Sector group
Industry and processing
Gabonese industry is organised around processing natural resources (timber, palm oil, manganese), power generation and industries serving the domestic market, such as cement, beverages or metal roofing. The local processing policy, launched with the 2010 log export ban and extended by the 2029 raw manganese ban, is its driving force.
- Wood industry activity
- -23.7% year on year
- Electricity generation
- +26.4% year on year
- Cement production
- -12.8% year on year
Source: Note de conjoncture sectorielle du quatrième trimestre 2025
Sectors in this group
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1,646.1 1000 m³
Logging, sawn wood, veneer and plywood.
Veneer and sawn wood exports, 2024. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT)
-
95.1 %
Electricity and water generation and distribution.
Access to electricity, 2024. Source: World Bank
-
6.8 % of GDP
Palm oil, rubber, sugar and food processing.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added, 2025. Source: World Bank
Key figures
Industry key figures
Wood industry activity
-23.7 % year on year
2025
Electricity generation
+26.4 % year on year
2025
Cement production
-12.8 % year on year
2025
Industrial gas production
+21.0 % year on year
2025
Construction turnover
+13.8 % year on year
2025
Statistical series
Manufacturing value added
19.1 % of GDP
2025
Source: World Bank
Industry value added (including construction)
47.2 % of GDP
2025
Source: World Bank
Electricity generation
2,600 GWh
2024
Source: Our World in Data
Veneer and sawn wood exports
1,646.1 1000 m³
2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT)
Locations
- Province
- Estuaire
Source: OCHA / Institut national de cartographie du Gabon (CC BY-IGO)
Provinces of the listed sites: special economic zone.
Trends
According to the Directorate General for the Economy and Fiscal Policy (DGEPF), 2025 was a mixed year for industry. Wood industries fell 23.7% because of the Chinese property crisis, while electricity generation rose 26.4% thanks to new capacity. Other manufacturing fell 2.4%, weighed down by cement (-12.8%) after road projects were completed, while industrial gases (+21%), metal roofing (+7.6%) and paints (+4.2%) grew. Construction turnover rose 13.8%. In food processing, beverages gained 6.5% and flour lost 4.5%.
Special economic zones are central to the industrial strategy. The Nkok zone near Libreville, managed by GSEZ (Arise IIP group), hosts 144 companies from 16 countries on 1,126 hectares, mostly in timber. In February 2025, according to Gabonreview, the State signed an agreement with the Prometal group for a steel plant at Nkok, with 150 billion CFA francs of investment planned over five years, 70 MW of power capacity and about 1,000 jobs announced. The decision to ban raw manganese exports from 2029 is expected to bring new metallurgical investment.
The World Bank projects average growth of 3.3% for 2026-2028, supported by demand for manganese, timber, palm oil and rubber and by investment in infrastructure and manganese processing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stresses that unreliable power and transport remain a major constraint for manufacturers.
Manufacturing value added
Manufacturing value added (Gabon) went from 7.2 % of GDP in 1965 to 19.1 % of GDP in 2025. The highest value was reached in 2021 (21.6 % of GDP).
| Period | Manufacturing value added (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 1965 | 7.2 |
| 1966 | 6.6 |
| 1967 | 9.1 |
| 1968 | 8.0 |
| 1969 | 7.1 |
| 1970 | 6.8 |
| 1971 | 7.1 |
| 1972 | 7.7 |
| 1973 | 6.6 |
| 1974 | 3.7 |
| 1975 | 4.3 |
| 1976 | 3.9 |
| 1977 | 4.7 |
| 1978 | 6.0 |
| 1979 | 5.0 |
| 1980 | 4.6 |
| 1981 | 4.0 |
| 1982 | 4.3 |
| 1983 | 4.5 |
| 1984 | 5.4 |
| 1985 | 7.2 |
| 1986 | 9.3 |
| 1987 | 8.5 |
| 1988 | 7.6 |
| 1989 | 6.4 |
| 1990 | 5.6 |
| 1991 | 6.2 |
| 1992 | 6.2 |
| 1993 | 6.3 |
| 1994 | 4.7 |
| 1995 | 4.5 |
| 1996 | 4.1 |
| 1997 | 4.4 |
| 1998 | 5.6 |
| 1999 | 4.7 |
| 2000 | 3.7 |
| 2001 | 2.5 |
| 2002 | 2.7 |
| 2003 | 2.7 |
| 2004 | 2.8 |
| 2005 | 12.9 |
| 2006 | 11.5 |
| 2007 | 12.8 |
| 2008 | 14.2 |
| 2009 | 19.0 |
| 2010 | 17.1 |
| 2011 | 19.2 |
| 2012 | 16.5 |
| 2013 | 17.2 |
| 2014 | 17.4 |
| 2015 | 16.7 |
| 2016 | 17.5 |
| 2017 | 17.6 |
| 2018 | 18.9 |
| 2019 | 18.8 |
| 2020 | 18.6 |
| 2021 | 21.6 |
| 2022 | 20.8 |
| 2023 | 20.5 |
| 2024 | 19.5 |
| 2025 | 19.1 |
Electricity generation
Electricity generation (Gabon) went from 1,310 GWh in 2000 to 2,600 GWh in 2024. The highest value was reached in 2022 (3,190 GWh).
