Demographics of Gabon

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Demographics of Gabon
Population pyramid of Gabon in 2020
Population2,340,613 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.4% (2022 est.)
Birth rate26.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate5.67 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy69.7 years
 • male67.98 years
 • female71.48 years (2022 est.)
Fertility rate3.31 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate28.56 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years36.45%
65 and over3.98%
Sex ratio
Total1.08 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.03 male(s)/female
65 and over0.78 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityGabonese
Language
OfficialFrench

The Demographics of Gabon is the makeup of the population of Gabon. As of 2020, Gabon has a population of 2,225,287. Gabon's population is relatively young with 35.5% of its population under 15 years of age and only 4.3% of its population over 65 years old. Gabon has a nearly even split between males and females with 0.99 males for every female in the population. In the age range of 15–65, the ration is exactly 1 male to 1 female. The life expectancy of Gabon is lower than the world average. Gabon's population's life expectancy at birth is 53.11 years while the world average is 67.2 years as of 2010. Ethnically, the biggest group in Gabon are the Fang people with over 500,000 people, or about a third of Gabon's population, belonging to this ethnic group. The biggest religion in Gabon is Christianity, with between 55–75% of the population of Gabon being Christian.

Population[edit]

Gabon population statistics (1950–2014)

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2] the total population was 2,341,179 in 2021, compared to only 469,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 35.5%, 60.2% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.3% was 65 years or older .[3]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 469 000 28.4 64.3 7.3
1955 476 000 29.4 63.5 7.1
1960 486 000 30.3 62.6 7.1
1965 502 000 31.9 61.1 7.1
1970 530 000 33.0 59.9 7.1
1975 595 000 35.2 58.0 6.8
1980 683 000 37.7 55.9 6.4
1985 794 000 40.0 54.0 6.0
1990 929 000 41.4 53.0 5.6
1995 1 087 000 42.0 52.8 5.1
2000 1 235 000 41.0 54.3 4.8
2005 1 371 000 38.6 57.0 4.4
2010 1 505 000 35.5 60.2 4.3

Structure of the population (DHS 2012; males 19,318, females 20,636, total 39,955):

Age group Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
0–4 16.0 14.3 15.1
5–9 12.4 12.4 12.4
10–14 12.0 12.5 12.3
15–19 9.6 9.9 9.7
20–24 7.6 9.6 8.7
25–29 7.5 8.4 8.0
30–34 7.8 7.0 7.4
35–39 6.6 5.4 5.9
40–44 5.4 4.4 4.9
45–49 4.1 3.3 3.7
50–54 3.4 4.2 3.8
55–59 2.0 2.3 2.1
60–64 2.6 1.7 2.1
65–69 1.1 1.4 1.2
70–74 0.9 1.3 1.1
75–79 0.6 0.7 0.6
80+ 0.5 1.3 0.9
Age group Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
0–14 40.4 39.2 39.8
15–64 56.5 56.1 56.4
65+ 3.1 4.7 3.8

Vital statistics[edit]

