 est.)
     Industrial production:
         growth rate -10% (1988 est.)
     Electricity:
         315,000 kW capacity; 995 million kWh produced, 920 kWh per capita (1991)
     Industries:
         petroleum, food and beverages, timber, cement, plywood, textiles, mining -
         manganese, uranium, gold
     Agriculture:
         accounts for 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cash crops -
         cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock not developed; importer of food; small
         fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons; okoume (a
         tropical softwood) is the most important timber product
     Economic aid:
         US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $66 million; Western (non-US)
         countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,225 million;
         Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
     Currency:
         Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
         = 100 centimes