Cost Of Living For a Student in Gabon 2025

Average monthly spending for students in Gabon

How much money does a student need in a month to survive in Gabon?

Students in Gabon spend around 280,000 XAF per month on average. Depending on the lifestyle, a student can survive with a monthly budget as low as 42,000 XAF or as high as 3.1M XAF. Location is a very important factor and has a huge influence on expenditure and budget.

How do students spend their money in Gabon?

We asked thousands of students about their spending habits and expenditure break down.

Housing and accomodation expenditure for students

Students in Gabon typically spend from 14% to 25% of their total monthly expenditure on housing with 19% being the average. The average monthly spend on housing is 66,000 XAF with expenditure ranging from 10,000 XAF to 730,000 XAF. This cost mainly goes for rent but it also includes other accommodation-related expenses.

Electricity, utilities, energy, water, internet, and mobile expenditure for students

Utility expenditure like electricity, water, and gas in Gabon ranges from 4% to 10% of total expenses with 6% being the average for most students. The average monthly cost of utilities is 11,000 XAF with 1,700 XAF and 120,000 XAF being the upper and lower limits for a student of four.

Transport, fuel, and commute expenditure for students

Fuel consumption and cost of transport depend heavily on whether a student resides near school and work, but roughly speaking a student would expect to spend from 2,900 XAF to 210,000 XAF in a month on commuting with 19,000 XAF being the norm for most students. This means that money spent on transport constitutes about 5% of total spending on average but can go as low as 5% or as high as 11%.

Food, groceries, and basic shopping expenditure for students

The average outlay on groceries and basic houshold items for a typical student in a month in Gabon is 55,000 XAF. The cost of groceries can range between 8,300 XAF to 610,000 XAF. Students spend on average about 22% on food and groceries with upper and lower bounds of 16% and 26% respectively.

Healthcare and medical services expenditure for students

Students in Gabon allocate 5% to 11% of their total monthly expenditure to healthcare including health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses. The average spending on medical services and clinic visits is around 8%. The range of medical expenses range from 2,500 XAF to 180,000 XAF with 17,000 XAF being the norm for most students.

Leisure and shopping expenditure for students

This category mostly contains discretionary or non-essential expenses but also some non-discretionary spending like furniture for example. The monthly expenses range from 2,100 XAF to 150,000 XAF with 14,000 XAF being the average. Speaking of percentages, that equates to 2% to 7% of total expenses with an average of 3% for most students.

Education and schooling expenditure for students

Spending on education can vary drastically between different students. On average, education constitutes 19% of the monthly expenditure of students with 12% and 24% being the lower and upper bounds respectively. The average reported education cost is 52,000 XAF per month with 7,900 XAF being the minimum spent amount and 580,000 XAF being the maximum.

A typical and healthy budgeting structure

The 50/30/20 rule

Spending among different people can vary significantly based on factors such as their income, lifestyle, location, and personal preferences. A commonly used guideline for budgeting is the 50/30/20 rule, which suggests allocating your income into three main categories in the following percentages.

• 50% for needs and financial obligations

  This category includes essential expenses like housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, and healthcare.

• 30% for wants and discretionary spending

  This category covers discretionary spending on non-essential items, such as dining out, entertainment, travel, and other lifestyle choices.

• 20% for savings and emergency fund

  This is the percentage that must be allocated to savings, emergency funds, and retirement accounts.

About financial planning, money management, and household budgeting

Affordable living in Gabon

Income and cost of living compatibility

We asked students one simple question and recorded their answers.

Is it affordable or economical to live in Gabon?

Around 55% of surveyed students think that living in Gabon is affordable with proper budgeting while 45% reported that it is just too expensive and not affordable even with frugality and thriftness.