Gambia Population

Quick facts about the population of Gambia

Current population (as of Tuesday, January 22 2019)

2,229,846

Total area

11,300 km2 (4,363 mi2)

Population density

197.3 per km2 (511.1 people/mi2)

Sex ratio

0.98 (1,100,915 men to 1,128,969 women)

Median age

17.0 years

Life expectancy

63.5 years (61.2 - men, 65.9 - women)

Literacy

55.5 %

(Population figures are estimates by Countrymeters (countrymeters.info) based on the latest United Nations data)

Gambia population 2019

During 2019 Gambia population is projected to increased by 72,001 people and reach 2,297,704 in the beginning of 2020. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 75,251. If external migration will remain on the previous year level, the population will be declined by 3,250 due to the migration reasons. It means that the number of people who leave Gambia to settle permanently in another country (emigrants) will prevail over the number of people who move into the country (to which they are not native) in order to settle there as permanent residents (immigrants).

Population change rates in 2019

According to our estimations, daily change rates of Gambia population in 2019 will be the following:

• 261 live births average per day (10.87 in an hour)
• 55 deaths average per day (2.28 in an hour)
• -9 emigrants average per day (-0.37 in an hour)

The population of Gambia will be increased by 197 persons daily in 2019.

Demographics of Gambia 2018

As of 1 January 2019, the population of Gambia was estimated to be 2,225,703 people. This is an increase of 3.23 % (69,745 people) compared to population of 2,155,958 the year before. In 2018 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 72,893. Due to external migration, the population declined by 3,148. The sex ratio of the total population was 0.980 (980 males per 1 000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2018.

Below are the key figures for Gambia population in 2018:

• 92,253 live births
• 19,361 deaths
• Natural increase: 72,893 people
• Net migration: -3,148 people
• 1,101,611 males as of 31 December 2018
• 1,124,092 females as of 31 December 2018

Gambia population density

Gambia population density is 197.0 people per square kilometer (510.1/mi²) as of January 2019. Density of population is calculated as permanently settled population of Gambia divided by total area of the country. Total area is the sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of Gambia. The total area of Gambia is 11,300 km² (4,363 mi²) according to the United Nations Statistics Division .

Religion in Gambia

Religion	Number of followers	Percentage of total population
Islam	2,125,043	95.3
Christianity	102,573	4.6

Source: Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010 .

Number of followers estimated by Countrymeters (Tuesday, January 22 2019).

Gambia age structure

As of the beginning of 2019 according to our estimates Gambia had the following population age distribution:

40

56.9

3.1

	- percentage of population under 15
	- percentage of population between 15 and 64 years old
	- percentage of population 65+

In absolute figures (estimate):

• 890,326 young people under 15 years old ( 446,587 males / 443,738 females)
• 1,266,158 persons between 15 and 64 years old ( 621,394 males / 644,764 females)
• 69,219 persons above 64 years old ( 32,985 males / 36,234 females)

We prepared a simplified model of the population distribution pyramid which is broken down into 3 main age groups. The groups are the same as we used above: population under 15, between 15 and 64 and population which is over 65 year old.

65+

15-64

0-14

male

female

Note: The pyramid provided is not corresponding to data given above because the age groups have different number of years.

As we can see the Gambia population pyramid has an expanding type. This type of pyramid is common for developing countries with high birth and death rates. Relatively short life expectancy, as well as low level of education and poor health care are also describe such kind of population age distribution model.

Source: The estimation data for section "Gambia age structure" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Age dependency ratio

Dependency ratio of population is a ratio of people who are generally not in the labor force (the dependents) to workforce of a country (the productive part of population). The dependent part includes the population under 15 years old and people aged 65 and over. The productive part of population accordingly consists of population between 15 and 64 years.

This ratio shows the pressure on productive population produced by the dependent part of population.

The total dependency ratio of population in Gambia is 75.8 %.

As we can see the dependent part of population is comparable to the working part. It means that each working person in Gambia must provide goods for himself and cover expenditure on one child or aged person additionally. The value of 75.8 % shows that the pressure on productive population in Gambia is very high.

Child dependency ratio

Child dependency ratio is a ratio of people below working age (under 15) to workforce of a country.

Child dependency ratio in Gambia is 70.3 %.

Aged dependency ratio

Aged dependency ratio is a ratio of people above working age (65+) to workforce of a country.

Aged dependency ratio in Gambia is 5.5 %.

Source: The estimation data for section "Gambia age dependency ratio" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicator. It shows the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the same level during the whole lifetime.

Total life expectancy (both sexes) at birth for Gambia is 63.5 years.
This is below the average life expectancy at birth of the global population which is about 71 years (according to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations).

Male life expectancy at birth is 61.2 years.
Female life expectancy at birth is 65.9 years.

Literacy of population

According to our estimates 742,552 persons or 55.61% of adult population (aged 15 years and above) in Gambia are able to read and write. Accordingly about 592,825 adults are illiterate.

Literacy rate for adult male population is 63.91% (418,227 persons). 236,152 are illiterate.
Literacy rate for adult female population is 47.63% (324,325 persons). 356,673 are illiterate.

Youth literacy rates are 75.55% and 70.84% for males and females accordingly. The overall youth literacy rate is 73.18%. Youth literacy rate definition covers the population between the ages of 15 to 24 years.

Source: The estimation data for section "Gambia population literacy" is based on the latest data published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (retrieved March 13, 2016) .