Total natural resource rents in Gabon
Gabon: Total natural resource rents was 18.5% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Total natural resource rents in Gabon, 1970–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Gabon recorded 18.5% for total natural resource rents in 2021.
The figure is up 37.0% on the previous year and down 52.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Gabon peaked at 56.7% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 1982.
That places Gabon 27th out of 211 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Total natural resource rents in Gabon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.0% | — |
| 1971 | 9.7% | -19.1% |
| 1972 | 14.2% | +46.7% |
| 1973 | 13.2% | -7.2% |
| 1974 | 43.9% | +232.4% |
| 1975 | 32.3% | -26.4% |
| 1976 | 23.0% | -28.8% |
| 1977 | 29.3% | +27.5% |
| 1978 | 30.3% | +3.7% |
| 1979 | 56.7% | +86.8% |
| 1980 | 34.8% | -38.6% |
| 1981 | 19.7% | -43.5% |
| 1982 | 9.3% | -52.8% |
| 1983 | 18.7% | +101.1% |
| 1984 | 21.9% | +17.4% |
| 1985 | 25.4% | +15.9% |
| 1986 | 9.8% | -61.3% |
| 1987 | 18.3% | +85.8% |
| 1988 | 13.7% | -25.0% |
| 1989 | 26.7% | +94.1% |
| 1990 | 33.0% | +23.9% |
| 1991 | 22.0% | -33.5% |
| 1992 | 25.3% | +14.9% |
| 1993 | 32.2% | +27.4% |
| 1994 | 30.6% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 32.0% | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 32.9% | +2.9% |
| 1997 | 33.8% | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 20.2% | -40.2% |
| 1999 | 26.1% | +29.0% |
| 2000 | 47.8% | +83.4% |
| 2001 | 32.5% | -31.9% |
| 2002 | 31.7% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 26.1% | -17.9% |
| 2004 | 27.5% | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 37.8% | +37.6% |
| 2006 | 37.7% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 37.5% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 41.1% | +9.4% |
| 2009 | 27.7% | -32.5% |
| 2010 | 35.7% | +28.5% |
| 2011 | 39.1% | +9.8% |
| 2012 | 40.6% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 32.8% | -19.3% |
| 2014 | 24.8% | -24.5% |
| 2015 | 12.6% | -49.3% |
| 2016 | 11.7% | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 17.7% | +51.8% |
| 2018 | 21.2% | +19.6% |
| 2019 | 19.2% | -9.4% |
| 2020 | 13.5% | -29.6% |
| 2021 | 18.5% | +37.0% |
Gabon compared with similar countries
- Gabon's 18.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.8%, 10.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Gabon's 18.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 7.7%, 2.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total natural resource rents in Gabon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +232.4% | 13.2% | 43.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 26.4% | 9.7% | 56.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.8% | 9.3% | 34.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.8% | 20.2% | 33.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 34.7% | 26.1% | 47.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.5% | 11.7% | 40.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.0% | 13.5% | 18.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Gabon
- 24 Uzbekistan 20.5% compare
- 25 Burkina Faso 20.1% compare
- 26 Russia 18.5% compare
- 28 Mali 18.4% compare
- 29 Solomon Islands 18.4% compare
- 30 Cape Verde 17.7% compare
More reference data data for Gabon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0319 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0505 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0931 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0031 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0931 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.107 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1347 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2352 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5278 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in Gabon?
- Total natural resource rents in Gabon was 18.5% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Gabon?
- The highest recorded value was 56.7% in 1979.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Gabon?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 1982.
- How does Gabon rank for total natural resource rents?
- Gabon ranks 27th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Gabon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Gabon data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.