Gabon posted a trade surplus of $6.90 billion in 2025, a result that highlights the country’s structural resilience despite a challenging global environment marked by shrinking trade volumes, falling oil prices, and disruptions in maritime routes. The surplus reflects a net differential between steady exports of $10.73 billion and stable imports of $3.83 billion, yielding an export-to-import ratio above 2.8 to 1. This positions Gabon favorably within the CEMAC zone, where many economies have seen their trade balances squeezed by rising freight and input costs.

The global backdrop was far from supportive. World merchandise trade grew only 4.6% in 2025, following a contraction in 2023, and forecasts for 2026 point to a sharp slowdown to 1.4%. In this context, maintaining such a significant surplus sends a positive signal to investors and institutional partners.

The trade surplus also provides a base for rebuilding foreign exchange reserves, which currently stand at $1 billion—equivalent to 2.1 months of import cover. That level is below the three-month threshold recommended by the International Monetary Fund, making it the main area of concern for authorities. Transforming a structural trade surplus into robust reserves remains the most immediate macroeconomic management challenge for Libreville.