| Period | Electricity generation (GWh) |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,310 |
| 2001 | 1,400 |
| 2002 | 1,470 |
| 2003 | 1,530 |
| 2004 | 1,530 |
| 2005 | 1,570 |
| 2006 | 1,660 |
| 2007 | 1,730 |
| 2008 | 1,810 |
| 2009 | 1,830 |
| 2010 | 1,930 |
| 2011 | 2,030 |
| 2012 | 2,160 |
| 2013 | 2,090 |
| 2014 | 1,990 |
| 2015 | 2,120 |
| 2016 | 2,190 |
| 2017 | 2,240 |
| 2018 | 2,780 |
| 2019 | 2,840 |
| 2020 | 2,930 |
| 2021 | 2,960 |
| 2022 | 3,190 |
| 2023 | 2,590 |
| 2024 | 2,600 |
Main players
Main industry players
| Name | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ), Arise IIP group | Development and management of special economic zones | Nkok (Estuaire), Ikolo, Mpassa-Lebombi |
| Comilog and Moanda Metallurgical Complex (Eramet) | Manganese mining and processing | Moanda (Haut-Ogooué) |
| Nouvelle Gabon Mining | Ferroalloy smelter project | Mounana (Haut-Ogooué) |
| Prometal | Steel plant project | Nkok (Estuaire) |
| Olam Palm Gabon | Palm oil milling and refining | Awala (Estuaire) and Ngounié plantations |
| Société d'énergie et d'eau du Gabon (SEEG) | Power and water | Nationwide |
Source: GSEZ (opens in a new tab)
Regulatory framework
Industrial investment benefits from the guarantees of the investment charter (Law No. 15/98 of 23 July 1998) and, at regional level, the CEMAC investment charter. Special economic zones fall under Law No. 010/2011 of 18 July 2011 on preferential economic zones, which entrusts the development and management of each zone to a body designated by decree, as for the Mpassa-Lebombi zone created in 2022. Sector rules are set out in the 2001 forest code, the 2019 mining code and the 2016 electricity and water law. All industrial projects are subject to the 2014 environmental protection law.
Reference texts
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Investment charter
Loi n° 15/98 du 23 juillet 1998 instituant la Charte des investissements en République gabonaise
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CEMAC investment charter
Règlement n° 17/99/CEMAC-020-CM-03 du 17 décembre 1999 relatif à la charte des investissements de la CEMAC
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Special economic zones law
Loi n° 010/2011 du 18 juillet 2011 portant réglementation des zones économiques à régime privilégié en République gabonaise
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Decree creating the Mpassa-Lebombi special investment zone
Décret n° 0122/PR/MPIPPPAEA du 12 mai 2022 portant création et organisation de la zone d'investissement spéciale Mpassa-Lebombi
-
Forest code
Loi n° 016/01 du 31 décembre 2001 portant code forestier en République gabonaise
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Mining code
Loi n° 037/2018 du 11 juin 2019 portant réglementation du secteur minier en République gabonaise
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Electricity and drinking water law
Loi n° 24/2016 du 29 décembre 2016 fixant le régime juridique de la production, du transport et de la distribution de l'énergie électrique et de l'eau potable en République gabonaise
-
Environmental protection law
Loi n° 007/2014 du 01 août 2014 relative à la protection de l'environnement en République gabonaise
Opportunities
The National Development Plan (PND) 2025-2032 makes local processing of raw materials a central pillar. The main opportunities lie in manganese metallurgy ahead of the 2029 deadline, secondary and tertiary wood processing, palm oil and rubber value added, building materials linked to major works, and hydro or gas-fired power generation, which these industries need. Special economic zones offer serviced land and a specific regime.
Take the next step
These opportunities translate into concrete formalities: find the ones that apply to your project, or ask the assistant.
Documents
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DGEPF, sector business cycle note for the fourth quarter of 2025 (in French), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Direction générale de l'économie et de la politique fiscale
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World Bank, Macro Poverty Outlook for Gabon, April 2026, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Banque mondiale
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IMF, 2024 Article IV consultation (Country Report No. 24/144), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Fonds monétaire international
-
Eramet, 2025 full-year results (press release), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Eramet
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World Bank, PASBAP project (press release), HTML format (opens in a new tab)
Banque mondiale
Sources
14 sources cited
Documents and datasets used for this profile.
- Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Note de conjoncture sectorielle du quatrième trimestre 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- GSEZ (opens in a new tab)
- Le groupe Prometal investit 150 milliards FCFA pour industrialiser le Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- 2029 : le Gabon ferme la porte au manganèse brut et ouvre celle de l'industrie (opens in a new tab)
- Macro Poverty Outlook for Gabon, April 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon: 2024 Article IV Consultation, Country Report No. 24/144 (opens in a new tab)
- Nouvelle Gabon Mining, site officiel (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon : 50 000 tonnes d'huile brute exportées chaque année vers le Cameroun (opens in a new tab)
- World Bank supports Gabon's water supply, sanitation, and electricity services (opens in a new tab)
- Eramet: structural measures to strengthen balance sheet and prepare the future, after a challenging year 2025 (communiqué, 18 février 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- World Bank (opens in a new tab) Manufacturing value added, Industry value added (including construction)
- Our World in Data (opens in a new tab) Electricity generation
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT) (opens in a new tab) Veneer and sawn wood exports
