In August 2023, Gabon underwent a major political transition after a coup d'état had overthrown a decades-long regime. Despite multiple reform attempts, years of poorly managed oil wealth, weak inclusion, and stagnant incomes fragilized the political and socio-economic environment in the runup...

The Gabon Economic Update is an annual World Bank publication that presents an overview of the evolving macroeconomic position in Gabon, followed by a detailed exploration of a specific topic in each edition. The first chapter analyzes recent economic developments, as well as the macroeconomic...

How are people financially literate in Gabon? This question is addressed using the literacy questions from the 2014 Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey. The study included three groups of participants: students aged 18 and above, adult workers, and entrepreneurs. Two hundred and...

This paper presents Gabon's First and Second Reviews of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Waivers for Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Establishment of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Program implementation has been mixed amid...

Gabon's economic recovery has been intensifying, with oil and other commodities projected to drive GDP growth to 2.7 percent in 2022, up from 1.5 percent in 2021. The fiscal stance improved in 2021 amid contained spending and is expected to turn into a surplus in 2022. While debt-to-GDP remains...

Over-reliance on natural resources has held back diversification of Gabon's economy, as growth, exports, and fiscal revenues are still largely dependent on extractives. Despite Gabon's abundant natural resources, growth has been slow to reduce poverty. In the context of dual shocks from low oil...

This article analyzes the risk perception of COVID-19 in Gabon, in general, and in the capital Libreville, in particular. Unlike work focused on the impact of COVID-19 on public finances, the education system, the digital system and the banking sector, etc., we are interested in its perception...

The Gabonese economy was gradually recovering from the 2014 oil price shock when it was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Decisive confinement measures have helped save lives, but the pandemic and the fall in oil prices have severely hit the economy, increasing unemployment and poverty. With a weak...

The Country Opinion Survey in Gabon assists the World Bank Group (WBG)in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Gabon perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private...

This paper proposes to model the risk of propagation of COVID-19 through the fiat money channel, based on the velocity of money in Gabon. The simulation is made by assuming that one monetary unit is initially carrying the virus and that the “barrier” hygiene measures are not respected. Based...

Since the approval of the first RFI request on April 9, 2020 (IMF Country Report No 20/109), weaker external demand and a more pronounced impact of containment measures have further deteriorated growth prospects and worsened external and fiscal positions. The authorities are requesting a...

This paper highlights Gabon's Request for a Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and concurrent collapse in oil prices are expected to put the economy under extreme stress, particularly in a context of limited financial buffers....

In response to a request from the Gabonese authorities, a mission from the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF visited Libreville to conduct an evaluation of public investment management, using the Public Investment Management Assessment methodology. The report highlights that enhancing the...

Political risks appear to have subsided with the completion of legislative and local elections in October. The economy is slowly recovering, fiscal consolidation has continued, inflation has remained low, and the trade balance has improved. The recovery is expected to firm up in 2019 and the...

This paper presents 2019 Article IV Consultation with Gabon and its Fourth and Fifth Reviews Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and Request for Waiver for NonObservance of Performance Criteria, and Rephasing of the Remaining Purchases. Gabon's performance under the program supported by the...

This Selected Issues on Gabon seeks to quantify the impact of governance reforms on growth. It uses a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model calibrated to Gabon to simulate the potential benefits from governance and anti-corruption reforms to growth and public debt. Vulnerabilities...

Gabon’s national health insurance program (Caisse National d’Assurance Maladie et de Garantie Sociale [CNAMGS]) coupled with medical coverage financing for the poorest has helped advance achievement of universal health coverage. In 1975, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) was created...

"Explorant les problèmes environnementaux sous l'angle du développement durable, en s'appuyant notamment sur des données originales et des outils performants utilisés dans le cadre des sciences de l'environnement, ce livre met en exergue à travers des cas révélateurs l'impact des...

This paper discusses Gabon's Second Review of the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Waivers of Applicability, and Financing Assurances Review. The short-term outlook for Gabon remains challenging. Although a...

Biodiversity informatics is an emerging discipline which deals with the collection, collation, analysis, prediction, and dissemination of data and information related to the earth's biotic resources. This article is a review of the policy and legislation instruments relevant to biodiversity...

Road construction has often been viewed as the precursor to deforestation, especially in tropical forests. Traditional responses to such threats have been reactive, with attempts to mitigate impacts through physical measures, or the establishment of protected areas. These approaches often have...

This paper discusses Gabon's Request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The main goal of the program is to ensure macroeconomic stability and lay the basis for sustainable and equitable growth. To this end, the program seeks to ensure debt sustainability at the...

This paper discusses Gabon's First Review of the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Requests for a Waiver for Nonobservance of Performance Criterion (PCs) and Modifications of PCs, and Financing Assurances Review. The short-term outlook remains challenging. Although a...

Rapid economic growth in China has boosted its demand for commodities. At the same time, many commodity sectors have experienced declining demand from high-income northern economies. This paper examines two hypotheses of the consequences of this shift in final markets for the organization of...

This paper discusses impact of the falling oil prices on the Gabon's economy. With oil accounting for roughly 40 percent of its GDP, 45 percent of its government revenues, and nearly 85 percent of its exports in 2014, Gabon's economic growth prospects depend on how it copes with the recent...

This paper discusses challenges, outlook, and risks of Gabon's economy. Gabon's economy is facing mounting headwinds. Economic activity benefited from a one-off boost in oil production in 2015, due to the introduction of new oil fields and productivity improvements, which are expected to help...

This Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) analyzes the economic and social context of Gabon and what it can do today to end extreme poverty and enhance shared prosperity. It also identifies priority routes to faster progress. Two critical pathways to sustained inclusive growth and shared...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that Gabon’s growth performance has recently been strong, but fiscal pressures have increased significantly. Real GDP growth has averaged about 6 percent in the last four years on the back of substantial scaling-up of capital spending as the...