- Country
- Gabon
- Ministry responsible
- Ministère de la Justice et des Droits Humains, Garde des Sceaux
- Prison administration
- Administration Pénitentiaire
- Contact address
-
BP 2110, Libreville
Gabon - Telephone
- Fax
- Head of prison administration
-
Brigadier General Jean Germain Effayong-Onong, Directeur
Prison population data
| Prison population total (including pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) |
5,501
at June 2024 (national prison administration)
|
|---|---|
| Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
226
based on an estimated national population of 2.43 million at June 2024 (from United Nations figures)
|
| Pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
70.0%
(June 2024)
|
| Female prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
3.5%
(31.1.2023)
|
| Juveniles / minors / young prisoners incl. definition (percentage of prison population) |
10.8%
(31.1.2023)
|
| Foreign prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
13.8%
(31.1.2023)
|
| Number of establishments / institutions |
9
(2015 - in addition to the nine prisons there are some jails and detention centres)
|
| Occupancy level (based on official capacity) |
(Libreville's central prison held an estimated 1,753 prisoners at 16.1.2014 despite being built for only 300 - African Commission for Human Rights. No official figures have been traced for the country as a whole but according to the U.S. State Department human rights report for 2016 the physical conditions in the prisons and detention centres include ‘gross overcrowding’.)
|
Prison population trend
| Year | Prison population total | Prison population rate |
|---|---|---|
| c. 2,750 | c. 195 | |
| c. 3,500 | c. 210 | |
| 3,373 | 191 | |
| 4,476 | 241 |
Prison population total
Prison population rate
Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the recent trend in the pre-trial/remand prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that pre-trial/remand prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the pre-trial/remand population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
GABON
| Year | Number in pre-trial/remand imprisonment | Percentage of total prison population | Pre-trial/remand population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 2006 2015 | c. 1,100 c. 2,250 | c. 40% c. 66.7% | c. 78 c. 127 |
| 2024 | 3,850 | 70.0% | 158 |
It should be noted that the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners fluctuates from day to day, month to month and year to year. Consequently the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The pre-trial/remand population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
Female prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the trend in the female prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of female prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that female prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the female prison population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
GABON
| Year | Number of female prisoners | Percentage of total prison population | Female prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 2015 | 119 | 3.5% | 6.7 |
| 2023 | 198 | 3.5% | 8.4 |
The number of female prisoners fluctuates and so the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The female prison population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
(If the rate were calculated on the basis of the number of females in the national population it would of course be approximately double the figure in the final column).
Can you donate to support the WPB?
We receive no external funding for our work in sourcing and compiling prison populations data, hosting the WPB website and keeping it regularly updated with the most recent information available. To help sustain this unique, open access resource
