Sector group
Digital and telecoms
Gabon's mobile market has about 3.2 million subscriptions split almost evenly between two operators, Moov Africa Gabon Télécom and Airtel Gabon. Connected to five submarine cables, the country has an internet usage rate close to 69% and has made digital technology one of the pillars of economic diversification.
- Mobile subscriptions (active SIMs reported)
- 3,179,889subscriptions
- Moov Africa Gabon Télécom market share (subscribers)
- 51.12%
- Airtel Gabon market share (subscribers)
- 48.88%
Source: Observatoire des marchés : 1er trimestre 2025, marché de la téléphonie mobile au Gabon
Key figures
Key figures for digital and telecoms
Mobile subscriptions (active SIMs reported)
3,179,889 subscriptions
mars 2025
Moov Africa Gabon Télécom market share (subscribers)
51.12 %
mars 2025
48.88 %
mars 2025
Mobile segment revenue
46.70 billion CFA francs (quarter)
T1 2025
Average monthly prepaid ARPU
4,243 CFA francs
T1 2025
Base stations (BTS) in service
1,246 sites
mars 2025
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
125.3 per 100 people
2024
Submarine cables landing in Libreville
5 systems
2024
Digital Gabon Project (World Bank loan)
68.5 million US dollars
2021
Reference series
Mobile cellular subscriptions
125.3 Per 100 inhabitants
2024
Source: World Bank
Internet users
68.7 %
2024
Source: World Bank
Fixed broadband subscriptions
4.7 Per 100 inhabitants
2024
Source: World Bank
Locations
- Scale
- Nationwide
Source: OCHA / Institut national de cartographie du Gabon (CC BY-IGO)
Trends
A mature mobile market
Mobile subscriptions have held steady at around 3 million since 2019: the World Bank counts 2.99 million in 2019 and 3.18 million in 2024, or 125 subscriptions per 100 people. The Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) reports a penetration rate of 176% in the first quarter of 2025, calculated on the population of the 2013 census; the gap with the World Bank series comes from this population base. Prepaid SIMs account for more than 98% of the base.
The market is a duopoly. In the first quarter of 2025 Moov Africa Gabon Télécom had 51.12% of subscribers and Airtel Gabon 48.88%; by revenue the shares were 52% and 48% respectively, for a quarterly total of 46.70 billion CFA francs, down 6.55% on the previous quarter. Voice traffic fell by 3.38% and SMS traffic by 10.39% between March 2024 and March 2025. The two operators run 1,246 base stations and employ 397 people directly.
Diversified international connectivity
Libreville is the landing point of five submarine cable systems: SAT-3/WASC (in service since 2002), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE, 2012), the Libreville-Port-Gentil cable (2012), Maroc Telecom West Africa (2021) and 2Africa (2024). The ACE landing station is operated by ACE Gabon, a subsidiary of the digital infrastructure asset company SPIN, which also holds the national backbone built under the Central African Backbone (CAB) programme. The share of the population using the internet rose from 59.5% in 2019 to 68.7% in 2024, while fixed broadband is growing from a low base (1.1 subscriptions per 100 people in 2019, 4.7 in 2024).
Digital public services and mobile payments
The Digital Gabon Project, approved by the World Bank on 30 July 2021 for 68.5 million dollars, funds the modernisation of legal identity, the digitalisation of public administration and the data protection and cybersecurity framework. In financial services, Airtel Money Gabon is one of the licensed payment institutions in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) according to the 2024 report of the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC).
