Gabon Country brief no. 5 March 2011 Indigenous Peoples 64765 Census-based profile of the Pygmies in Gabon Prospere Backiny-Yetna and Quentin Wodon There are more than 40 ethnic groups in Gabon, of the population living below the poverty line Prospere Backiny- but according to the country’s 2003 census, the in 2005 and a higher poverty rate among the Yetna (pbackinyyetna@ Pygmies account for only 0.1 percent of the popu- Pygmies. Employment, education, and access worldbank.org) is a consultant for the lation. Among the oldest inhabitants of Central to basic infrastructure indicators also suggest Development Dialogue Africa, the Pygmies have a semi-nomadic life- that the Pygmies are especially disadvantaged. on Values and Ethics in style that has persisted largely unchanged for Census data do not include information on the Human Development thousands of years, with a livelihood focused consumption and poverty, but estimates can be Network at the World on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild fruits obtained by combining census and survey data Bank. Quentin Wodon (qwodon@worldbank. and nuts. Yet because of such factors as urban- and using poverty mapping techniques. Such org) is the advisor ization and deforestation, many Pygmies have analysis suggests that 70.1 percent of Pygmies and program manager become sedentary, leaving them disadvantaged in Gabon live in poverty, compared with 32.7 for the Development and vulnerable. percent of other groups (table 1). Other pov- Dialogue on Values and Evidence from Latin America suggests that erty measures such as the poverty gap and Ethics in the Human poverty is higher, more severe, and more persis- the squared poverty gap also show large dif- Development Network at the World Bank. tent over time among indigenous peoples and ferences between the Pygmies and the rest of ethnic minorities than among the general popu- the population. Average per capita consump- lation. But empirical evidence on the well-being tion of the Pygmies is less than half that of the of indigenous peoples in Africa is scarce, largely non-Pygmies. because of lack of good data. Household surveys Labor force participation rates among the in the region generally do not collect data on Pygmies are significantly higher than those for ethnicity or do not sample enough indigenous the overall population for both men and women. peoples to yield robust conclusions about their Unemployment is lower among the Pygmies, per- living standards. This note uses census data on haps because they are so poor that they can- 245 self-identifying Pygmy households in Gabon not afford not to work. But the share of workers to assess the socioeconomic status of the coun- who are not paid for their work is much higher, try’s Pygmies. suggesting low productivity jobs. The Pygmies While many Pygmies in the Central African also tend to work in agriculture and in occupa- Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo tions that provide services to other households live in extreme poverty given those countries’ more than other groups, which may contribute low GDP per capita, the Pygmies in Gabon, a to higher poverty. medium-income country, may seem better off. School enrollment rates among the Pygmies But inequality is high in Gabon, with a third are much lower than among other groups, This brief is based on a chapter in the forthcoming volume, Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development, edited by Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos. It is not a formal publication of the World Bank. It is circulated to encourage thought and discussion, and its use and citation should take this into account. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank. IndIgenous peoples country brIef Gabon TAble 1 Figure 1 poverty and welfare indicators share of children’s activities in gabon, by ethnicity, 2003 in gabon, by ethnicity, 2003 Indicator Pygmy Non-Pygmy Percent Poverty (percent) Neither work nor school Work only School only Share of population in poverty 70.1 32.7 100 Poverty gap 30.0 10.7 Squared poverty gap 16.4 4.9 Per capita consumption (thousands of CFA francs per year) 75 Average 343 760 Median 303 588 Source: Authors’ estimates based on 2003 census data. 50 especially at the secondary level. Gross secondary enrollment is only 4.4 percent for the Pygmies, 25 compared with 80.3 percent for non-Pygmies. Differences are also large at the primary level, including for net enrollment rates. Lower school enrollment among the Pygmies 0 may have both demand-side (high costs, weaker Pygmy Non-Pygmy cultural emphasis) and supply-side (households Source: Authors’ estimates based on 2003 census data. 2 located farther away from schools) causes. On the demand side one reason for lower school- ing may be the opportunity cost of schooling in In terms of basic infrastructure the Pygmies terms of income and other benefits lost if school- are less likely to have access to safe water and elec- ing reduces the ability of a child to work and tricity; more likely to live in dwelling whose walls, thereby support its family. This may be a factor roof, or floor is made of temporary materials; in Gabon, where Pygmy children are more likely and less likely to have adequate sanitation. Even to work than children of other groups (figure 1). compared with rural households, the Pygmies At the same time, the probability that Pygmy fare worse in all housing dimensions. children are neither working nor at school is Reliable comparable data on the socio- also higher. economic status of indigenous peoples in Sub- Average years of schooling are 3.0 for men and Saharan Africa are often lacking, but 2003 2.8 for women among the Pygmies, compared census data for Gabon show that the Pygmies with 6.5 years for both men and women among are lagging behind the general population in the non-Pygmies. Regression analysis shows terms of wealth, education, and access to basic that even after controlling for other observable infrastructure. While these findings do not characteristics such as household composition, point to specific policies that the government age, geographic location, and the like, Pygmy could implement to improve the Pygmies’ living children have a substantial and statistically sig- conditions, they do suggest the need for more nificant lower probability of being enrolled. qualitative and institutional analysis of measures Because of limited schooling, Pygmies are also to target this especially vulnerable segment of much more likely to be illiterate. Gabon’s population.