Botswana vs Gambia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Botswana vs the Gambia

Table

Year	Median age
	Botswana	Gambia
1960	17.7	19.4
1961	17.4	19.4
1962	17.1	19.5
1963	16.8	19.6
1964	16.6	19.6
1965	16.4	19.7
1966	16.2	19.7
1967	15.9	19.8
1968	15.7	19.7
1969	15.6	19.6
1970	15.4	19.5
1971	15.3	19.4
1972	15.4	19.3
1973	15.6	19.2
1974	15.8	19.1
1975	16	18.9
1976	16.2	18.8
1977	16.4	18.6
1978	16.6	18.5
1979	16.9	18.4
1980	16.8	18.2
1981	16.8	18.1
1982	16.8	17.9
1983	16.8	17.8
1984	16.8	17.6
1985	16.8	17.5
1986	16.9	17.4
1987	16.9	17.4
1988	17	17.3
1989	17.1	17.2
1990	17.3	17.2
1991	17.4	17.1
1992	17.6	17.1
1993	17.8	17
1994	18	16.9
1995	18.3	16.8
1996	18.6	16.7
1997	18.8	16.6
1998	19.1	16.5
1999	19.4	16.5
2000	19.7	16.5
2001	20	16.6
2002	20.3	16.6
2003	20.6	16.7
2004	20.9	16.8
2005	21.2	16.9
2006	21.5	17
2007	21.7	17.1
2008	22	17.2
2009	22.2	17.3
2010	22.5	17.4
2011	22.7	17.5
2012	22.8	17.6
2013	22.7	17.7
2014	22.7	17.8
2015	22.7	17.9
2016	22.7	18.1
2017	22.8	18.2
2018	22.9	18.4
2019	23.1	18.5
2020	23.3	18.7
2021	23.4	18.9
2022	23.6	19.1
2023	23.9	19.2
2024	24.2	19.4
2025	24.4	19.6
2026	24.7	19.8
2027	25	20.1
2028	25.3	20.4
2029	25.6	20.6
2030	25.9	20.9
2031	26.2	21.2
2032	26.5	21.5
2033	26.7	21.8
2034	27	22.1
2035	27.3	22.5
2036	27.5	22.8
2037	27.8	23.1
2038	28.1	23.5
2039	28.4	23.8
2040	28.6	24.1
2041	28.9	24.4
2042	29.1	24.7
2043	29.4	25
2044	29.7	25.3
2045	29.9	25.6
2046	30.2	25.9
2047	30.5	26.2
2048	30.7	26.5
2049	31	26.8
2050	31.3	27.1

In 1960, the median age in Botswana was 17.7 years compared to 19.4 years in the Gambia. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 24.2 years in Botswana and to 19.4 years in the Gambia.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Botswana is expected to increased to around 31.3 years by 2050 compared to 27.1 years in the Gambia. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Botswana		Gambia
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	5.95%	5.84%	7.11%	6.95%
5-9	5.3%	5.24%	6.74%	6.61%
10-14	4.93%	4.86%	6.48%	6.36%
15-19	4.89%	4.84%	5.56%	5.47%
20-24	4.88%	4.88%	4.69%	4.63%
25-29	4.88%	4.9%	4.13%	4.12%
30-34	4.68%	4.63%	3.53%	3.55%
35-39	3.59%	3.49%	2.8%	2.84%
40-44	2.7%	2.63%	2.14%	2.17%
45-49	2.11%	2.15%	1.63%	1.69%
50-54	1.75%	1.85%	1.42%	1.55%
55-59	1.4%	1.52%	1.25%	1.41%
60-64	1.01%	1.08%	0.96%	1.14%
65-69	0.76%	0.8%	0.62%	0.78%
70-74	0.53%	0.64%	0.36%	0.46%
75-79	0.28%	0.4%	0.22%	0.27%
80+	0.21%	0.41%	0.16%	0.2%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Botswana has average demographic potential with 70.7% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 75.9% and high potential in the Gambia.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Botswana			Gambia