Registration of vital events is in Gabon not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses.[4]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950   473   14   11   3 30.2 24.1 6.0 3.95 158.6 39.63
1951   476   14   11   3 30.1 23.8 6.3 3.95 154.9 40.34
1952   479   14   11   3 30.1 23.5 6.6 3.97 151.3 41.04
1953   482   15   11   3 30.1 23.0 7.1 3.99 147.7 41.81
1954   486   15   11   4 30.2 22.8 7.4 4.03 144.3 42.43
1955   489   15   11   4 30.3 22.3 8.0 4.07 140.7 43.18
1956   494   15   11   4 30.5 22.0 8.5 4.12 137.2 43.90
1957   498   15   11   5 30.7 21.6 9.1 4.17 133.8 44.60
1958   503   16   11   5 31.1 21.3 9.8 4.25 130.5 45.28
1959   508   16   11   5 31.5 21.0 10.5 4.34 127.4 45.90
1960   513   16   11   6 31.9 20.6 11.3 4.42 124.1 46.58
1961   519   17   11   6 32.3 20.3 11.9 4.50 121.0 47.23
1962   526   17   11   7 32.6 20.0 12.6 4.59 118.0 47.84
1963   533   18   10   7 32.9 19.7 13.2 4.65 115.0 48.48
1964   540   18   10   7 33.1 19.3 13.8 4.71 112.2 49.05
1965   548   18   10   8 33.5 18.9 14.5 4.79 109.4 49.75
1966   556   19   10   8 33.8 18.6 15.2 4.86 106.7 50.35
1967   564   19   10   9 34.1 18.3 15.8 4.92 104.0 50.89
1968   574   20   10   9 34.4 18.0 16.4 4.98 101.4 51.44
1969   585   20   10   10 34.7 17.7 17.1 5.05 98.8 51.96
1970   597   21   10   11 35.1 17.3 17.8 5.10 96.3 52.56
1971   610   22   10   11 35.6 17.0 18.6 5.16 93.9 53.07
1972   622   22   10   12 36.0 16.6 19.4 5.24 91.5 53.61
1973   635   23   10   13 36.3 16.3 19.9 5.29 89.2 54.06
1974   649   24   10   13 36.5 16.0 20.5 5.33 86.9 54.57
1975   663   24   10   14 36.9 15.7 21.2 5.39 84.6 55.04
1976   679   25   10   15 37.3 15.3 22.0 5.46 82.4 55.57
1977   695   26   10   16 37.7 15.0 22.7 5.52 80.3 56.09
1978   712   27   10   17 38.0 14.6 23.4 5.57 78.2 56.66
1979   730   28   10   17 38.2 14.3 23.9 5.61 76.1 57.05
1980   749   29   11   18 38.5 14.0 24.5 5.66 74.1 57.45
1981   769   30   11   19 38.9 13.8 25.1 5.73 72.2 57.82
1982   790   31   11   20 38.9 13.5 25.4 5.74 70.3 58.11
1983   811   32   11   21 39.0 13.2 25.9 5.76 68.6 58.60
1984   833   32   11   22 38.9 12.9 26.0 5.73 67.0 58.89
1985   856   33   11   22 38.8 12.5 26.3 5.71 65.5 59.31
1986   880   34   11   23 38.7 12.3 26.4 5.69 64.1 59.64
1987   905   35   11   24 38.7 12.0 26.7 5.67 62.9 59.89
1988   930   36   11   25 38.5 11.8 26.6 5.62 61.8 60.01
1989   957   36   11   25 38.1 11.6 26.5 5.55 60.8 60.27
1990   983   37   11   26 37.6 11.4 26.2 5.46 60.0 60.31
1991   1 010   38   11   26 37.2 11.3 26.0 5.37 59.3 60.40
1992   1 037   38   11   27 36.8 11.1 25.8 5.29 58.6 60.55
1993   1 065   39   12   27 36.4 10.9 25.5 5.19 58.1 60.72
1994   1 094   39   12   27 35.6 10.8 24.8 5.04 57.7 60.70
1995   1 122   39   12   27 34.8 10.6 24.2 4.88 57.3 60.70
1996   1 151   39   12   27 34.2 10.5 23.7 4.74 57.0 60.61
1997   1 180   40   12   28 34.0 10.4 23.6 4.66 56.6 60.66
1998   1 210   41   12   28 33.8 10.3 23.5 4.58 56.1 60.79
1999   1 241   42   13   29 33.5 10.2 23.3 4.50 55.4 60.85
2000   1 273   43   13   30 33.5 10.0 23.5 4.47 54.7 61.07
2001   1 307   43   13   31 33.3 9.8 23.4 4.42 53.8 61.27
2002   1 342   44   13   31 33.1 9.8 23.3 4.36 52.9 61.29
2003   1 378   45   13   32 32.9 9.5 23.3 4.30 51.8 61.67
2004   1 417   46   13   33 32.8 9.4 23.4 4.25 50.6 61.84
2005   1 458   48   14   34 32.7 9.3 23.4 4.21 49.4 61.96
2006   1 503   49   14   35 32.7 9.1 23.6 4.17 48.2 62.38
2007   1 550   50   14   37 32.7 8.9 23.8 4.14 46.8 62.62
2008   1 600   52   14   38 32.7 8.7 24.0 4.12 45.4 63.08
2009   1 654   54   14   40 33.0 8.6 24.4 4.14 43.9 63.30
2010   1 711   57   14   42 33.2 8.3 24.9 4.15 42.4 63.90
2011   1 773   59   14   44 33.2 8.2 25.0 4.15 41.0 64.05
2012   1 837   60   14   45 32.7 7.9 24.8 4.09 39.7 64.59
2013   1 902   61   15   46 32.2 7.8 24.4 4.02 38.4 64.78
2014   1 967   62   15   47 31.6 7.7 24.0 3.95 37.0 64.97
2015   2 029   63   15   48 31.0 7.4 23.6 3.89 35.6 65.46
2016   2 086   63   15   48 30.4 7.2 23.1 3.82 33.8 65.80
2017   2 140   64   15   48 29.7 7.1 22.7 3.75 32.6 66.19
2018   2 192   64   15   48 29.0 7.0 22.0 3.68 31.6 66.31
2019   2 243   64   15   48 28.4 6.9 21.5 3.62 30.9 66.60
2020   2 293   63   16   48 27.7 6.9 20.8 3.55 30.1 66.53
2021   2 341   64 17   47 27.1 7.3 19.9 3.49 29.2 65.82

