Population:
2,173,999
(July 2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
146
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Gambian(s)
adjective:
Gambian
Ethnic groups:
Mandinka/Jahanka 34%, Fulani/Tukulur/Lorobo 22.4%, Wolof 12.6%, Jola/Karoninka 10.7%, Serahuleh 6.6%, Serer 3.2%, Manjago 2.1%, Bambara 1%, Creole/Aku Marabout 0.7%, other 0.9%, non-Gambian 5.2%, no answer 0.6%
(2013 est.)
Languages:
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
Religions:
Muslim 95.7%, Christian 4.2%, none 0.1%, no response 0.1%
(2013 est.)
Demographic profile:
The Gambia’s youthful age structure – almost 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – is likely to persist because the country’s total fertility rate remains strong at nearly 4 children per woman. The overall literacy rate is around 55%, and is significantly lower for women than for men. At least 70% of the populace are farmers who are reliant on rain-fed agriculture and cannot afford improved seeds and fertilizers. Crop failures caused by droughts between 2011 and 2013 have increased poverty, food shortages, and malnutrition.
The Gambia is a source country for migrants and a transit and destination country for migrants and refugees. Since the 1980s, economic deterioration, drought, and high unemployment, especially among youths, have driven both domestic migration (largely urban) and migration abroad (legal and illegal). Emigrants are largely skilled workers, including doctors and nurses, and provide a significant amount of remittances. The top receiving countries for Gambian emigrants are Spain, the US, Nigeria, Senegal, and the UK. While the Gambia and Spain do not share historic, cultural, or trade ties, rural Gambians have migrated to Spain in large numbers because of its proximity and the availability of jobs in its underground economy (this flow slowed following the onset of Spain’s late 2007 economic crisis).
The Gambia’s role as a host country to refugees is a result of wars in several of its neighboring West African countries. Since 2006, refugees from the Casamance conflict in Senegal have replaced their pattern of flight and return with permanent settlement in The Gambia, often moving in with relatives along the Senegal-Gambia border. The strain of providing for about 7,400 Casamance refugees has increased poverty among Gambian villagers.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.96%
(male 392,714/female 389,027)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.09%
(male 216,307/female 220,514)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 35.85%
(male 382,138/female 397,324)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.4%
(male 45,614/female 50,143)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.69%
(male 36,773/female 43,445)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for The Gambia. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 92.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 87.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 4.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 22.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 21.8 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 21.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 22.2 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
182
Population growth rate:
1.87%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
52
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
27 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
44
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
6.7 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
136
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
155
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
settlements are found scattered along the Gambia River; the largest communities, including the capital of Banjul, and the country's largest city, Serekunda, are found at the mouth of the Gambia River along the Atlantic coast
Urbanization:
urban population: 61.9% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.07% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
443,000 BANJUL (capital)
(2019)
note: includes the local government areas of Banjul and Kanifing
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 97.6 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
20.9 years
(2013 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
597 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
13
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 60.1 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
18
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 63.5 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 68.3 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
190
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
3.21 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
46
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
9%
(2013)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 94.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 84.4% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 90.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 5.8% of population
rural: 15.6% of population
total: 9.8% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
4.4%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.11 physicians/1,000 population
(2015)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
1.1 beds/1,000 population
(2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 61.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 55% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 58.9% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 38.5% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 45% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 41.1% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
26
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
26,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
76
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
<1000
(2018 est.)
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
respiratory diseases:
meningococcal meningitis
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
10.3%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
139
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
16.5%
(2013)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
37
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
2.1% of GDP
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
167
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 55.5%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 63.9%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 47.6%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
(2010)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 13.1%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 9.1%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 17.2%
(2012 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
107
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Gambia, The on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gambia, The People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gambia, The People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20