Languages
Native
Fang
30%
French
27%
Secondary languages
Myene
12%
Nzebi
11%
Language Samples
Comment allez-vous?
How are you?
Je vais très bien, merci.
I am very well, thank you.
Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Linguistic History
Gabon is a heavily forested equatorial country with around 40 Bantu languages, the largest of which — Fang — is spoken by roughly 30% of the population, primarily in the north. No single indigenous language commands a majority, so French, inherited from colonial rule, functions as the unifying official language of government, education, and formal media. The Fang people, who straddle the borders of Gabon, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, are known for their rich sculptural and musical traditions. French has absorbed a strong local character in Gabon, and most Gabonese are effectively bilingual in French and their ethnic language.
Similar Languages
Cameroon
68%
Equatorial Guinea
62%
Republic of the Congo
55%
Central African Republic
45%
Media
Libreville, Gabon's coastal capital, where French is the language of commerce and government.
Photo: Shirmy25 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Did You Know
01
Gabon has one of Africa's highest GDPs per capita thanks to oil wealth, yet this prosperity has not translated into a dominant indigenous language — French remains the glue of national life.
02
The Fang people are celebrated for their ngil masks, which were an important influence on early 20th-century European modernist artists including Picasso.
03
Gabon contains more than 85% rainforest cover and is home to the famous Lopé National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a linguistic and ecological treasure trove.