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Gabon vs. Republic of the Congo

Demographics

GabonRepublic of the Congo
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
5,417,414 (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
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: 41.57% (male 1,110,484/female 1,089,732)

15-24 years: 17.14% (male 454,981/female 452,204)

25-54 years: 33.5% (male 886,743/female 886,312)

55-64 years: 4.59% (male 125,207/female 117,810)

65 years and over: 3.2% (male 75,921/female 93,676) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 21 years

male: 21.4 years

female: 20.6 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.5 years

male: 19.3 years

female: 19.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.41% (2021 est.)2.36% (2021 est.)
Birth rate26.14 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)32.15 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)8.55 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: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 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: 49.28 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 53.82 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 44.61 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: 61.69 years

male: 60.27 years

female: 63.16 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.36 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.41 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate3% (2020 est.)3.3% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Gabonese (singular and plural)

adjective: Gabonese
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)

adjective: Congolese or Congo
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)Kongo 40.5%, Teke 16.9%, Mbochi 13.1%, foreigner 8.2%, Sangha 5.6%, Mbere/Mbeti/Kele 4.4%, Punu 4.3%, Pygmy 1.6%, Oubanguiens 1.6%, Duma 1.5%, Makaa 1.3%, other and unspecified 1% (2014-15 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS46,000 (2020 est.)110,000 (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.)Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths1,100 <1000 (2020 est.)6,100 (2020 est.)
LanguagesFrench (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, BandjabiFrench (official), French Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)

major-language sample(s):
Buku oyo ya bosembo ya Mokili Mobimba Ezali na Makanisi ya Liboso Mpenza. (Lingala)

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: 80.3%

male: 86.1%

female: 74.6% (2018)
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

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies
Education expenditures2.7% of GDP (2014)3.5% of GDP (2018)
Urbanizationurban population: 90.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 68.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.19% 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: 97.5% of population

rural: 56.4% of population

total: 83.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population

rural: 43.6% of population

total: 16.3% 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: 73.4% of population

rural: 15.1% of population

total: 53.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 26.6% of population

rural: 84.9% of population

total: 46.1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population845,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2021)2.470 million BRAZZAVILLE (capital), 1.254 million Pointe-Noire (2021)
Maternal mortality rate252 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)378 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight6.4% (2012)12.3% (2014/15)
Health expenditures2.8% (2018)2.1% (2018)
Physicians density0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate15% (2016)9.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.6 years (2012 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49
19.8 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
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.

The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with nearly 70% of Congolese living in urban areas.  The population is concentrated in the southwest of the country, mainly in the capital Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and along the railway line that connects the two.  The tropical jungles in the north of the country are sparsely populated.  Most Congolese are Bantu, and most belong to one of four main ethnic groups, the Kongo, Teke, Mbochi, and Sangha, which consist of over 70 subgroups.

The Republic of Congo is in the early stages of a demographic transition, whereby a population shifts from high fertility and mortality rates to low fertility and mortality rates associated with industrialized societies.  Its total fertility rate (TFR), the average number of children born per woman, remains high at 4.4.  While its TFR has steadily decreased, the progress slowed beginning in about 1995.  The slowdown in fertility reduction has delayed the demographic transition and Congo's potential to reap a demographic dividend, the economic boost that can occur when the share of the working-age population is larger than the dependent age groups. 

The TFR differs significantly between urban and rural areas - 3.7 in urban areas versus 6.5 in rural areas.  The TFR also varies among regions.  The urban regions of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire have much lower TFRs than other regions, which are predominantly or completely rural.  The gap between desired fertility and actual fertility is also greatest in rural areas.  Rural families may have more children to contribute to agricultural production and/or due to a lack of information about and access to contraception.  Urban families may prefer to have fewer children because raising them is more expensive and balancing work and childcare may be more difficult.  The number of births among teenage girls, the frequency of giving birth before the age of fifteen, and a lack of education are the most likely reasons for higher TFRs in rural areas.  Although 90% of school-age children are enrolled in primary school, repetition and dropout rates are high and the quality of education is poor.  Congolese women with no or little education start having children earlier and have more children in total than those with at least some secondary education.

 

Contraceptive prevalence rate31.1% (2012)30.1% (2014/15)
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: 78.7

youth dependency ratio: 73.7

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.3 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook