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The demographic characteristics of the population of The Gambia are known through national censuses, conducted in ten-year intervals and analyzed by The Gambian Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) since 1963. The latest census was conducted in 2013. The population of The Gambia at the 2013 census was 1.8 million. The population density is 176.1 per square kilometer, and the overall life expectancy in The Gambia is 64.1 years. Since the first census of 1963, the population of The Gambia has increased every ten years by an average of 43.2 percent. Since 1950s, the birth rate has constantly exceeded the death rate; the natural growth rate is positive. The Gambia is in the second stage of demographic transition. In terms of age structure, The Gambia is dominated by 15- to 24-year-old segment (57.6%). The median age of the population is 19.9 years, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.98 males per female.
Population
Historical population of The Gambia
Year
Pop.
±%
1963
315,486
—
1973
493,499
+56.4%
1983
687,817
+39.4%
1993
1,038,145
+50.9%
2003
1,360,681
+31.1%
2013
1,882,450
+38.3%
Source: The Gambia Bureau of Statistics
With a population of 1.88 million in 2013, The Gambia ranks 149th in the world by population. Its population density is 176.1 inhabitants per square kilometer (456 inhabitants per square mile). The overall life expectancy in The Gambia is 64.1 years. The total fertility rate of 3.98 is one of the highest in the world. Since 1950, the United Nations (UN) estimated the birth rate exceeds the death rate. The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) estimates the population of The Gambia is expected to reach 3.6 million in 20 years. The population of The Gambia has increased each census, starting with 315 thousand in 1963 to 1.8 million in 2013. The GBOS predicted the reason for the increase from 2003 to 2013 was more coverage in the latter census compared to the former's.
Vital statistics
Registration of vital events in Gambia is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Structure of the population (DHS 2013) (males 23,904, females 25,649, total 49,553) :
Age Group
Male (%)
Female (%)
Total (%)
0–4
18.5
16.4
17.4
5–9
16.6
15.3
15.9
10–14
12.8
12.5
12.6
15–19
10.3
10.4
10.3
20–24
8.5
9.1
8.8
25–29
6.8
8.0
7.4
30–34
5.5
6.5
6.0
35–39
4.5
4.7
4.6
40–44
3.8
3.3
3.5
45–49
2.9
2.4
2.6
50–54
2.1
4.1
3.1
55–59
1.5
1.9
1.7
60–64
2.3
1.9
2.1
65–69
1.5
1.2
1.3
70–74
1.0
0.9
1.0
75–79
0.7
0.5
0.6
80+
0.8
1.0
0.9
Age group
Male (%)
Female (%)
Total (%)
0–14
47.9
44.2
45.9
15–64
48.1
52.2
50.3
65+
4.0
3.6
3.8
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (30.XII.2015) (Source: Integrated Household Survey (IHS) 2015/2016.):
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
915 357
1 007 593
1 922 950
100
0–4
155 654
155 502
311 156
16.18
5–9
150 122
147 966
298 089
15.50
10–14
115 261
113 727
228 988
11.91
15–19
87 274
111 093
198 367
10.32
20–24
76 050
104 429
180 479
9.39
25–29
62 431
89 237
151 669
7.89
30–34
57 532
70 222
127 754
6.64
35–39
49 913
59 248
109 161
5.68
40–44
39 032
42 666
81 698
4.25
45–49
32 235
29 522
61 757
3.21
50–54
27 286
25 441
52 727
2.74
55–59
18 075
17 685
35 759
1.86
60–64
16 034
14 121
30 155
1.57
65+
28 457
26 734
55 191
2.87
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0–14
421 037
417 195
838 232
43.59
15–64
465 863
563 664
1 029 527
53.54
65+
28 457
26 734
55 191
2.87
Fertility data as of 2019-20 (DHS Program):
Local Government Area
Total fertility rate
Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant
Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Banjul
3.1
5.3
4.2
Kanifing
3.3
5.7
4.5
Brikama
4.1
6.9
5.7
Mansakonko
5.4
9.7
7.1
Kerewan
5.4
8.2
6.9
Kuntaur
6.4
11.9
7.2
Janjanbureh
5.7
8.7
7.0
Basse
5.7
9.6
6.5
Gambian girl
Life expectancy
Period
Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955
30.24
1955–1960
31.52
1960–1965
32.79
1965–1970
35.78
1970–1975
40.04
1975–1980
44.21
1980–1985
48.20
1985–1990
51.33
1990–1995
52.85
1995–2000
54.91
2000–2005
56.92
2005–2010
58.83
2010–2015
60.31
Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.
urban population: 63.9% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 61.3% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 4.07% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 188th
male: 65.83 years
female: 69.41 years (2022 est.)
total population: 65.4 years (2018 est.)
male: 63 years (2018 est.)
female: 67.8 years (2018 est.)
Education expenditures
2.9% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 154th
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
total population: 50.8%
male: 61.8%
female: 41.6% (2015)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 9 years (2010)
male: 9 years (2010)
female: 9 years (2010)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; The Gambia is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
Gambia population pyramid in 2020
31.52
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