The forest covers more than 85% of the territory, or about 22 million hectares. There are more than 60 species marketable on the 400 listed species.

Gabon has a forestry potential of 2.6 billion M3, of which 130 million M3 of Okoumé and 400 million M3 of miscellaneous species. The forest growth occurs at a rate of 3 to 5 million M3 per year.

Only the coastal area has been extensively exploited since the early twentieth century. With a cut rate of less than 1%, more than 40% of the forest area remains primary.

Gabon has 3 million hectares of forests under sustainable management out of the 12 millions currently exploited. For several years, the forest policy has been oriented towards the sustainable exploitation of the forest resources, the biodiversity conservation and the industrialization of the timber industry.