# Demographics of the Gambia

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

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.
| | Mid-year population (thousands) | Live births (thousands) | Deaths (thousands) | Natural change (thousands) | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | Total fertility rate (TFR) | Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) | Life expectancy (in years) |
| 1950 | 307 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 49.6 | 32.2 | 17.4 | 6.35 | 174.0 | 31.76 |
| 1951 | 315 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 50.1 | 31.8 | 18.4 | 6.35 | 173.1 | 31.87 |
| 1952 | 323 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 50.5 | 31.5 | 19.0 | 6.35 | 171.6 | 32.08 |
| 1953 | 331 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 50.7 | 31.2 | 19.5 | 6.35 | 170.1 | 32.43 |
| 1954 | 340 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 50.9 | 31.1 | 19.8 | 6.34 | 168.8 | 32.67 |
| 1955 | 349 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 51.0 | 30.9 | 20.0 | 6.33 | 167.6 | 32.88 |
| 1956 | 359 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 51.0 | 30.9 | 20.2 | 6.32 | 166.5 | 33.05 |
| 1957 | 368 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 51.0 | 30.4 | 20.6 | 6.30 | 163.8 | 33.53 |
| 1958 | 378 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 51.0 | 29.9 | 21.1 | 6.29 | 161.0 | 34.08 |
| 1959 | 389 | 20 | 11 | 8 | 50.9 | 29.4 | 21.4 | 6.27 | 158.4 | 34.59 |
| 1960 | 400 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 50.7 | 28.9 | 21.8 | 6.25 | 155.8 | 35.10 |
| 1961 | 411 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 50.6 | 28.5 | 22.1 | 6.23 | 153.3 | 35.57 |
| 1962 | 422 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 50.4 | 28.1 | 22.3 | 6.21 | 150.9 | 35.99 |
| 1963 | 434 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 50.1 | 27.6 | 22.5 | 6.20 | 148.6 | 36.50 |
| 1964 | 446 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 49.8 | 27.1 | 22.6 | 6.20 | 146.3 | 36.95 |
| 1965 | 459 | 23 | 12 | 10 | 49.4 | 26.6 | 22.8 | 6.19 | 143.9 | 37.45 |
| 1966 | 472 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 48.9 | 26.1 | 22.8 | 6.18 | 141.6 | 37.90 |
| 1967 | 485 | 24 | 12 | 11 | 48.6 | 25.6 | 23.0 | 6.21 | 139.3 | 38.43 |
| 1968 | 499 | 24 | 13 | 12 | 48.4 | 25.1 | 23.2 | 6.22 | 137.0 | 38.87 |
| 1969 | 514 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 48.2 | 24.7 | 23.5 | 6.25 | 134.7 | 39.35 |
| 1970 | 529 | 25 | 13 | 13 | 47.9 | 24.2 | 23.7 | 6.26 | 132.4 | 39.87 |
| 1971 | 544 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 47.8 | 23.7 | 24.0 | 6.28 | 130.1 | 40.35 |
| 1972 | 561 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 47.8 | 23.2 | 24.6 | 6.32 | 127.7 | 40.92 |
| 1973 | 577 | 28 | 13 | 14 | 47.8 | 22.8 | 24.9 | 6.37 | 125.3 | 41.39 |
| 1974 | 595 | 28 | 13 | 15 | 47.6 | 22.4 | 25.2 | 6.38 | 122.9 | 41.95 |
| 1975 | 613 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 47.4 | 22.1 | 25.3 | 6.41 | 120.4 | 42.44 |
| 1976 | 632 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 47.3 | 21.8 | 25.5 | 6.43 | 117.9 | 43.04 |
| 1977 | 652 | 31 | 14 | 17 | 47.1 | 21.6 | 25.5 | 6.43 | 115.5 | 43.44 |
| 1978 | 673 | 31 | 14 | 17 | 46.9 | 21.5 | 25.4 | 6.42 | 114.0 | 43.58 |
| 1979 | 695 | 32 | 14 | 18 | 46.8 | 20.9 | 25.9 | 6.41 | 110.9 | 44.56 |