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	97.5%	89%	8.5%	77.6%	72.8%	4.77%
1961	99.5%	91.1%	8.44%	77%	72.2%	4.77%
1962	101.5%	93.2%	8.34%	76.7%	71.9%	4.78%
1963	103.5%	95.3%	8.21%	77%	72.2%	4.8%
1964	104.9%	96.8%	8.09%	77.8%	72.9%	4.84%
1965	106%	97.9%	8.08%	78.7%	73.8%	4.88%
1966	107.6%	99.4%	8.2%	79.3%	74.4%	4.91%
1967	109.4%	101%	8.36%	79.8%	74.9%	4.95%
1968	111.1%	102.5%	8.55%	80.3%	75.3%	4.98%
1969	112.7%	104%	8.71%	80.6%	75.6%	5%
1970	114.1%	105.3%	8.83%	81%	76%	5.03%
1971	114.5%	105.8%	8.76%	81.3%	76.3%	5.06%
1972	113%	104.6%	8.45%	81.7%	76.6%	5.08%
1973	110.3%	102.3%	8%	82.1%	77%	5.11%
1974	107.5%	99.9%	7.57%	82.9%	77.6%	5.32%
1975	105.1%	97.9%	7.19%	84.2%	78.6%	5.7%
1976	102.9%	96.1%	6.84%	85.6%	79.5%	6.09%
1977	100.9%	94.4%	6.52%	87%	80.5%	6.51%
1978	98.3%	92.1%	6.19%	88.4%	81.5%	6.93%
1979	96.2%	90.2%	5.94%	89.9%	82.6%	7.35%
1980	96.3%	90.4%	5.89%	91.4%	83.7%	7.75%
1981	96.9%	91%	5.89%	93%	84.9%	8.11%
1982	96.8%	90.9%	5.84%	94.7%	86.3%	8.43%
1983	96.9%	91%	5.85%	96.3%	87.6%	8.75%
1984	96.9%	91%	5.88%	97.4%	88.5%	8.82%
1985	96.8%	90.8%	5.93%	97.7%	89%	8.62%
1986	96.6%	90.6%	6%	98%	89.5%	8.45%
1987	96.4%	90.3%	6.1%	98.2%	89.9%	8.31%
1988	95.9%	89.7%	6.19%	98.4%	90.3%	8.18%
1989	95%	88.7%	6.24%	98.6%	90.6%	8.07%
1990	93.7%	87.4%	6.25%	98.8%	90.8%	7.95%
1991	92.2%	85.9%	6.22%	98.9%	91.1%	7.83%
1992	90.4%	84.2%	6.16%	99%	91.3%	7.7%
1993	88.3%	82.2%	6.08%	99.2%	91.7%	7.48%
1994	85.9%	79.9%	5.99%	99.6%	92.3%	7.22%
1995	83.3%	77.4%	5.92%	100.1%	93.1%	6.99%
1996	80.8%	74.9%	5.86%	100.5%	93.7%	6.77%
1997	78.2%	72.4%	5.82%	100.6%	94%	6.57%
1998	75.9%	70.1%	5.79%	100.4%	94%	6.38%
1999	73.7%	67.9%	5.77%	100%	93.8%	6.2%
2000	71.6%	65.9%	5.74%	99.4%	93.4%	6.03%
2001	69.7%	64%	5.7%	98.7%	92.8%	5.87%
2002	67.9%	62.2%	5.68%	97.8%	92.1%	5.71%
2003	66.3%	60.6%	5.65%	96.8%	91.3%	5.57%
2004	64.9%	59.2%	5.63%	95.8%	90.3%	5.44%
2005	63.7%	58.1%	5.6%	94.7%	89.3%	5.33%
2006	62.6%	57.1%	5.56%	93.5%	88.3%	5.23%
2007	61.8%	56.2%	5.52%	92.4%	87.3%	5.15%
2008	61%	55.5%	5.49%	91.3%	86.2%	5.09%
2009	60.4%	54.9%	5.46%	90.2%	85.2%	5.05%
2010	59.9%	54.5%	5.44%	89.2%	84.2%	5.03%
2011	59.8%	54.4%	5.43%	88.4%	83.4%	5.01%
2012	60.2%	54.7%	5.46%	87.8%	82.8%	5%
2013	60.7%	55.2%	5.52%	87.2%	82.2%	4.96%
2014	61%	55.4%	5.61%	86.5%	81.6%	4.9%
2015	61.1%	55.3%	5.74%	85.8%	80.9%	4.86%
2016	60.8%	55%	5.85%	85%	80.2%	4.85%
2017	60.4%	54.4%	5.96%	84.2%	79.3%	4.86%
2018	59.8%	53.7%	6.05%	83.3%	78.4%	4.89%
2019	59%	52.9%	6.12%	82.3%	77.3%	4.95%
2020	58.1%	52%	6.15%	81.2%	76.2%	5.01%
2021	57.4%	51.3%	6.09%	80%	74.9%	5.08%
2022	57%	50.9%	6.09%	78.8%	73.6%	5.17%
2023	56.9%	50.6%	6.23%	77.6%	72.4%	5.29%
2024	56.7%	50.3%	6.32%	76.4%	71%	5.43%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Botswana decreased from 64.9% to 56.7% between 2004 and 2024.

