Gabon's population reaches 3.5 million, with over a third being foreign nationals

The census revealed that 2,318,365 residents are Gabonese nationals, while 1,200,256 are foreign nationals, meaning approximately one in three residents in Gabon is a foreign national. The resident population is composed of 51.2% men and 48.8% women. Among Gabonese citizens alone, women are slightly in the majority at about 52%, compared to 48.1% men.

The census, conducted by 5,005 enumerators across 3,322 enumeration areas, covered 865,000 households with a national coverage rate of 97%. Minister Mvono attributed this success to digitalization, geolocation, and real-time monitoring. The Estuaire province, particularly around Libreville, accounts for over 60% of the national population.

The minister emphasized that these figures will guide public policies and development planning, especially for the National Growth and Development Plan PNCD 2026-2030, addressing areas like health, education, housing, employment, and land use planning. She also highlighted the need to strengthen decentralization and leverage mining, industrial, and agricultural projects to attract populations to other provinces.