Economy of the Gambia

Economy of The Gambia

Bird-watching tourists in the Gambia
Currency	Dalasi (GMD, D)
Fiscal year	1 July – 29 June
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, CEN-SAD, ECOWAS, G77, WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] Lower middle income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	2,468,569 (2023)[3]
GDP	$1.773 billion (nominal, 2019 est.)[4] $6.447 billion (PPP, 2019 est.)[4]
GDP rank	167th (nominal, 2019) 160th (PPP, 2019)
GDP growth	4.8% (2017) 6.6% (2018) 6.0% (2019e) 6.3% (2020f)[5]
GDP per capita	$755 (nominal, 2019 est.)[4] $2,745 (PPP, 2019 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank	172st (nominal, 2019) 157th (PPP, 2018)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 33% industry: 8.7% services: 58.3% (2008 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	6.5% (2020 est.)[4]
Population below poverty line	48.6% (2015)[6] 9.7% on less than $1.90/day (2020)[7]
Gini coefficient	35.9 medium (2015)[8]
Human Development Index	0.466 low (2018)[9] (174th) 0.293 IHDI (2018)[10]
Labour force	781,558 (2019)[11] 53.4% employment rate (2012)[12]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture 75% industry, commerce, and services 19% government 6%
Unemployment	8.6%
Average gross salary	$0.65 per man-hour (2015)[citation needed]
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	India 31.1%  China 22.8%  Italy 6.83%  Chile 6.55% (2022)[13]
Imports	$251 million (f.o.b., 2010)
Import goods	clothing and apparel, refined petroleum, rice, raw sugar, palm oil
Main import partners	China 31.5%  Senegal 12.3%  India 8.43%  Brazil 7.86% (2022)[14]
FDI stock	N/A (2011)
Gross external debt	$1 Billion (2005 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	150% of GDP (2020)
Revenues	D4.5 billion (2015)
Expenses	$D963.6 million (2015)
Economic aid	$45.4 million (1995)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of the Gambia is heavily reliant on agriculture.^[15] The Gambia 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.