In the Gambia, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 95.8% to 76.4% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and a decreased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Botswana	Gambia
1960	50.6%	56.3%
1961	50.1%	56.5%
1962	49.6%	56.6%
1963	49.1%	56.5%
1964	48.8%	56.2%
1965	48.5%	56%
1966	48.2%	55.8%
1967	47.8%	55.6%
1968	47.4%	55.5%
1969	47%	55.4%
1970	46.7%	55.3%
1971	46.6%	55.1%
1972	46.9%	55%
1973	47.6%	54.9%
1974	48.2%	54.7%
1975	48.8%	54.3%
1976	49.3%	53.9%
1977	49.8%	53.5%
1978	50.4%	53.1%
1979	51%	52.7%
1980	50.9%	52.2%
1981	50.8%	51.8%
1982	50.8%	51.4%
1983	50.8%	50.9%
1984	50.8%	50.7%
1985	50.8%	50.6%
1986	50.9%	50.5%
1987	50.9%	50.4%
1988	51%	50.4%
1989	51.3%	50.3%
1990	51.6%	50.3%
1991	52%	50.3%
1992	52.5%	50.2%
1993	53.1%	50.2%
1994	53.8%	50.1%
1995	54.5%	50%
1996	55.3%	49.9%
1997	56.1%	49.9%
1998	56.9%	49.9%
1999	57.6%	50%
2000	58.3%	50.1%
2001	58.9%	50.3%
2002	59.6%	50.6%
2003	60.1%	50.8%
2004	60.7%	51.1%
2005	61.1%	51.4%
2006	61.5%	51.7%
2007	61.8%	52%
2008	62.1%	52.3%
2009	62.4%	52.6%
2010	62.5%	52.8%
2011	62.6%	53.1%
2012	62.4%	53.3%
2013	62.2%	53.4%
2014	62.1%	53.6%
2015	62.1%	53.8%
2016	62.2%	54.1%
2017	62.3%	54.3%
2018	62.6%	54.6%
2019	62.9%	54.9%
2020	63.2%	55.2%
2021	63.5%	55.6%
2022	63.7%	55.9%
2023	63.7%	56.3%
2024	63.8%	56.7%
2025	64%	57.1%
2026	64.1%	57.5%
2027	64.2%	58%
2028	64.3%	58.6%
2029	64.4%	59.1%
2030	64.6%	59.5%
2031	64.8%	59.9%
2032	65%	60.3%
2033	65.2%	60.7%
2034	65.4%	61%
2035	65.7%	61.4%
2036	66.1%	61.8%
2037	66.5%	62.1%
2038	66.8%	62.5%
2039	67.1%	62.9%
2040	67.4%	63.3%
2041	67.7%	63.7%
2042	68%	64%
2043	68.2%	64.4%
2044	68.4%	64.7%
2045	68.5%	65%
2046	68.6%	65.3%
2047	68.7%	65.5%
2048	68.8%	65.8%
2049	68.8%	66%
2050	68.8%	66.2%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 60.7% to 63.8% in Botswana and from 51.1% to 56.7% in the Gambia.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Botswana	Gambia
1960	45.1%	41%
1961	45.6%	40.8%
1962	46.2%	40.7%
1963	46.8%	40.8%
1964	47.2%	41%
1965	47.5%	41.3%
1966	47.9%	41.5%
1967	48.2%	41.6%
1968	48.6%	41.8%
1969	48.9%	41.9%
1970	49.2%	42%
1971	49.3%	42.1%
1972	49.1%	42.2%
1973	48.6%	42.3%
1974	48.2%	42.4%
1975	47.7%	42.6%
1976	47.3%	42.8%
1977	47%	43%
1978	46.5%	43.3%
1979	46%	43.5%
1980	46.1%	43.7%
1981	46.2%	44%
1982	46.2%	44.3%
1983	46.2%	44.6%
1984	46.2%	44.9%
1985	46.2%	45%
1986	46.1%	45.2%
1987	46%	45.4%
1988	45.8%	45.5%
1989	45.5%	45.6%
1990	45.1%	45.7%
1991	44.7%	45.8%
1992	44.2%	45.9%
1993	43.7%	46%
1994	43%	46.3%
1995	42.2%	46.5%
1996	41.4%	46.7%
1997	40.6%	46.9%
1998	39.8%	46.9%
1999	39.1%	46.9%
2000	38.4%	46.8%
2001	37.7%	46.7%
2002	37.1%	46.6%
2003	36.5%	46.4%