Fertility and births[edit]

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[5]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2000 33.1 4.3 (3.5) 33.3 3.9 (3.2) 32.4 5.7 (4.7)
2012 33.3 4.1 (3.2) 33.2 3.9 (3.0) 33.4 6.1 (4.6)
2019-2021 31.3 3.9 (3.2) 31.6 3.8 (3.1) 28.9 5.4 (4.1)

Fertility data as of 2012 (DHS Program):[6]

Province Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Libreville/Port-Gentil 3.5 9.3 4.4
Estuaire (except Libreville) 4.1 8.6 5.2
Haut-Ogooué 4.9 10.3 5.8
Moyen-Ogooué 4.9 8.9 5.4
Ngounié 5.7 10.9 6.0
Nyanga 5.7 10.7 6.2
Ogooué Maritime (except Port-Gentil) 4.8 9.8 4.6
Ogooué-Ivindo 6.7 14.0 6.6
Ogooué-Lolo 5.3 11.3 5.9
Woleu-N’tem 5.0 9.8 4.7

Life expectancy[edit]

Period Life expectancy in
Years[7]
1950–1955 37.00
1955–1960 Increase 39.00
1960–1965 Increase 40.50
1965–1970 Increase 44.65
1970–1975 Increase 48.78
1975–1980 Increase 52.91
1980–1985 Increase 57.03
1985–1990 Increase 60.70
1990–1995 Increase 61.01
1995–2000 Decrease 60.03
2000–2005 Decrease 59.07
2005–2010 Increase 61.34
2010–2015 Increase 64.45

Other demographics statistics[edit]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[8]

  • One birth every 8 minutes
  • One death every 35 minutes
  • One net migrant every 360 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 10 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[9]

Population[edit]

2,340,613 (2022 est.)
2,119,036 (July 2018 est.)

Religions[edit]

Roman Catholic 43.5%, Protestant and other Christian 36%, Muslim 10%, animist 3.3%, other 6%, none 1.2% (2020 figures)[10]

Age structure[edit]

Population pyramid of Gabon in 2020
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.)
0-14 years: 37.45% (male 405,676 /female 387,900)
15-24 years: 22.08% (male 245,490 /female 222,343)
25-54 years: 31.6% (male 355,348 /female 314,344)
55-64 years: 4.96% (male 54,679 /female 50,356)
65 years and over: 3.91% (male 40,721 /female 42,179) (2018 est.)

Birth rate[edit]

26.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 44th
26.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 46th

Death rate[edit]

5.67 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 175th
6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 157th

Total fertility rate[edit]

3.31 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 43rd
3.52 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 42nd

Population growth rate[edit]

2.4% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th
2.73% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 15th

Median age[edit]

total: 21 years. Country comparison to the world: 186th
male: 21.4 years
female: 20.6 years (2020 est.)
total: 20.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 187th
male: 20.8 years
female: 20.2 years (2018 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth[edit]

19.6 years (2012 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 20-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate[edit]

31.1% (2012)

Net migration rate[edit]

3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 31st
-2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 161st

Dependency ratios[edit]

total dependency ratio: 67.4 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 59.9 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 7.6 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 13.2 (2015 est.)

