Gabon vs. Republic of the Congo
Demographics
Gabon | Republic of the Congo | |
---|---|---|
Population | 2,284,912 (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 structure | 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: 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 age | total: 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 rate | 2.41% (2021 est.) | 2.36% (2021 est.) |
Birth rate | 26.14 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 32.15 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
Death rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 8.55 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
Net migration rate | 3.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
Sex ratio | at 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 rate | total: 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 birth | total 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 rate | 3.36 children born/woman (2021 est.) | 4.41 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 3% (2020 est.) | 3.3% (2020 est.) |
Nationality | noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese | noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
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 .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/AIDS | 46,000 (2020 est.) | 110,000 (2020 est.) |
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.) | 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 - deaths | 1,100 <1000 (2020 est.) | 6,100 (2020 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | French (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. |
Literacy | definition: 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 diseases | 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 | 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 expenditures | 2.7% of GDP (2014) | 3.5% of GDP (2018) |
Urbanization | urban 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 source | improved: 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 access | improved: 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 - population | 845,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2021) | 2.470 million BRAZZAVILLE (capital), 1.254 million Pointe-Noire (2021) |
Maternal mortality rate | 252 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) | 378 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.4% (2012) | 12.3% (2014/15) |
Health expenditures | 2.8% (2018) | 2.1% (2018) |
Physicians density | 0.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017) | 0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2011) |
Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 15% (2016) | 9.6% (2016) |
Mother's mean age at first birth | 19.6 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.
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Contraceptive prevalence rate | 31.1% (2012) | 30.1% (2014/15) |
Dependency ratios | total 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