Share of population living in urban areas in Gabon

Gabon: Share of population living in urban areas was 83.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
83.1%
World rank
65th
of 236 countries
All-time high
83.1%
in 2020
All-time low
68.5%
in 1960
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in urban areas in Gabon, 1950–2020

0204060801950198520201950: 69.5 %1955: 68.8 %1960: 68.5 %1965: 68.7 %1970: 69.3 %1975: 70.5 %1980: 73.8 %1985: 74.7 %1990: 75.6 %1995: 76.9 %2000: 78.2 %2005: 78.4 %2010: 79.5 %2015: 80.6 %2020: 83.1 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas in Gabon is 83.1%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Gabon peaked at 83.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 68.5%, in 1960.

That places Gabon 65th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 69.2% 68.8% 69.5% 2
1960s 68.6% 68.5% 68.7% 2
1970s 69.9% 69.3% 70.5% 2
1980s 74.2% 73.8% 74.7% 2
1990s 76.2% 75.6% 76.9% 2
2000s 78.3% 78.2% 78.4% 2
2010s 80.1% 79.5% 80.6% 2
2020s 83.1% 83.1% 83.1% 1

Countries ranked near Gabon

  1. 62 China 83.6% compare
  2. 63 Sao Tome and Principe 83.4% compare
  3. 64 India 83.4% compare
  4. 66 Tajikistan 82.8% compare
  5. 67 Somalia 82.7% compare
  6. 68 Haiti 82.6% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Gabon

All data for Gabon →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Gabon?
Share of population living in urban areas in Gabon was 83.1% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Gabon?
The highest recorded value was 83.1% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Gabon?
The lowest recorded value was 68.5% in 1960.
How does Gabon rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Gabon ranks 65th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Gabon?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Gabon data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.