Urbanization[edit]

urban population: 90.7% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 89.4% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 2.61% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Life expectancy at birth[edit]

total population: 69.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 174th
male: 67.98 years
female: 71.48 years (2022 est.)
total population: 68.1346 years (2018 est.)
male: 66.3 years (2018 est.)
female: 69.6 years (2018 est.)

Education expenditures[edit]

2.8% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 160th

Literacy[edit]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 84.7%
male: 85.9%
female: 83.4% (2018)
total population: 83.2% (2015 est.)
male: 85.3% (2015 est.)
female: 81% (2015 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24[edit]

total: 35.7%
male: 30.5% (2010 est.)
female: 41.9% (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases[edit]

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

Ethnic groups[edit]

Broad ethnic groups in Gabon are:

  1. Bantu groups including four major groupings (Fang, Eshira, Punu, Teke)
  2. Other Africans, notably 'forest people' (pygmy, now sedentary) such as the Babongo tribe
  3. Europeans, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality

2012 Census[edit]

Groups Percentage
Gabonese-born 80.1%
Fang 23.2%
Shira-Punu/Vili 18.9%
Nzabi-Duma 11.3%
Mbede-Teke 6.9%
Myene 5%
Kola-Kele 4.9%
Okande-Tsogo 2.1%
Pygmy 0.3%
Other Gabonese Groups 7.5%
Other 19.9%
Cameroonian 4.6%
Malian 2.4%
Beninese 2.1%
Acquired Gabonese Nationality 1.6%
Togolese 1.6%
Senegalese 1.1%
Congolese (Brazzaville) 1%
Other (Includes Congolese (Kinshasa), Equatorial Guinean, Nigerian ) 5.5%

Source:[11]

Language and religion[edit]

Religions include Roman Catholic 43.5%, Protestant and other Christian 36%, Muslim 10%, animist 3.3%, other 6%, and none 1.2% (2020 figures).[12]

Languages include French (official since colonial rule), Fang, Myene, the Teke group, Punu, and Njebi.


According to research conducted in 2011 at the University of Western Cape:


"It has been noted that French is increasingly be-coming the mother tongue and the initial language of the younger generations in urban Gabon (Pambou, 1998:147; Ndinga-Koumba-Binza, 2005a:72 & 2005b:141; Idiata, 2008:85; cf. Blanchon, 1994). In fact, studies by Ntong Amvame (1984), Bouché (1998), Mbondzi (1998), Ompoussa (1998), Itembo (1999) and Mouloungui Nguimbyt (2002) have shown that pupils of various ages and grades at schools learn French more efficiently than any other Gabonese language. Idiata (2008:200 & 2009:126) has also noted that some pupils do not speak any of the Gabonese native languages at all. One of the reasons for this phenomenon (i.e. French being the mother tongue of younger generations) is cross-ethnic marriages.


"In fact, many couples of mixed ethnicity prefer French rather than Gabonese native languages as the code for better communication within the family. Children from a family of this kind have no choice but to acquire French as their first language. The children learn the language at home from the parents before they even get to school, therefore lessening the chances of learning any of the Gabonese native languages.


"This urbanisation is also to be considered as a cause for French being the initial language of Gabonese younger generations. In fact, “in certain urban contexts there is a large degree of learning by contact at an early age” (Lafage, 1993:216)."[13]

Literacy rates are as follows: [14]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.2%
male: 85.3%
female: 81% (2015 est.)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. ^ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2022). "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XLS (91MB)). United Nations Population Division. 27 (Online ed.). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. rows 3749:3820, cols M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09.
  5. ^ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". Microdata.worldbank.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 2012" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  8. ^ "Gabon Population 2022", World Population Review
  9. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The World FactBook - Eswatini", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018
  10. ^ The ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-03
  11. ^ "Africa :: Gabon — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  12. ^ The ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-03
  13. ^ Ndinga-Koumba-Binza, Hugues Steve. "From foreign to national: a review of the status of French in Gabon". University of the Western Cape.
  14. ^ "Africa :: GABON". CIA The World Factbook. 13 March 2024.

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