Demographics of Gabon

Demographics of Gabon
Population pyramid of Gabon in 2020
Population	2,340,613 (2022 est.)
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.)
Life expectancy	69.7 years
• male	67.98 years
• female	71.48 years (2022 est.)
Fertility rate	3.31 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	28.56 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	3.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	36.45%
65 and over	3.98%
Sex ratio
Total	1.08 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.03 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.78 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Gabonese
Language
Official	French

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 ratio 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 and 75% of the population of Gabon being Christian.

Population

Gabon population statistics (1950–2014)

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects 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 .

Year	Total population	Population percent
		aged 0–14	aged 15–64	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

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.

	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	2 295	69	16	53	29.5	6.8	22.7	3.83	30.4	67.1
2021	2 350	69	16	53	28.9	6.8	22.	3.78	29.4	67.1
2022	2 404	69	16	53	28.3	6.5	21.8	3.71	28.4	67.7
2023	2 458	69	16	53	27.7	6.3	21.4	3.65	27.5	68.3

Demographic and Health Surveys

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

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
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):

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

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

Ethnic groups

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

2012 Census

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:

Language and religion

Main article: Religion in Gabon

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

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)."

References

Attribution:

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2025 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)