Demographics of the Gambia

Demographics of The Gambia
Scatter plot of the population of The Gambia (in thousands) from 1963–2013
Population	1,882,450 (2013)
Density	176.1/sq km (2013)
Growth rate	38.3%
Birth rate	32.6 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
Death rate	7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
Life expectancy	64.1 (2013 est.)
• male	61.8 (2013 est.)
• female	66.5 (2013 est.)
Fertility rate	4.0 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Infant mortality rate	67.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	39.2% (2013 est.)
15–64 years	57.6% (2013 est.)
65 and over	3.2% (2013 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	0.98 (2013)
At birth	1.03 (2013 est.)
Under 15	1.01 (2013 est.)
15–64 years	0.96 (2013 est.)
65 and over	0.90 (2013 est.)
Nationality
Nationality	Noun: Gambian
Major ethnic	African (99%) (2003)
Minor ethnic	Non-African (1%) (2003)
Language
Official	English
Spoken	Mandinka, Wolof, Fula

The demographics 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 64-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[1]

With a population of 1.88 million in 2013, The Gambia ranks 149th in the world by population.^[1] Its population density is 176.1 inhabitants per square kilometer (456.1 inhabitants per square mile).^[2] The overall life expectancy in The Gambia is 64.1 years.^[3] The total fertility rate of 3.98 is one of the highest in the world.^[4] Since 1950, the United Nations (UN) estimated the birth rate exceeds the death rate.^[5] The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) estimates the population of The Gambia is expected to reach 3.6 million in 20 years.^[1] The population of The Gambia has increased each census, starting with 315 thousand in 1963 to 1.8 million in 2013.^[1] The GBOS predicted the reason for the increase from 2003 to 2013 was more coverage in the latter census compared to the former's.^[6]

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in the Gambia not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.^[7]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	13 000	9 000	4 000	43.7	31.3	12.4	5.29	221
1955-1960	16 000	10 000	6 000	48.3	30.6	17.8	5.46	210
1960-1965	20 000	12 000	8 000	50.2	29.7	20.5	5.70	199
1965-1970	22 000	12 000	10 000	50.8	28.2	22.6	5.96	185
1970-1975	26 000	12 000	14 000	52.0	23.9	28.1	6.20	164
1975-1980	31 000	12 000	19 000	52.6	20.1	32.6	6.34	140
1980-1985	35 000	11 000	24 000	50.5	16.4	34.1	6.29	117
1985-1990	42 000	12 000	30 000	48.1	13.7	34.4	6.14	101
1990-1995	49 000	14 000	35 000	46.5	13.1	33.4	6.03	93
1995-2000	54 000	15 000	39 000	44.7	12.2	32.6	5.80	86
2000-2005	59 000	15 000	44 000	42.4	10.9	31.5	5.46	80
2005-2010	64 000	16 000	48 000	39.3	9.8	29.5	5.10	74
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey) ^[8]

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)

Structure of the population (DHS 2013) (Males 23 904, Females 25 649 = 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

See also

• Religion in the Gambia

Notes

1. The Gambia Bureau of Statistics 2013, p. 6
2. The Gambia Bureau of Statistics 2013, p. 10
3. "Africa :: Gambia, The". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
4. "Country Comparison :: Total Fertility Rate". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
5. "World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision". United Nations. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
6. The Gambia Bureau of Statistics 2013, pp. 6–7
7. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
8. http://www.dhsprogram.com/

References

• The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (2013). "The Gambia 2013 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results" (PDF). The Gambia Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved February 24, 2014.