Population:
2,051,363 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
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: 37.44% (male 385,646/female 382,328)
15-24 years: 20.47% (male 207,611/female 212,366)
25-54 years: 34.4% (male 345,788/female 359,976)
55-64 years: 4.2% (male 41,295/female 44,865)
65 years and over: 3.48% (male 33,153/female 38,335) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::GAMBIA, THE
Population Pyramid
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
youth dependency ratio: 87.8
elderly dependency ratio: 4.5
potential support ratio: 22.3 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 21 years
male: 20.7 years
female: 21.3 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
Population growth rate:
2.05% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
Birth rate:
29.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133
Net migration rate:
-1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
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: 60.8% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 3.96% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
BANJUL (capital) 504,000 (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
20.9 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
706 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
Infant mortality rate:
total: 60.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 54.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.1 years
male: 62.8 years
female: 67.5 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 180
Total fertility rate:
3.52 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
9% (2013)
Health expenditures:
7.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 73
Physicians density:
0.11 physicians/1,000 population (2015)
Hospital bed density:
1.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 94.2% of population
rural: 84.4% of population
total: 90.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 5.8% of population
rural: 15.6% of population
total: 9.8% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 61.5% of population
rural: 55% of population
total: 58.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 38.5% of population
rural: 45% of population
total: 41.1% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.7% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
20,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,100 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
10.3% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 138
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
16.4% (2013)
country comparison to the world: 38
Education expenditures:
2.8% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 109
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 55.5%
male: 63.9%
female: 47.6% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
male: 9 years
female: 9 years (2010)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 44.3%
male: 38.1%
female: 49.5% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11