Browse a full set of economic indicators

Gambia

Includes The Gambia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about The Gambia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of The Gambia best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Presidential republic

Capital City: Banjul

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Central Bank of The Gambia

Currency Dalasis (GMD)

International Reserves USD 0.19 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 1.6 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 6.1 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007: 3.5%
2008: 5.7%
2009: 6.5%
2010: 6.5%
2011: -4.3%
2012: 5.6%
2013: 4.8%
2014: -0.9%
2015: 5.9%
2016: 0.4%
2017: 4.6%
2018 (Estimate): 6.6%
GDP per capita – current prices USD 745.2 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 2,791.9 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980 0.0%
1990 0.0%
2000 0.0%
2010 0.0%
2019* 0.005%
*Estimate
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 23%
industry: 12.9%
services: 56.6%
(2017 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2015 6.8%
2016 7.2%
2017 8%
2018* 6.5%
2019* 6.9%

(*Estimate)

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015 6.8%
2016 7.2%
2017 8%
2018* 6.5%
2019* 6.9%

(*Estimate)
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: N/A

Moody’s: N/A

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (Updated January 2017)
Unemployment rate N/A
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015 69.4%
2016 80.9%
2017 87%
2018* 86.6%
2019* 80.9%
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015 -5.4%
2016 -6.4%
2017 -5%
2018* -6.2%
2019* -3.4%

*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 22.7% (2017)

Shares in world total merchandising export 0.001% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 0.003% (2017)

Total exports USD 264.6 million (2017)

Export commodities Peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels

Total imports USD 548.1 million (2017 estimate)

Import commodities Foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Exports – major partners Guinea-Bissau 51.9%, Vietnam 14.6%, Senegal 8.8%, Mali 7.2% (2017)

Imports – major partners Cote dIvoire 11.5%, Brazil 10.6%, Spain 10.2%, China 7.8%, Russia 6.4%, Netherlands 5.3%, India 5% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -0.2 billion (2018 estimate)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -13.7% (2017 -9.7 % (2018 estimate))

FDI inflows 2016 USD -28 million
2017 USD 18 million
2018 USD 29 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD -1.4 million
2017 USD 7.5 million
2018 USD -5.6 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

155 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 119 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 145 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 165 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 143 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 152 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 170 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 172 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 115 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 129 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 128 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking
124 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 146 / Score: 52.4 (Mostly unfree)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 28,748 sq km


Total Population 1990 3.3 Million
2000 3.1 Million
2010 2.9 Million
2015 2.9 Million
2020 2.8 Million
Urban population as % of total population 1960 30.7%
1980 33.8%
2000 41.7%
2020 62.1%
Population median age 34.3 years (2022 est.)


CIA World Factbook / Population median age
Population growth rate 0.22% (2022 est.)
Life expectancy 79.5 years (2022 estimate)


CIA World Factbook / Life expectancy
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 1.2% (last available estimate, 2019)

World Bank / Poverty headcount at $3.10
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) 30.8 (last available estimate, 2019)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

World Bank / Gini Index


Freedom House rating Total score: 67/100

Status: Partly Free

Political Rights: 28/40

Civil Liberties: 39/60 (2022)

Freedom House
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 7.8%

Mobile: 91.0% (2020) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 72.2% (2020)

Language & Religon

Languages Albanian 98.8% (official – derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

CIA World Factbook / Languages
Literacy Total population: 38.2%
Male: 52%
Female: 24.2%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

(age 15 and over can read and write)
Religions Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% (2011 est.)

CIA World Factbook / Religions

World Rankings

Population 2.4 M
Mercer Cost of living index Banjul: 204th (2019)

C02 Emissions per capita 0.25 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: The Gambia

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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