Gabon: A Demographic Anomaly

This paper investigates a number of the probable reasons for the demographic changes that have occurred in Gabon, including high incidence of venereal disease, tuberculosis and other diseases, malnutrition, alcoholism, and induced abortion in earlier years, and the social impacts of increasing affluence in more recent years. Gabon has increased not only its per capita GNP (presently it is approximately six times that of Africa as a whole), but it has also greatly increased its rate of natural increase (from 0.3 percent in the late 1960s to 1.7 percent in 1985). The conclusion is reached that, as the factors keeping population increase at a low level to the present time are progressively controlled, the adoption of effective birth control measures will become increasingly necessary if Gabon is to maintain its decade-long progress toward continued economic development.