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Gabon vs. Equatorial Guinea

Demographics

GabonEquatorial Guinea
Population2,284,912 (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
857,008 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 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: 38.73% (male 164,417/female 159,400)

15-24 years: 19.94% (male 84,820/female 81,880)

25-54 years: 32.72% (male 137,632/female 135,973)

55-64 years: 4.69% (male 17,252/female 22,006)

65 years and over: 3.92% (male 13,464/female 19,334) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 21 years

male: 21.4 years

female: 20.6 years (2020 est.)
total: 20.3 years

male: 19.9 years

female: 20.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.41% (2021 est.)2.29% (2021 est.)
Birth rate26.14 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)30.09 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)7.16 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate3.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat 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.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

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

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.78 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 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.)
total: 63.25 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 66.12 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 60.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 69.37 years

male: 67.66 years

female: 71.14 years (2021 est.)
total population: 66.35 years

male: 64.96 years

female: 67.78 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.36 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.02 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate3% (2020 est.)7.3% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Gabonese (singular and plural)

adjective: Gabonese
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)

adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic groupsGabonese-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)Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS46,000 (2020 est.)68,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsRoman 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.)nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, Muslim, Baha'i, animist, indigenous
HIV/AIDS - deaths1,100 <1000 (2020 est.)2,300 (2020 est.)
LanguagesFrench (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, BandjabiSpanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes Fang, Bubi, Portuguese (official), French (official), Portuguese-based Creoles spoken in Ano Bom) 32.4% (1994 census)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 84.7%

male: 85.9%

female: 83.4% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.4%

female: 93% (2015)
Major infectious diseasesdegree 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
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

animal contact diseases: rabies
Education expenditures2.7% of GDP (2014)NA
Urbanizationurban population: 90.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 73.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: 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.)
improved: urban: 81.7% of population

rural: 32.1% of population

total: 67.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.3% of population

rural: 67.9% of population

total: 32.4% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: 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.)
improved: urban: 81.2% of population

rural: 63.4% of population

total: 76.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.8% of population

rural: 36.6% of population

total: 23.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population845,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2021)297,000 MALABO (capital) (2018)
Maternal mortality rate252 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)301 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight6.4% (2012)5.6% (2011)
Health expenditures2.8% (2018)3% (2018)
Physicians density0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)0.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density6.3 beds/1,000 population (2010)2.1 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate15% (2016)8% (2016)
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.

Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest and least populated countries in continental Africa and is the only independent African country where Spanish is an official language. Despite a boom in oil production in the 1990s, authoritarianism, corruption, and resource mismanagement have concentrated the benefits among a small elite. These practices have perpetuated income inequality and unbalanced development, such as low public spending on education and health care. Unemployment remains problematic because the oil-dominated economy employs a small labor force dependent on skilled foreign workers. The agricultural sector, Equatorial Guinea's main employer, continues to deteriorate because of a lack of investment and the migration of rural workers to urban areas. About three-quarters of the population lives below the poverty line.

Equatorial Guinea's large and growing youth population - about 60% are under the age of 25 - is particularly affected because job creation in the non-oil sectors is limited, and young people often do not have the skills needed in the labor market. Equatorial Guinean children frequently enter school late, have poor attendance, and have high dropout rates. Thousands of Equatorial Guineans fled across the border to Gabon in the 1970s to escape the dictatorship of MACIAS NGUEMA; smaller numbers have followed in the decades since. Continued inequitable economic growth and high youth unemployment increases the likelihood of ethnic and regional violence.

Contraceptive prevalence rate31.1% (2012)12.6% (2011)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 68.9

youth dependency ratio: 62.9

elderly dependency ratio: 6

potential support ratio: 16.8 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 64.4

youth dependency ratio: 60.5

elderly dependency ratio: 3.9

potential support ratio: 25.5 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook