Gabon
The Economy of Gabon
The heart of Gabon economy is the oil industry. Based on the record, Gabon’s oil industry has given the country one of the highest per capita incomes in sub-Saharan Africa. The fluctuating oil market makes Gabon’s economy unstable but it deals with such a compromising situation by contending with diminishing reserves. In fact, the decrease in diminishing reserves has deeply affected the country during the mid-1990s and this can be linked to the exploitation of forest products and extensive mining of manganese. However, due to the prevalence of oil, Gabon’s backbone of the economy, economic improvement took place.
Gabon’s other significant products include: okume or the softwood utilized in making plywood, ebony, rubber, mahogany, and other minerals such as extracted gold, iron ore, and uranium.
The industrial sector of Gabon that drives its economy toward increasing its GDP is from its chief products namely: refined petroleum, food and beverages, chemicals, textiles, and wood products. But the industrialization in Gabon doesn’t stop many Gabonese from engaging in subsistence farming and planting of chief crops like cassava, cocoa, coffee, plantains, sugarcane, and palm products.
Gabon’s main exports products are manganese, uranium ores, cocoa, and crude petroleum. The main imports on the other hand are: machinery and equipment, construction materials, and chemicals. France remains as the country’s leading trade partner together with the United States.
Finally, in terms of transportation system, Gabon is heading forward an improved system of transportation. The construction of the Trans-Gabon railway has paved way to a good start.
