The total capital wealth of Gabon is estimated at nearly 60,000 billion CFA francs (approximately 104.5 billion USD) in 2020. This estimate comes from the report “Changing Wealth of Nations 2024” (CWON) published by the World Bank. Over twenty-five years, between 1995 and 2020, the country’s wealth has grown by 35%, reflecting real economic potential, but still underexploited.
According to the Bretton Woods institution, this wealth is mainly based on natural capital, representing 57.3% of the total, followed by human capital at 33.7%. In contrast, financial and entrepreneurial capital remains marginal. The report highlights that the formal productive fabric remains underdeveloped, with only one listed company, BGFI Holding, on the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC). The Gabonese economy is also characterized by a strong predominance of micro-enterprises, representing 95.7% of economic units, while 62.9% of activities are informal.
Abundant yet undervalued capital
The World Bank estimates that Gabon’s capital is underutilized considering the country’s structural potential. With a forest cover of 88%, a coastline of nearly 800 kilometers, low local processing of raw materials, and still limited export diversification, the country nevertheless has considerable assets to strengthen value creation.
The report also highlights the weight of raw materials in the economy. Revenues from natural resources represent 18.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with 84% coming from oil and 14% from forests. This dependency exposes the economy to exogenous shocks related to the volatility of international prices.
Additional data from the African Development Bank (AfDB) confirm this vulnerability. In 2024, the oil sector alone accounted for 46% of tax revenues, while the non-oil tax pressure rate stood at 17.6% of the non-oil GDP. At the same time, operating expenses absorbed 110.1% of tax revenues, significantly reducing the state’s capacity to finance structural investments.
The levers to create more wealth
For the African Development Bank (AfDB), the key lies in better valuing existing capital. The institution recommends diversifying and more efficiently exploiting natural capital, particularly through the development of local value chains in timber, agribusiness, and extractive industries, but also through new growth drivers such as carbon credits, ecotourism, and the blue economy.
The pan-African bank also advocates for a significant improvement in the business environment, focusing on transport, energy, and logistics infrastructure, strengthening human capital, developing the financial sector, and the rise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Finally, improving governance, combating corruption, formalizing businesses, and strengthening the statistical system, particularly to better integrate natural capital into GDP calculation, appear as essential prerequisites to transform Gabon’s potential into sustainable wealth.
