Gabon People - 2022

Population

2,340,613 (2022 est.)

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 est.)

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: 67.6

youth dependency ratio: 61

elderly dependency ratio: 6.5

potential support ratio: 15.3 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 21 years

male: 21.4 years

female: 20.6 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.4% (2022 est.)

Birth rate

26.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate

5.67 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate

3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 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: 91% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

857,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2022)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.12 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.6 years (2012 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality ratio

252 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 28.56 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 31.58 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 25.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.7 years

male: 67.98 years

female: 71.48 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.31 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

31.1% (2012)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.2% of population

rural: 55.3% of population

total: 93.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population

rural: 44.7% of population

total: 6.9% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

2.8% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density

0.65 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

6.3 beds/1,000 population

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 81.3% of population

rural: 55.1% of population

total: 78.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.7% of population

rural: 44.9% of population

total: 21.3% of population (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

3% (2021 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)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 6.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 5.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

6.4% (2012)

Education expenditures

3.2% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 84.7%

male: 85.9%

female: 83.4% (2018)