The World Bank in Gabon

Overview

Located in Central Africa, Gabon boasts a wealth of natural resources. With a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, it is bordered by Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. Despite its vast, mainly forested surface area, Gabon only had 2.3 million inhabitants in 2021.

Gabon's level of urbanization is one of the highest in Africa, with over 80% of its population living in urban areas. The two main cities, Libreville and Port-Gentil are home to almost 59% of the population. Youth is a distinctive feature of its demography: half the population is under 20, and while the fertility rate in urban areas is four children per woman, it climbs to six in rural areas.

An ecological pioneer, Gabon actively protects its tropical forest, making it a net carbon absorber and championing carbon neutrality initiatives. Its diverse ecosystem offers fertile soils, abundant coastal resources, and fisheries. However, despite its economic potential, the country is struggling to translate its wealth of resources into sustainable, inclusive growth.

Political Context 

Gabon has a rich and varied political history. Under the leadership of Omar Bongo, who became president in 1967, Gabon developed into a one-party state dominated by the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).

The 1990s marked a decisive turning point for the nation, with the transition to a multi-party system. This transition was marked by numerous political reforms. Despite these upheavals, the Bongo family has retained a dominant position in Gabonese politics.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba succeeded his father Omar Bongo Ondimba in 2009 and was re-elected in August 2016 in a highly controversial election marked by a relatively low turnout (59%). Legislative and municipal elections held in 2018 saw a large victory for the PDG, which retained its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

Despite winning a third term in the presidential election, Ali Bongo was deposed on August 30, 2023, following a military intervention orchestrated by the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI).

Brigadier General Brice Oligui Nguema was appointed President of the Gabonese Transition. At the start of this period, several institutions, including the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court, were temporarily suspended, then reorganized around a charter drawn up with the Transition President. One of the objectives of this phase is to revise the constitution by means of a referendum, with a view to holding elections under a new constitution at the end of the transition. The precise duration of this transition remains to be determined.

Economic Overview

In 2022, Gabon's economy benefited from higher oil prices and solid commodity production. Growth reached 3.1%, reflecting a significant recovery from the 2020 recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and fluctuations in oil prices. The rise in oil prices, combined with increased production, generated substantial revenues for the country, transforming a budget deficit of 1.9% of GDP in 2021 into a surplus of 3.0% of GDP in 2022.

Economic recovery in 2022 reduced the ratio of public debt to GDP from 60.7% in 2021 to 52% in 2022. Although export performance has improved the trade balance, challenges such as cash management problems and the accumulation of arrears persist, posing risks for future debt management. In addition, high world food and energy prices have led to inflation, rising from 1.1% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022. This inflation has impacted living conditions, despite an overall reduction in poverty thanks to the economic recovery.

The recent coup d'état has introduced uncertainty into the country's economic outlook. Prior to this event, growth of 2.8% was expected for 2023-2025, driven by several sectors, including manganese, timber and oil palm. Gabon, recently dependent on regional financial markets, could see its growth and financing capacities affected. Repayment of arrears and sound reforms could nevertheless ease the country's financing costs.

Last Updated: Oct 12, 2023

Development Challenges

Economic diversification, climate change and human capital building are priorities for the authorities, which are adopting series of measures to Promote green and resilient development and improve the business climate.

Faced with a 33%poverty rate, the government focuses its social policy on the following three pillars:

• Establishing integrated social programs for the most vulnerable.
• Creating income-generating activities for the poorest population groups; and
• Reducing inequalities in access to basic public services.

In addition to delivering global public goods, forests provide opportunities for building local resilience and supporting economic diversification. The country has demonstrated a strong leadership to environmental protection through solid policy commitments. Gabon became the first country in Africa to receive results-based payments for reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in 2021. It has hosted early March 2023, the One Forest Summit with France. The event sought a fair agreement between forest countries and the international community, to reconcile environmental ambition and economic development.

World Bank Group Engagement in Gabon

Gabon is eligible for the World Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) window for middle-income and creditworthy poor countries. On November 22, the World Bank Group’s endorsed a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Gabon, which will cover fiscal years 2023 to 2027 to support the country’s transition towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The new CPF will contribute to two higher-level outcomes, namely: (i) greater household resilience and (ii) increased employment in the non-oil private sector. The new framework also builds on Gabon’s development strategy, the Transformation Acceleration Plan (PAT), and the World Bank’s Regional Strategy.

This highly selective engagement targets the following areas: 

• A strong public service delivery system:
  Gabon has made considerable progress on digital transformation and broadband connectivity. To improve service delivery, the Bank will support digitization of key public services through the Digital Gabon project. The goal is to improve the provision of and access to certain digitized public services, and to strengthen the environment for the adoption of digital technology.
• Increased access to social services:
  More investments are being made to boost access to electricity, water, and sanitation in underserved neighborhoods, and to expand social protection to the most vulnerable. It also involves well-designed and targeted safety net systems to reduce unemployment and increase labor productivity.
• Improved resilient urban infrastructure:
  With one of the highest urbanization rates in Africa, Gabon needs to promote integrated urban development. This means better urban planning, improving roads and local transport, and greater access to greener and more resilient infrastructure in underserved neighborhoods. 
• Increased private investment in non-oil sectors:
  To diversify the economy and improve the investment climate, the World Bank, together with IFC and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), will promote blue and green jobs in key sectors such as fisheries, forestry and ecotourism. This will involve continued support to the Kinguele Aval hydro project and the upgrading of the Transgabonais railway. 

The World Bank’s active portfolio in Gabon comprises of 5 active projects outlined in the previous CPF for total commitments of $250.50 million in various development sectors including digital development, energy and water, vocational training, statistics and health.

Last Updated: Oct 12, 2023

The Access to Basic Services in Rural Areas Project (PASBMIR)

PASBMIR’s project development objective is to expand access to water and energy services in targeted peri urban and rural areas in four provinces in Gabon (Ngounié, Estuary, Woleu-Ntem, and Haut-Ogooué). As of July 2023, more than 12.784 households were connected to the network by the Gabon Water and Electricity Company (SEEG), 75 villages benefited from improved access to basic services, 160 km HT and 140 km LT of electric lines have been installed in rural areas and 27 community water points were constructed or rehabilitated under the project, including sanitations in schools and health care units. It also provided communication, education, and awareness campaigns to more than 140 villages.

The Gabon Statistical Development Project (PDS)

The PDS aims to strengthen Gabon’s statistical capacity, gather missing key data, and improve statistical production, and enhance statistical dissemination practices. The project conducted several surveys and censuses in the following areas: 2017 household budget survey for poverty monitoring; the second Gabonese poverty assessment survey (EGEP 2); Survey on the impact of COVID-19 among households; Demographic and Health Survey (EDSG II); Agriculture Census; and Education Census (2018-2019). The collection of data from Gabon’s First General Business Census (RGE) was launched in 2022. Also, the Census of Economically Weak Gabonese and the third EGEP are being prepared.

List of the six active projects:

• The E-Gabon Project;
• The Gabon Statistical Development Project (PDS);
• The Access to Basic Services in Rural Areas Project (PASBMIR);
• The Gabon COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Project (SPRP)
• The Digital Gabon project.

Last Updated: Oct 12, 2023

With a resident mission in Libreville, the World Bank Group is one of Gabon’s leading development partners. The country’s other main partners are China, the European Union, Agence Française de Développement, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations.

Last Updated: Oct 12, 2023