| 1980 | 719 | 33 | 15 | 19 | 46.7 | 20.6 | 26.2 | 6.40 | 108.5 | 45.15 |
| 1981 | 743 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 46.7 | 21.0 | 25.8 | 6.40 | 106.1 | 44.48 |
| 1982 | 768 | 36 | 15 | 21 | 46.8 | 19.8 | 26.9 | 6.39 | 103.7 | 46.38 |
| 1983 | 796 | 37 | 15 | 22 | 46.6 | 19.5 | 27.1 | 6.38 | 101.2 | 46.92 |
| 1984 | 825 | 38 | 16 | 22 | 46.5 | 19.1 | 27.4 | 6.37 | 98.7 | 47.49 |
| 1985 | 856 | 40 | 16 | 24 | 46.4 | 18.6 | 27.8 | 6.34 | 96.1 | 48.19 |
| 1986 | 889 | 41 | 16 | 25 | 46.4 | 18.1 | 28.3 | 6.33 | 93.6 | 48.71 |
| 1987 | 924 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 46.2 | 17.6 | 28.7 | 6.29 | 91.1 | 49.41 |
| 1988 | 961 | 44 | 16 | 28 | 46.1 | 17.1 | 29.0 | 6.26 | 88.7 | 50.05 |
| 1989 | 1 000 | 46 | 17 | 29 | 45.8 | 16.6 | 29.2 | 6.24 | 86.3 | 50.64 |
| 1990 | 1 041 | 47 | 17 | 31 | 45.7 | 16.1 | 29.6 | 6.22 | 84.0 | 51.32 |
| 1991 | 1 084 | 49 | 17 | 32 | 45.6 | 15.5 | 30.1 | 6.17 | 81.8 | 52.13 |
| 1992 | 1 127 | 51 | 17 | 34 | 45.4 | 15.0 | 30.4 | 6.11 | 79.5 | 52.94 |
| 1993 | 1 168 | 53 | 17 | 36 | 45.1 | 14.4 | 30.7 | 6.04 | 77.3 | 53.75 |
| 1994 | 1 206 | 54 | 17 | 38 | 45.0 | 13.7 | 31.3 | 6.04 | 75.0 | 54.72 |
| 1995 | 1 242 | 56 | 16 | 39 | 44.7 | 13.2 | 31.5 | 6.01 | 72.8 | 55.46 |
| 1996 | 1 279 | 57 | 16 | 40 | 44.3 | 12.8 | 31.5 | 5.96 | 70.6 | 56.01 |
| 1997 | 1 317 | 58 | 17 | 42 | 44.1 | 12.6 | 31.5 | 5.92 | 68.7 | 56.06 |
| 1998 | 1 356 | 60 | 17 | 43 | 44.1 | 12.3 | 31.8 | 5.93 | 66.3 | 56.55 |
| 1999 | 1 396 | 61 | 17 | 44 | 43.6 | 12.0 | 31.6 | 5.87 | 64.5 | 56.82 |
| 2000 | 1 438 | 62 | 17 | 45 | 43.1 | 11.8 | 31.3 | 5.80 | 62.1 | 56.94 |
| 2001 | 1 479 | 64 | 17 | 46 | 42.9 | 11.7 | 31.2 | 5.75 | 60.1 | 57.04 |
| 2002 | 1 522 | 65 | 18 | 47 | 42.5 | 11.6 | 30.9 | 5.73 | 58.1 | 57.08 |
| 2003 | 1 566 | 66 | 18 | 49 | 42.3 | 11.2 | 31.0 | 5.70 | 56.1 | 57.59 |
| 2004 | 1 612 | 68 | 18 | 51 | 42.2 | 10.8 | 31.4 | 5.71 | 54.2 | 58.09 |
| 2005 | 1 660 | 70 | 18 | 53 | 42.1 | 10.6 | 31.6 | 5.72 | 52.4 | 58.39 |
| 2006 | 1 711 | 73 | 17 | 55 | 42.4 | 10.1 | 32.2 | 5.76 | 50.5 | 59.06 |
| 2007 | 1 765 | 74 | 17 | 57 | 42.1 | 9.9 | 32.2 | 5.73 | 48.7 | 59.39 |
| 2008 | 1 821 | 76 | 17 | 59 | 41.8 | 9.4 | 32.3 | 5.71 | 47.0 | 60.08 |
| 2009 | 1 878 | 78 | 17 | 61 | 41.5 | 9.2 | 32.3 | 5.69 | 45.4 | 60.43 |
| 2010 | 1 937 | 80 | 17 | 62 | 41.1 | 8.9 | 32.1 | 5.67 | 43.9 | 60.72 |
| 2011 | 1 998 | 81 | 17 | 64 | 40.7 | 8.5 | 32.2 | 5.64 | 42.3 | 61.53 |
| 2012 | 2 061 | 83 | 17 | 66 | 40.1 | 8.2 | 32.0 | 5.59 | 40.9 | 62.10 |
| 2013 | 2 125 | 84 | 17 | 67 | 39.4 | 8.1 | 31.3 | 5.51 | 39.5 | 62.11 |
| 2014 | 2 189 | 84 | 17 | 67 | 38.5 | 7.9 | 30.6 | 5.42 | 38.2 | 62.27 |
| 2015 | 2 253 | 85 | 17 | 67 | 37.6 | 7.7 | 29.8 | 5.31 | 36.9 | 62.49 |
| 2016 | 2 317 | 85 | 17 | 68 | 36.6 | 7.5 | 29.1 | 5.20 | 35.7 | 63.01 |
| 2017 | 2 381 | 85 | 18 | 68 | 35.7 | 7.4 | 28.3 | 5.09 | 34.5 | 63.00 |
| 2018 | 2 445 | 85 | 18 | 68 | 34.9 | 7.3 | 27.6 | 4.97 | 33.4 | 63.04 |
| 2019 | 2 509 | 86 | 18 | 69 | 34.3 | 7.0 | 27.3 | 4.87 | 32.4 | 63.76 |
| 2020 | 2 516 | 79 | 17 | 62 | 31.5 | 6.8 | 24.7 | 4.25 | 32.5 | 64.4 |
| 2021 | 2 576 | 80 | 18 | 62 | 31.2 | 7.0 | 24.2 | 4.17 | 31.5 | 63.8 |
| 2022 | 2 636 | 81 | 17 | 64 | 30.8 | 6.6 | 24.1 | 4.08 | 30.5 | 64.9 |
| 2023 | 2 698 | 82 | 17 | 65 | 30.4 | 6.3 | 24.1 | 4.01 | 29.5 | 65.9 |

