Gabon budget review 2026: key insights for public finance reform

The Gabon Public Finance Review 2026 outlines strategic budgetary policies designed to enhance fiscal sustainability, stimulate job creation, and elevate living standards across the nation.

critical findings unveiled

• Revenue challenges: Non-oil tax revenues averaged a mere 10.5% of GDP from 2014 to 2024—well below regional benchmarks—chiefly due to extensive tax exemptions and persistent compliance hurdles.
• Public spending trends: Total expenditures surged to 25% of GDP by 2023-2024, yet allocations to social sectors remained stagnant at just 4% of GDP—less than half the Sub-Saharan Africa average. Key drains include bloated payrolls, fuel subsidies, and debt servicing, crowding out productive and social investments.
• Extractive sector revenues: Despite ranking as the fourth-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest manganese exporter globally, and a major timber supplier, Gabon’s per-barrel oil earnings lag behind regional peers. Revenue from timber and mining sectors also falls short of its fiscal potential.
• Public finance governance gaps: In 2024, direct contracting dominated 90% of public procurement value, while debt arrears reached 3.5% of GDP by late 2025. Combined liabilities of major state-owned enterprises exceeded 8% of GDP, highlighting systemic weaknesses in budget management, cash flow, procurement transparency, and corporate governance.
• Social sector underfunding: Gabon’s health, education, and social protection systems operate with critical funding gaps. The country averages 0.5 doctors per 1,000 people, fewer than half of preschool teachers hold formal qualifications, and social protection spending accounted for a mere 0.03% of GDP in 2024.