Economy of the Gambia

Economy of The Gambia
Serrekunda is the economic centre of The Gambia
CurrencyDalasi (GMD, D)
1 July – 29 June
Trade organisations
AU, AfCFTA, CEN-SAD, ECOWAS, G77, WTO
Country group
Statistics
PopulationNeutral increase 2,468,569 (2023)[3]
GDP
GDP rank
  • 5.9% (2025)[4]
  • 5.0% (2026f)[4]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $987 (nominal; 2025)[4]
  • Increase $3,690 (PPP; 2025)[4]
GDP per capita rank
3.6% (2025)[5]
GDP by sector
  • agriculture: 33%
  • industry: 8.7%
  • services: 58.3%
  • (2008 est.)
6.5% (2020 est.)[6]
Population below national poverty line
  • 48.6% (2015)[7]
  • 9.7% on less than $1.90/day (2020)[8]
35.9 medium (2015)[9]
Labour force
  • Increase 781,558 (2019)[12]
  • 53.4% employment rate (2012)[13]
Labour force by occupation
  • agriculture 75%
  • industry, commerce, and services 19%
  • government 6%
8.6%
Average gross salary
$0.65 per man-hour (2015)
Main industries
processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism; beverages; agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking; clothing
External
Exports$182 million (f.o.b., 2010)
Export goods
lumber, cashews, refined petroleum, fish oil, ground nut oil
Main export partners
Imports$251 million (f.o.b., 2010)
Import goods
clothing and apparel, refined petroleum, rice, raw sugar, palm oil
Main import partners
FDI stock
N/A (2011)
$1 Billion (2005 est.)
Public finance
150% of GDP (2020)
D4.5 billion (2015)
$D963.6 million (2015)
Economic aid$45.4 million (1995)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The Gambia has a developing economy heavily reliant on agriculture.[16] It has a mixed economy with a heavy reliance on agriculture, combined with relatively weak centralized economic planning and government regulation.[17][18] Before 2017, under Yahya Jammeh, the Gambia had a liberal, market-based economy characterised by traditional subsistence agriculture, a historic reliance on groundnuts (peanuts) for export earnings, a re-export trade built up around its ocean port, low import duties, minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a significant tourism industry.[19][20] The Gambia also has no significant mineral or other natural resources and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and animal hides.

Short-run economic progress remains highly dependent on foreign aid, and on responsible government economic management as forwarded by International Monetary Fund technical help and advice.

Economic history

The re-export trade normally constitutes a major segment of economic activity, but the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 made Senegalese goods more competitive and hurt the re-export trade. The Gambia has benefited from a rebound in tourism after its decline in response to the military's takeover in July 1994. Lately, Indian global health expert Dr Edmond Fernandes stated that Gambia presents a global investment opportunity and dissected various areas of business interests.[21]

The Gambia's economy is characterized by traditional subsistence agriculture, a historic reliance on peanuts or groundnuts for export earnings, a re-export trade built up around its ocean port, low import duties, minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a significant tourism industry.

Economic sectors

Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 75% of the labor force. Within agriculture, peanut production accounts for 5.3% of GDP, other crops 8.3%, livestock 4.4%, fishing 1.8%, and forestry 0.5%.

Industry

Industry accounts for 12% of GDP. Manufacturing accounts for 6% of GDP. The limited amount of manufacturing is primarily agriculturally based (e.g., peanut processing, bakeries, a brewery, and a tannery). Other manufacturing activities include soap, soft drinks, and clothing. Services account for 19% of GDP.

Tourism

Tourism in Gambia has three major strands. There is the traditional sun seeking holiday making use of the hot climate and wonderful beaches. The Gambia is also usually the first African destination for many European birders, due to its easily accessed and spectacular avian fauna. There are also a significant number of African Americans tracing their roots in this country, from which many Africans were taken during the slave trade. While not that many American slaves came from Gambia it was made popular by Alex Haleys historic novel and TV miniseries Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

The tourist season is the dry season, during the Northern Hemisphere winter.

Trade

In 2020 The Gambia's major export markets were Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, India and China, accounting for 84% of all exports. Neighboring Senegal accounted for 50.5% of exports. This contrasted with 1999 when the UK and other EU countries were The Gambia's major domestic export markets, accounting for 86% of all exports.[22]

In 2020 Norway, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Brazil and Turkey were the major sources of imports, accounting for 49% of the total. This contrasted with 1999 when the UK and other EU countries were the major sources of imports, accounting for 60% of all imports.[22]

Statistics

Main indicators

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980-2026. Inflation below 5% is in green.[23]

Year GDP GDP

growth (real)

 Inflation Government

debt (% of GDP)

Total

(bil. US$ PPP)

 Per capita

(US$ PPP)

 Total

(bil. US$ nominal)

