Gabon — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Gabon: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Gabon is in Central Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea. It covers 267,667 sq km. Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south. Climate: tropical; always hot, humid.
| Capital | Libreville |
|---|---|
| Population | 2,513,738 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $48.045 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $18,900 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 3.4% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 1.2% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 20.1% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 64.2% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $13.622 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $6.094 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 70.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 22.3 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 91% of total population (2023) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Independence | 17 August 1960 (from France) |
| Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Gabon’s GDP is $48.045 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $20.867 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 3.4% (2024 est.). See where Gabon ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
An uneventful quarter, recorded without embellishment: no breakthrough to celebrate, no setback to mourn.
The longer forces — demographics, trade routes, regional balances — kept doing what they do, and the country rode them steadily.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 1.2%; a top world supplier of Manganese — commodities the planet cannot do without
- What drags it down: unemployment at 20.1%; a median age of 22 — a nation of children, its workforce still in the classroom
Oil, Natural gas, Diamonds, Niobium, Manganese, Uranium, Gold, Timber, Iron ore, Hydropower.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 93.5% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 51.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 47.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 22.101 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $13.622 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $6.094 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $7.5 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Brice Oligui Nguema — President. President Brice OLIGUI Nguema (since 3 May 2025)
Gabon maintains 33 embassies and 7 consulates abroad, hosts 36 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 33 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 7 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 36 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, January 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 885 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 42 (registration prefix TR) |
| Major seaports | Libreville, Oguendjo Terminal, Port Gentil, Port Owendo |
| Railways | 649 km |
| Pipelines | 807 km gas, 1,639 km oil, 3 km water (2013) |
Major airports
Libreville Leon M'ba International Airport (LBV) — Libreville; Port Gentil International Airport (POG) — Port Gentil; M'Vengue El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba International Airport (MVB) — Franceville; Makokou Airport (MKU) — Makokou; Oyem Airport (OYE) — Oyem.
Terminals
| Oil terminals | Gamba, Lucina |
|---|
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Gabon.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Gabon — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Gabon's power score?
Gabon has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.