Population:
2,230,908
(July 2020 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
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
145
[see also: Population country ranks ]
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.)
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.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.45%
(male 413,883/female 399,374)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 21.9%
(male 254,749/female 233,770)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 32.48%
(male 386,903/female 337,776)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 5.19%
(male 58,861/female 56,843)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.98%
(male 44,368/female 44,381)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Gabon. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 67.4
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 59.9
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 7.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 13.2
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 21 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 21.4 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 20.6 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
187
Population growth rate:
2.5%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
25
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
26.3 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
45
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
5.9 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
172
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
30
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
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
Urbanization:
urban population: 89.7% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.61% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
824,000 LIBREVILLE (capital)
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.15 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 108.1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
20.3 years
(2012 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
252 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
41
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 30.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 33.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 27 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
54
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 67.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 70.8 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
172
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
3.41 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
43
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
31.1%
(2012)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 97.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 66.7% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 93.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.8% of population
rural: 33.3% of population
total: 6.8% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
3.1%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.36 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
6.3 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 43.4% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 31.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 41.9% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 56.6% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 68.5% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 58.1% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.8%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
14
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
53,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
59
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,200
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
57
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
15%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
127
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
6.4%
(2012)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
76
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
2.7% of GDP
(2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
151
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.2%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 85.3%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 81%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 35.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 30.5%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 41.9%
(2010 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
20
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Gabon on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gabon People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gabon People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20