Gabon People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
2,397,368 (2023 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 0.3%, 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 as of 2020. With a fertility rate still averaging more than 3 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: 35.04% (male 424,741/female 415,342)
15-64 years: 60.76% (male 765,729/female 690,931)
65 years and over: 4.2% (2023 est.) (male 50,920/female 49,705)
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
2.39% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
25.89 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
5.59 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
3.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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
870,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2023 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
227 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.61 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 24.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 70.03 years
male: 68.3 years
female: 71.81 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.26 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.61 (2023 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
3.4% of GDP (2020)
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.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2023)
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)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
49.7% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
3.2% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.5%
male: 86.2%
female: 84.7% (2021)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 38.4%
male: 33.7%
female: 44.4% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Gabon on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gabon 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gabon 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.