The Report: Gabon 2014

Book excerpt: With just 1.63m people, Gabon is the second-smallest member of the six-country Central African Economic and Monetary Community in terms of population, after Equatorial Guinea. However, the country’s well-developed hydrocarbons sector has made Gabon the second-largest economy in the sub-region. The economy of Gabon has largely developed on the back of the country’s substantial oil and gas resources; however, declining production levels are leading the government to pursue a strategy of economic diversification. While efforts to encourage new investment and offshore oil exploration may yet yield results, the development of other industries, including forestry and mining, is being encouraged. Meanwhile, like many African countries, Gabon is working to ensure that a larger percentage of natural resource wealth is channelled into the national economy.