_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24,
G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS (associate), NAM,
OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador-designate Alexandre SAMBAT; Chancery at 2034 20th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 797-1000;
US—Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE; Embassy at Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville (mailing address is B. P. 4000, Libreville); telephone 762003 or 762004, 743492
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue
_*Economy #_Overview: The economy, dependent on timber and manganese until the early 1970s, is now dominated by the oil sector. During the period 1981-85 oil accounted for about 46% of GDP, 83% of export earnings, and 65% of government revenues on average. The high oil prices of the early 1980s contributed to a substantial increase in per capita income, stimulated domestic demand, reinforced migration from rural to urban areas, and raised the level of real wages to among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year slide of Gabon's economy, which began with falling oil prices in 1985, was reversed in 1989 because of a near doubling of oil prices over their 1988 lows. In 1990 the economy continued to grow, but debt servicing problems are hindering economic advancement. The agricultural and industrial sectors are relatively underdeveloped, except for oil.
_#_GDP: $3.3 billion, per capita $3,090; real growth rate 13% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $277 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $1.16 billion (f.o.b., 1989);