The official language used in Gabon is French. It is also the language of instruction in most institutions of learning. Furthermore, the use of French dominates government and business affairs.



Approximately 80% of Gabonese can speak fluent French. In the capital city, which is Libreville, about 30% of the residents are native speakers of French.

Some of the common phrases used in the Fang language include “M’bolo” meaning “hello”, "Y'o num vah?", which means "how are you?", and "Akiba" which means "thank you".





Besides French, the people of Gabon use other vernacular languages for communication. The most common local dialect is Fang. About 32% of the Gabonese speak Fang as their mother tongue. Other languages used in Gabon are Punu (10.2%), Nzebi (8.9%), Mpengwe (4.1%), and many others (48.2%).

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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