---
title: "Gabon: Politics & Democracy | Model Diplomat"
description: "Gabon politics: ranks #114 of 179 on the V-Dem liberal democracy index in 2025 (score 17.8/100). Current leaders, democracy trend since 1946, and upcoming elections."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/gabon"
---

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# 🇬🇦 Gabon: Politics & Democracy

By V-Dem's measure, no — Gabon scores 17.8 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range.

Liberal democracy rank (2025)

\#114 of 179

Score (0–100)

17.8

10-year change

−4.5

[Full rankings →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)

## Current leaders

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema

Head of State · Democratic Union of Builders

since 2023-08-30

Raymond Ndong Sima

Head of Government

since 2023-09-07

## Democracy trend

Gabon — V-Dem liberal democracy index, 1910–2025 (0–100 scale). Latest: 17.8 in 2025.

## Voting alignment

Gabon's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:

[Eritrea · 94.6%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/eri-vs-gab)[Djibouti · 94.5%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/dji-vs-gab)[Brunei · 94.0%](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/brn-vs-gab)[All friends & foes →](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/gabon)

## Frequently asked questions

Is Gabon a democracy?

By V-Dem's measure, no — Gabon scores 17.8 on the 0–100 liberal democracy index, which places it firmly in the autocratic range. It ranks #114 of 179 countries in 2025.

Is democracy in Gabon improving or declining?

Gabon's V-Dem liberal democracy score fell by 4.5 points over the past decade (a decline on this index), standing at 17.8 in 2025 (1-year change: +2.7).

Who leads Gabon?

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is Gabon's head of state (Democratic Union of Builders); Raymond Ndong Sima serves as head of government.

## More on Gabon

[Full country profile](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/gabon)[Blocs & alliances](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/gabon/blocs-alliances)[Treaties](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/gabon/treaties)[Background](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/gabon/background)[Politics & democracy](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/gabon)

- [Gabon's UN voting friends & foes](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/alignment/gabon)
- [Where Gabon ranks on the global democracy index](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/democracy-index)
- [Upcoming elections worldwide](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/elections)
- [UN General Assembly voting by topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/politics/un)

Data source: Coppedge, Michael et al. 'V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16', Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project, https\://www\.v-dem.net, CC BY 4.0.