Gabon: Current account balance (current US$, BoP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2015, Gabon's current account balance (current US$, BoP) fell US$971.07 million on 2014 (from US$1.11 billion to US$141 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2014), the average change was +US$1.25 million and a typical year strayed about US$834.74 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$1.65 billion in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was US$3.03 billion in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2015 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$295.66 million a year. A straight line explains 51% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: Discrepancies may arise in the balance of payments because there is no single source for balance of payments data and therefore no way to ensure that the data are fully consistent. Sources include customs data, monetary accounts of the banking system, external debt records, information provided by enterprises, surveys to estimate service transactions, and foreign exchange records. Differences in collection methods - such as in timing, definitions of residence and ownership, and the exchange rate used to value transactions - contribute to net errors and omissions. In addition, smuggling and other illegal or quasi-legal transactions may be unrecorded or misrecorded.

All 37 values

Current account balance (current US$, BoP) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$417.99 million (2025)
• Benin — −US$1.61 billion (2023)
• Botswana — US$583.38 million (2025)
• Burkina Faso — −US$918.24 million (2024)
• Burundi — −US$461.46 million (2025)
• Cabo Verde — US$108.71 million (2025)
• Cameroon — −US$1.75 billion (2024)
• Comoros — −US$24.62 million (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — −US$3.94 billion (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — US$1.72 billion (2021)

More economic policy & debt data for Gabon

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$2.39 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 1.39 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$1.91 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 992.1 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 11.16% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$5.93 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 2.77 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Gabon's current account balance (current US$, BoP)?

US$141 million in 2015, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1978?

It is up 90.86% from US$73.87 million in 1978 (1.76% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$3.83 billion in 2008 and the lowest −US$1.06 billion in 1986.

Is the latest change in current account balance (current US$, BoP) unusual for Gabon?

In 2015, Gabon's current account balance (current US$, BoP) fell US$971.07 million on 2014 (from US$1.11 billion to US$141 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2014), the average change was +US$1.25 million and a typical year strayed about US$834.74 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.CAB.XOKA.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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