Gabon - Balance of payments

Gabon's traditionally favorable trade balance does not always result in a favorable balance on current accounts, largely because of dividend payments and other remittances by foreign enterprises but also because of payments on large debts accumulated in the 1970s. Generally, however, an increasingly strong export performance and rising inflows of private and government capital have made Gabon's payments position one of the strongest of any African country.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Gabon's exports was $2.5 billion while imports totaled $921 million resulting in a trade surplus of $1.579 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 1999 Gabon had exports of goods totaling $2.5 billion and imports totaling $911 million. The services credit totaled $281 million and debit $867 million. The following table summarizes Gabon's balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 1999 in millions of US dollars.