Mobile cellular subscriptions
Mobile cellular subscriptions (Gabon) went from 0.0 in 1960 to 125.3 in 2024. The highest value was reached in 2014 (148.2).
| Period | Mobile cellular subscriptions |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.0 |
| 1965 | 0.0 |
| 1970 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | 0.0 |
| 1984 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | 0.0 |
| 1987 | 0.0 |
| 1988 | 0.0 |
| 1989 | 0.0 |
| 1990 | 0.0 |
| 1991 | 0.0 |
| 1992 | 0.0 |
| 1993 | 0.1 |
| 1994 | 0.2 |
| 1995 | 0.4 |
| 1996 | 0.6 |
| 1997 | 0.8 |
| 1998 | 0.8 |
| 1999 | 0.7 |
| 2000 | 9.4 |
| 2001 | 11.5 |
| 2002 | 20.8 |
| 2003 | 21.7 |
| 2004 | 34.4 |
| 2005 | 50.3 |
| 2006 | 59.5 |
| 2007 | 75.1 |
| 2008 | 80.9 |
| 2009 | 87.3 |
| 2010 | 93.6 |
| 2011 | 133.0 |
| 2012 | 138.5 |
| 2013 | 143.5 |
| 2014 | 148.2 |
| 2015 | 138.2 |
| 2016 | 141.1 |
| 2017 | 123.5 |
| 2018 | 132.5 |
| 2019 | 132.0 |
| 2020 | 131.3 |
| 2021 | 132.3 |
| 2022 | 123.2 |
| 2023 | 122.6 |
| 2024 | 125.3 |
Internet users
Internet users (Gabon) went from 0.0% in 1990 to 68.7% in 2024.
| Period | Internet users (%) |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | 0.2 |
| 1999 | 0.2 |
| 2000 | 1.2 |
| 2001 | 1.3 |
| 2002 | 1.9 |
| 2003 | 2.7 |
| 2004 | 3.0 |
| 2005 | 4.9 |
| 2006 | 5.5 |
| 2007 | 5.8 |
| 2008 | 7.5 |
| 2009 | 9.5 |
| 2010 | 13.0 |
| 2011 | 18.0 |
| 2012 | 24.0 |
| 2013 | 30.5 |
| 2014 | 38.1 |
| 2015 | 45.8 |
| 2016 | 48.1 |
| 2017 | 51.6 |
| 2018 | 55.4 |
| 2019 | 59.5 |
| 2020 | 63.9 |
| 2021 | 65.8 |
| 2022 | 67.7 |
| 2023 | 68.2 |
| 2024 | 68.7 |
Fixed broadband subscriptions
Fixed broadband subscriptions (Gabon) went from 0.0 in 2003 to 4.7 in 2024.
| Period | Fixed broadband subscriptions |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | 0.1 |
| 2006 | 0.1 |
| 2007 | 0.1 |
| 2008 | 0.1 |
| 2009 | 0.2 |
| 2010 | 0.2 |
| 2011 | 0.3 |
| 2012 | 0.3 |
| 2013 | 0.5 |
| 2014 | 0.5 |
| 2015 | 0.5 |
| 2016 | 0.7 |
| 2017 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | 1.9 |
| 2021 | 2.7 |
| 2022 | 3.3 |
| 2023 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | 4.7 |
Main players
Main players
| Name | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Moov Africa Gabon Télécom | Mobile and fixed operator, internet; operates the SAT-3 cable in Gabon | Libreville |
| Airtel Gabon | Mobile voice and data operator | Libreville |
| Airtel Money Gabon | Licensed payment institution (e-money) | Libreville |
| Clickpay Gabon | Licensed payment institution | Libreville |
| SPIN (digital infrastructure asset company) | Public digital infrastructure assets: ACE cable (through ACE Gabon) and national backbone | Libreville |
| ARCEP (Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority) | Regulation of electronic communications and postal services, market observatory | Libreville |
Source: ARCEP, observatoire T1 2025; COBAC, rapport annuel 2024; SPIN (opens in a new tab)
Regulatory framework
The sector is based on Law no. 005/2001 of 27 June 2001 regulating telecommunications, amended in particular by ordinances no. 004 TER/PR/2002 and no. 006/PR/2014. The regulator, ARCEP, is governed by Decree no. 01106/PR/MT of 30 September 2011 and by Ordinance no. 0000008/PR/2012 of 13 February 2012 on the creation and organisation of ARCEP. It grants licences, monitors competition and publishes a quarterly market observatory.