1980 0.7 971 0.6 Increase0.7 Negative increase5.0 n/a
1985 Increase1.0 Increase1200 Decrease0.5 Increase3.6 Negative increase18.3 n/a
1990 Increase1.4 Increase1352 Increase0.7 Increase5.7 Negative increase12.2 n/a
1995 Increase1.7 Decrease1344 Increase0.9 Increase3.3 Negative increase7.0 n/a
2000 Increase2.3 Increase1557 Increase1.0 Increase5.5 Increase0.9 Negative increase73.3
2005 Increase2.9 Increase1742 Steady1.0 Decrease -2.4 Negative increase5.0 Negative increase82.6
2006 Increase3.0 Decrease1735 Increase1.1 Decrease -0.6 Increase2.1 Negative increase87.3
2007 Increase3.2 Increase1784 Increase1.3 Increase3.0 Negative increase5.4 Positive decrease38
2008 Increase3.4 Increase1877 Increase1.6 Increase6.3 Increase4.5 Negative increase39.5
2009 Increase3.7 Increase1957 Decrease1.5 Increase6.7 Increase4.6 Positive decrease38.9
2010 Increase3.9 Increase2038 Steady1.5 Increase5.9 Negative increase5.0 Negative increase42.9
2011 Decrease3.7 Decrease1855 Decrease1.4 Decrease -8.1 Increase4.8 Negative increase49.2
2012 Increase3.9 Increase1931 Steady1.4 Increase5.2 Increase4.6 Negative increase49.5
2013 Increase4.1 Increase1962 Steady1.4 Increase2.9 Negative increase5.2 Negative increase58.2
2014 Steady4.1 Decrease1913 Decrease1.2 Decrease -1.4 Negative increase6.3 Negative increase71.1
2015 Increase4.3 Increase1955 Increase1.4 Increase4.1 Negative increase6.8 Positive decrease69.4
2016 Increase4.5 Increase1960 Increase1.5 Increase1.9 Negative increase7.2 Negative increase79.5
2017 Increase4.8 Increase2039 Steady1.5 Increase4.8 Negative increase8.0 Negative increase87
2018 Increase5.5 Increase2277 Increase1.7 Increase7.2 Negative increase6.5 Positive decrease83.6
2019 Increase6.0 Increase2418 Increase1.8 Increase6.2 Negative increase7.1 Positive decrease83
2020 Increase6.4 Increase2523 Steady1.8 Increase0.6 Negative increase5.9 Negative increase85.9
2021 Increase7.2 Increase2767 Increase2.0 Increase5.3 Negative increase7.4 Positive decrease83.1
2022 Increase8.1 Increase3049 Increase2.1 Increase5.5 Negative increase11.5 Negative increase83.9
2023 Increase8.9 Increase3266 Increase2.3 Increase5.9 Negative increase17.0 Positive decrease77.4
2024 Increase9.6 Increase3447 Increase2.4 Increase5.6 Negative increase11.6 Negative increase78.5
2025 Increase10.5 Increase3665 Increase2.6 Increase6.0 Negative increase7.9 Positive decrease73.9
2026 Increase11.3 Increase3865 Increase2.8 Increase5.1 Negative increase5.8 Positive decrease68.3

Other indicators

Gambia product exports (2019)

Electricity

production: 75 GWh, entirely from fossil fuels (1998)
consumption: 70 GWh (1998)
Electricity is not imported or exported from the Gambia.

Agriculture - products: peanuts, pearl millet, sorghum, rice, maize, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats; forest and fishery resources not fully exploited.

Economic aid - recipient: $45.400 million (1995)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Population, total - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "IMF DataMapper: Gambia". International Monetary Fund. 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "GDP per capita growth (annual %), World Bank Group, accessed July 2026".
  6. ↑ "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Labor force, total - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) - Gambia, The". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Export Partners of the Gambia". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  15. ↑ "Export Partners of the Gambia". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "The Gambia". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  17. ↑ "The Gambia: Introduction". globaledge.msu.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  18. ↑ "The Gambia" (PDF). worldbank.org. Retrieved 31 Oct 2025.
  19. ↑ "Gambia, The". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  20. ↑ "Gambia, The (03/06)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  21. ↑ Fernandes, Dr Edmond. "The Gambia presents a global opportunity for investments – the time to engage is now". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  22. 1 2 "Gambia, The Trade". WITS. World Bank. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Gambia, The". www.imf.org. Retrieved 2026-08-19.

Further reading

  • Sternfeldt, Ann-Britt. (2000). The Good Tourist in the Gambia: Travelguide for Conscious Tourists. Translated from Swedish by Rolli Fölsch. TheGoodTourist. Sexdrega, Sweden. ISBN 91-974010-4-8.
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