2004	35.9%	46.1%
2005	35.5%	45.9%
2006	35.1%	45.6%
2007	34.8%	45.3%
2008	34.5%	45.1%
2009	34.2%	44.8%
2010	34.1%	44.5%
2011	34%	44.3%
2012	34.2%	44.1%
2013	34.4%	43.9%
2014	34.4%	43.7%
2015	34.4%	43.6%
2016	34.2%	43.3%
2017	33.9%	43.1%
2018	33.6%	42.8%
2019	33.3%	42.4%
2020	32.9%	42%
2021	32.6%	41.6%
2022	32.4%	41.2%
2023	32.3%	40.7%
2024	32.1%	40.2%
2025	32%	39.7%
2026	31.8%	39.2%
2027	31.6%	38.5%
2028	31.4%	37.9%
2029	31.2%	37.3%
2030	30.9%	36.7%
2031	30.6%	36.2%
2032	30.3%	35.7%
2033	30%	35.2%
2034	29.6%	34.8%
2035	29.2%	34.3%
2036	28.7%	33.9%
2037	28.1%	33.4%
2038	27.6%	33%
2039	27.2%	32.5%
2040	26.7%	32.1%
2041	26.3%	31.7%
2042	25.9%	31.3%
2043	25.5%	30.9%
2044	25.2%	30.5%
2045	24.8%	30.2%
2046	24.5%	29.8%
2047	24.2%	29.5%
2048	24%	29.1%
2049	23.7%	28.8%
2050	23.5%	28.4%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 32.1% in Botswana and 40.2% in The Gambia. Birth rates in Botswana compared to The Gambia .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Botswana	Gambia
1960	4.3%	2.68%
1961	4.23%	2.69%
1962	4.14%	2.7%
1963	4.04%	2.71%
1964	3.95%	2.72%
1965	3.92%	2.73%
1966	3.95%	2.74%
1967	4%	2.75%
1968	4.05%	2.76%
1969	4.1%	2.77%
1970	4.12%	2.78%
1971	4.09%	2.79%
1972	3.96%	2.8%
1973	3.8%	2.81%
1974	3.65%	2.91%
1975	3.51%	3.09%
1976	3.37%	3.28%
1977	3.25%	3.48%
1978	3.12%	3.68%
1979	3.03%	3.87%
1980	3%	4.05%
1981	2.99%	4.2%
1982	2.97%	4.33%
1983	2.97%	4.46%
1984	2.98%	4.47%
1985	3.01%	4.36%
1986	3.05%	4.27%
1987	3.1%	4.19%
1988	3.16%	4.12%
1989	3.2%	4.06%
1990	3.23%	4%
1991	3.24%	3.94%
1992	3.24%	3.87%
1993	3.23%	3.76%
1994	3.22%	3.62%
1995	3.23%	3.49%
1996	3.24%	3.38%
1997	3.27%	3.28%
1998	3.29%	3.19%
1999	3.32%	3.1%
2000	3.34%	3.02%
2001	3.36%	2.95%
2002	3.38%	2.89%
2003	3.4%	2.83%
2004	3.41%	2.78%
2005	3.42%	2.74%
2006	3.42%	2.7%
2007	3.41%	2.68%
2008	3.41%	2.66%
2009	3.4%	2.66%
2010	3.4%	2.66%
2011	3.4%	2.66%
2012	3.41%	2.66%
2013	3.43%	2.65%
2014	3.49%	2.63%
2015	3.56%	2.61%
2016	3.64%	2.62%
2017	3.71%	2.64%
2018	3.78%	2.67%
2019	3.85%	2.72%
2020	3.89%	2.77%
2021	3.87%	2.82%
2022	3.88%	2.89%
2023	3.97%	2.98%
2024	4.04%	3.08%
2025	4.08%	3.19%
2026	4.11%	3.3%
2027	4.17%	3.42%
2028	4.28%	3.54%
2029	4.38%	3.66%
2030	4.49%	3.78%
2031	4.6%	3.89%
2032	4.72%	4%
2033	4.86%	4.11%
2034	5.01%	4.21%
2035	5.15%	4.29%
2036	5.27%	4.37%
2037	5.41%	4.44%
2038	5.57%	4.5%
2039	5.72%	4.55%
2040	5.86%	4.6%
2041	6%	4.64%
2042	6.14%	4.68%
2043	6.28%	4.72%
2044	6.46%	4.78%
2045	6.66%	4.85%
2046	6.84%	4.93%
2047	7.02%	5.02%
2048	7.23%	5.13%
2049	7.44%	5.26%
2050	7.7%	5.39%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 4.04% in Botswana and 3.08% in the Gambia. Life expectancy in Botswana compared to the Gambia .