The digital economy now has its own legal foundation: Law no. 025/2021 of 28 December 2021 regulates electronic transactions and Law no. 027/2023 of July 2023 covers cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime; Law no. 025/2023 of 12 July 2023 also rewrote the personal data protection regime. The PNDT 2024-2026 provides for their implementing texts, a digital code, ratification of the African Union Convention on Cyber Security (Malabo Convention) and a start-up law.
Mobile payment services fall under regional law: Regulation no. 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC of 21 December 2018 sets the conditions for providing and supervising payment services. According to COBAC, six of the seven payment institutions licensed in CEMAC in 2024 are subsidiaries of mobile operators that have separated these services from their GSM business, as banking regulations require.
Reference texts
-
Telecommunications sector law
Loi n° 005/2001 portant réglementation du secteur des télécommunications en République gabonaise
-
Decree creating ARCEP
Décret n° 01106/PR/MT du 30 septembre 2011 portant création, attributions et organisation de l'Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes
-
Ordinance establishing and organising ARCEP
Ordonnance n° 0000008/PR/2012 du 13 février 2012 portant création et organisation de l'Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes, ratifiée par la loi n° 006/2012
-
Law regulating electronic transactions
Loi n° 025/2021 du 28 décembre 2021 portant réglementation des transactions électroniques en République gabonaise
-
Law on cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime
Loi n° 027/2023 du 12 juillet 2023 portant réglementation de la cybersécurité et de la lutte contre la cybercriminalité
-
Personal data protection law
Loi n° 025/2023 du 12 juillet 2023 portant modification de la loi n° 001/2011 du 25 septembre 2011 relative à la protection des données à caractère personnel
-
Regulation on payment services in CEMAC
Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018
Opportunities
The PNDT 2024-2026 makes the digital economy a pillar of diversification, social inclusion and sovereignty. It sets five priorities and several projects open to private partners:
- Infrastructure: extension of the national backbone to Ngounié and Nyanga provinces, two data centres, a security incident response capability (CSIRT/SOC), development of the Gabix internet exchange point, migration to IPv6 and a second phase of universal service.
- Entrepreneurship and e-commerce: creation of the Gabonese Innovation Centre, incubators in Franceville, Port-Gentil, Oyem and Mouila, data hosting for start-ups and SMEs, a national digital economy development fund and a national e-commerce platform.
- Digital government: national digital identity system, digital payments for public services, open data and interoperability platforms, extension of the government network to Oyem, Mouila, Tchibanga and Makokou.
- Digital financial services: with 68.2% of adults holding an account in 2024, mobile payments and related services still have room to grow.
Take the next step
These opportunities translate into concrete formalities: find the ones that apply to your project, or ask the assistant.
Documents
-
Mobile telephony market observatory, first quarter 2025, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
ARCEP Gabon
-
Digital Gabon Project, project appraisal document, TXT format (opens in a new tab)
Banque mondiale
-
World Bank support for Gabon's digital transformation (press release), HTML format (opens in a new tab)
Banque mondiale
-
Regulation no. 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC on payment services, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
BEAC
-
National Development Plan for the Transition 2024-2026, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Ministère de l'Économie et des Participations
Sources
16 sources cited
Documents and datasets used for this profile.
- Observatoire des marchés : 1er trimestre 2025, marché de la téléphonie mobile au Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Réglementation : ordonnances (opens in a new tab)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Individuals using the Internet (% of population), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider (% of population ages 15+), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Libreville, Gabon (landing point) (opens in a new tab)
- ACE Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon: Digital Gabon Project, project appraisal document (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon: the World Bank boosts its support to accelerate digital transformation (opens in a new tab)
- Rapport annuel 2024 de la Commission bancaire de l'Afrique centrale (opens in a new tab)
- Règlement n°04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018 relatif aux services de paiement dans la CEMAC (opens in a new tab)
- Plan national de développement pour la transition (PNDT) 2024-2026, version 3 (opens in a new tab)
- Digital Gabon Project (P175987) (opens in a new tab)
- World Bank (opens in a new tab) Mobile cellular subscriptions, Internet users, Fixed broadband subscriptions, Secure Internet servers, Account ownership
