| Population | 2,284,912 (July 2021 est.) note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected |
| Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese |
| Ethnic groups | Gabonese-born 80.1% (includes Fang 23.2%, Shira-Punu/Vili 18.9%, Nzabi-Duma 11.3%, Mbede-Teke 6.9%, Myene 5%, Kota-Kele 4.9%, Okande-Tsogo 2.1%, Pygmy .3%, other 7.5%), Cameroonian 4.6%, Malian 2.4%, Beninese 2.1%, acquired Gabonese nationality 1.6%, Togolese 1.6%, Senegalese 1.1%, Congolese (Brazzaville) 1%, other 5.5% (includes Congolese (Kinshasa), Equatorial Guinean, Nigerian) (2012) |
| Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 42.3%, Protestant 12.3%, other Christian 27.4%, Muslim 9.8%, animist 0.6%, other 0.5%, none/no answer 7.1% (2012 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.45% (male 413,883/female 399,374) 15-24 years: 21.9% (male 254,749/female 233,770) 25-54 years: 32.48% (male 386,903/female 337,776) 55-64 years: 5.19% (male 58,861/female 56,843) 65 years and over: 3.98% (male 44,368/female 44,381) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 68.9 youth dependency ratio: 62.9 elderly dependency ratio: 6 potential support ratio: 16.8 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 21 years male: 21.4 years female: 20.6 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.41% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 26.14 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 3.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Population distribution | the relatively small population is spread in pockets throughout the country; the largest urban center is the capital of Libreville, located along the Atlantic coast in the northwest as shown in this population distribution map |
| Urbanization | urban population: 90.4% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 845,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2021) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.15 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 19.6 years (2012 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 20-49 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 252 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 29.45 deaths/1,000 live births male: 32.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.37 years male: 67.66 years female: 71.14 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 3.36 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 31.1% (2012) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 97% of population rural: 68% of population total: 93.8% of population unimproved: urban: 0.3% of population rural: 32% of population total: 6.2% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 2.8% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017) |
| Hospital bed density | 6.3 beds/1,000 population (2010) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 77.7% of population rural: 51.9% of population total: 74.8% of population unimproved: urban: 22.3% of population rural: 48.1% of population total: 25.2% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 3% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 46,000 (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 1,100 <1000 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact diseases: schistosomiasis animal contact diseases: rabies |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 15% (2016) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.4% (2012) |
| Education expenditures | 2.7% of GDP (2014) |
| Demographic profile | Gabon’s oil revenues have given it one of the highest per capita income levels in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the wealth is not evenly distributed and poverty is widespread. Unemployment is especially prevalent among the large youth population; more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25. With a fertility rate still averaging more than 4 children per woman, the youth population will continue to grow and further strain the mismatch between Gabon’s supply of jobs and the skills of its labor force. Gabon has been a magnet to migrants from neighboring countries since the 1960s because of the discovery of oil, as well as the country’s political stability and timber, mineral, and natural gas resources. Nonetheless, income inequality and high unemployment have created slums in Libreville full of migrant workers from Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, and elsewhere in West Africa. In 2011, Gabon declared an end to refugee status for 9,500 remaining Congolese nationals to whom it had granted asylum during the Republic of the Congo’s civil war between 1997 and 2003. About 5,400 of these refugees received permits to reside in Gabon. |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 85.9% female: 83.4% (2018) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
