Gabon People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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.)

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)

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.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - 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.)

Current Health Expenditure

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

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)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 84.7%

male: 85.9%

female: 83.4% (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 35.7%

male: 30.5%

female: 41.9% (2010 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Gabon on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gabon 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gabon 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.