### Demographic and Health Surveys

Sources:
Fertility Rate TFR (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):
| Year | CBR (Total) | TFR (Total) | CBR (Urban) | TFR (Urban) | CBR (Rural) | TFR (Rural) |
| 2013 | 40.5 | 5.6 (4.7) | 37.7 | 4.7 (4.1) | 43.4 | 6.8 (5.6) |
| 2019-20 | 34.4 | 4.4 (4.0) | 32.5 | 3.9 (3.6) | 38.9 | 5.9 (5.3) |
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 |

### 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 |

## Ethnic groups

Population of Gambia according to ethnic group 1973-2023 :
| Ethnic group | census 1973 | census 1973 | census 1983 | census 1983 | census 1993 | census 1993 | census 2003 | census 2003 | census 2013 | census 2013 | census 2023 | census 2023 |
| Ethnic group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Mandinka/Jahanka | 186,241 | 42.3 | 251,997 | 40.8 | 353,840 | 39.5 | 446,914 | 35.9 | 600,165 | 34.4 | 793,300 | 34.4 |
| Fula/Tukulor/Lorobo | 79,994 | 18.2 | 117,092 | 19.0 | 168,284 | 18.8 | 272,54 | 21.9 | 420,206 | 24.1 | 576,500 | 25.0 |
| Wolof | 69,291 | 15.7 | 84,404 | 13.7 | 130,546 | 14.6 | 179,890 | 14.5 | 258,065 | 14.8 | 355,100 | 15.4 |
| Jola | 41,988 | 9.5 | 64,494 | 10.4 | 95,262 | 10.6 | 141,360 | 11.4 | 182,807 | 10.5 | 219,100 | 9.5 |
| Sarahule | 38,478 | 8.7 | 51,137 | 8.3 | 79,690 | 8.9 | 101,347 | 8.1 | 142,606 | 8.2 | 189,100 | 8.2 |
| Serere | 9,229 | 2.1 | 15,511 | 2.5 | 24,710 | 2.8 | 37,979 | 3.1 | 53,567 | 3.1 | 66,900 | 2.9 |
| Krio (Creole) | 5,596 | 1.3 | 10,741 | 1.7 | 7,458 | 0.8 | 24,492 | 2.0 | 8,477 | 0.5 | 9,200 | 0.4 |
| Manjago | 1,722 | 0.4 | 3,035 | 0.5 | 6,194 | 0.7 | 13,043 | 1.0 | 32,408 | 1.9 | 39,200 | 1.7 |
| Bambara | 4,386 | 1.0 | 5,032 | 0.8 | 16,550 | 1.8 | 6,556 | 0.5 | 22,583 | 1.3 | 27,700 | 1.2 |
| Other/not stated | 3,791 | 0.9 | 13,796 | 2.2 | 13,601 | 1.5 | 19,938 | 1.6 | 25,548 | 1.5 | 30,000 | 1.3 |
| Total | 440,716 | 440,716 | 617,239 | 617,239 | 896,135 | 896,135 | 1,243,873 | 1,243,873 | 1,746,432 | 1,746,432 | 2,306,066 | 2,306,066 |
| The figures refer to the Gambian population only. Foreigners are excluded. |