Population: Nationality: Ethnic groups: Languages: Religions: Demographic profile: Age structure: Dependency ratios: Median age: Population growth rate: Birth rate: Death rate: Net migration rate: Population distribution: Urbanization: Major urban areas - population: Sex ratio: Mother's mean age at first birth: Maternal mortality ratio: Infant mortality rate: Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: Contraceptive prevalence rate: Health expenditures: Physicians density: Hospital bed density: Drinking water source: Sanitation facility access: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS - deaths: Major infectious diseases: Obesity - adult prevalence rate: Children under the age of 5 years underweight: Education expenditures: Literacy: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Gambia, The on this page is re-published from the 2018 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gambia, The People 2018 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gambia, The People 2018 should be addressed to the CIA.
2,051,363 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
[see also: Population country ranks ]
noun: Gambian(s)
adjective: Gambian
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.)
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
Muslim 95.7%, Christian 4.2%, none 0.1%, no response 0.1% (2013 est.)
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.
0-14 years: 37.44% (male 385,646/female 382,328)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.47% (male 207,611/female 212,366)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 34.4% (male 345,788/female 359,976)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.2% (male 41,295/female 44,865)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.48% (male 33,153/female 38,335) (2017 est.)
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.
total dependency ratio: 92.3
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 87.8
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 4.5
[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 ]
total: 21 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 20.7 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 21.3 years (2017 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 186
2.05% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
29.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
7 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
-1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
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
urban population: 60.8% of total population (2017)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.96% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
BANJUL (capital) 504,000 (2015)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - total population country ranks ]
20.9 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013 est.)
706 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
[see also: Maternal mortality ratio country ranks ]
total: 60.2 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 65.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 54.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 17
total population: 65.1 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 62.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 67.5 years (2017 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 180
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
3.52 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
9% (2013)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
7.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 73
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
0.11 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
1.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
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.)
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.)
1.7% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
20,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
1,100 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
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)
10.3% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
16.4% (2013)
country comparison to the world: 38
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
2.8% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 109
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 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
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 (2010)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
total: 44.3%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 38.1%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 49.5% (2012 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 11
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) The 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 assignes 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 28-Feb-18