# Congo and Gabon compared Congo and Gabon side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 2 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/cog-vs-gab Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Congo: 15 August 1960 — Independence from French Equatorial Africa - Gabon: 17 August 1960 — Independence from French Equatorial Africa ## Economy | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $16 B | 2024 | $21 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $2,482 | 2024 | $8,230 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 2.6% | 2024 | 3.4% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.1% | 2024 | 1.2% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 93.2% | 2024 | 92.0% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 6.3 m | 2024 | 2.5 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 66.0 yrs | 2024 | 68.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 63.9% | 2024 | 91.9% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 4.1 | 2024 | 3.6 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 33.8 | 2024 | 39.0 | 2024 | | Political stability | 61.5 | 2024 | 61.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 29.7 | 2024 | 40.3 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 36.7 | 2024 | 43.5 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 36.7 | 2024 | 37.1 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 19.0 | 2024 | 28.9 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 3.3% | 2023 | 3.1% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.17 | 2022 | 0.52 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 39.1 | 2024 | 32.6 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 72.0% | 2024 | 57.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 45.9% | 2021 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 76.1% | 2005 | 88.9% | 2021 | | Education spending | 3.3% | 2023 | 2.3% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 87.9% | 2023 | 100.2% | 2019 | | Secondary enrolment | 50.5% | 2012 | 70.3% | 2019 | | Tertiary enrolment | 10.4% | 2023 | 7.7% | 2003 | ## Technology | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.4% | 2022 | 0.6% | 2009 | | Researchers (per million) | 127 | 2022 | — | — | | Internet users | 47.3% | 2024 | 68.7% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 96 | 2024 | 125 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 3.2% | 2023 | 1.8% | 2023 | ## Geography | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 341,500 km² | 2023 | 257,670 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 64.1% | 2023 | 91.2% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 31.2% | 2023 | 8.4% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.3 | 2024 | 2.0 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 71.4% | 2021 | 91.3% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 37.7% | 2021 | 18.5% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 34.4% | 2021 | 15.6% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 3.0% | 2021 | 2.6% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 51.3% | 2023 | 94.1% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Congo | Observed | Gabon | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.2% | 2024 | 1.5% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $182 M | 2024 | $319 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 12,000 | 2020 | 7,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/COG.md and https://terralore.co/country/GAB.md. ## Entangled histories (2 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1910: **Gabon joins French Equatorial Africa** — France reorganised its Central African colonies into French Equatorial Africa in 1910 — Gabon, the Middle Congo, Ubangi-Shari and Chad, governed from Brazzaville — with Gabon a separate colony. (from the Gabon chronicle; sources: French Equatorial Africa; History of Gabon) - 1910: **Middle Congo joins French Equatorial Africa** — France reorganised its Central African colonies in 1910 into French Equatorial Africa — Gabon, Middle Congo, Ubangi-Shari and Chad — governed from Brazzaville, which became the federation's federal capital. (from the Congo chronicle; sources: French Equatorial Africa; Republic of the Congo; Moyen-Congo (Middle Congo) — Formation) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/COG/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/GAB/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Congo and Gabon compared", terralore.co/compare/cog-vs-gab, retrieved .