The Gambia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Gambia vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Gambia	World
1960	19.4	22.5
1961	19.4	22.5
1962	19.5	22.4
1963	19.6	22.2
1964	19.6	22
1965	19.7	21.8
1966	19.7	21.7
1967	19.8	21.6
1968	19.7	21.5
1969	19.6	21.5
1970	19.5	21.4
1971	19.4	21.4
1972	19.3	21.5
1973	19.2	21.5
1974	19.1	21.6
1975	18.9	21.7
1976	18.8	21.9
1977	18.6	22
1978	18.5	22.2
1979	18.4	22.3
1980	18.2	22.5
1981	18.1	22.6
1982	17.9	22.7
1983	17.8	22.9
1984	17.6	23
1985	17.5	23.2
1986	17.4	23.3
1987	17.4	23.4
1988	17.3	23.6
1989	17.2	23.8
1990	17.2	23.9
1991	17.1	24.1
1992	17.1	24.3
1993	17	24.5
1994	16.9	24.7
1995	16.8	25
1996	16.7	25.2
1997	16.6	25.4
1998	16.5	25.7
1999	16.5	25.9
2000	16.5	26.1
2001	16.6	26.3
2002	16.6	26.5
2003	16.7	26.7
2004	16.8	27
2005	16.9	27.2
2006	17	27.4
2007	17.1	27.6
2008	17.2	27.8
2009	17.3	28
2010	17.4	28.2
2011	17.5	28.4
2012	17.6	28.6
2013	17.7	28.9
2014	17.8	29.1
2015	17.9	29.3
2016	18.1	29.5
2017	18.2	29.8
2018	18.4	30
2019	18.5	30.3
2020	18.7	30.6
2021	18.9	30.8
2022	19.1	31
2023	19.2	31.3
2024	19.4	31.6
2025	19.6	31.9
2026	19.8	32.1
2027	20.1	32.3
2028	20.4	32.6
2029	20.6	32.8
2030	20.9	33
2031	21.2	33.2
2032	21.5	33.4
2033	21.8	33.6
2034	22.1	33.8
2035	22.5	34
2036	22.8	34.2
2037	23.1	34.4
2038	23.5	34.6
2039	23.8	34.8
2040	24.1	35
2041	24.4	35.2
2042	24.7	35.4
2043	25	35.6
2044	25.3	35.8
2045	25.6	36
2046	25.9	36.2
2047	26.2	36.4
2048	26.5	36.6
2049	26.8	36.8
2050	27.1	37.1

In 1960, the median age in the Gambia was 19.4 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 19.4 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 106th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), the Gambia ranks 171st currently.

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

The Gambia demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Gambia
	Male	Female
0-4	7.11%	6.95%
5-9	6.74%	6.61%
10-14	6.48%	6.36%
15-19	5.56%	5.47%
20-24	4.69%	4.63%
25-29	4.13%	4.12%
30-34	3.53%	3.55%
35-39	2.8%	2.84%
40-44	2.14%	2.17%
45-49	1.63%	1.69%
50-54	1.42%	1.55%
55-59	1.25%	1.41%
60-64	0.96%	1.14%
65-69	0.62%	0.78%
70-74	0.36%	0.46%
75-79	0.22%	0.27%
80+	0.16%	0.2%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. The Gambia has high demographic potential with 75.9% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 19/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Gambia			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	77.6%	72.8%	4.77%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	77%	72.2%	4.77%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	76.7%	71.9%	4.78%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	77%	72.2%	4.8%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	77.8%	72.9%	4.84%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	78.7%	73.8%	4.88%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	79.3%	74.4%	4.91%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	79.8%	74.9%	4.95%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	80.3%	75.3%	4.98%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	80.6%	75.6%	5%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	81%	76%	5.03%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	81.3%	76.3%	5.06%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	81.7%	76.6%	5.08%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	82.1%	77%	5.11%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	82.9%	77.6%	5.32%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	84.2%	78.6%	5.7%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	85.6%	79.5%	6.09%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	87%	80.5%	6.51%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	88.4%	81.5%	6.93%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	89.9%	82.6%	7.35%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	91.4%	83.7%	7.75%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	93%	84.9%	8.11%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	94.7%	86.3%	8.43%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	96.3%	87.6%	8.75%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	97.4%	88.5%	8.82%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	97.7%	89%	8.62%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	98%	89.5%	8.45%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	98.2%	89.9%	8.31%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	98.4%	90.3%	8.18%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	98.6%	90.6%	8.07%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	98.8%	90.8%	7.95%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	98.9%	91.1%	7.83%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	99%	91.3%	7.7%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	99.2%	91.7%	7.48%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	99.6%	92.3%	7.22%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	100.1%	93.1%	6.99%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	100.5%	93.7%	6.77%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	100.6%	94%	6.57%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	100.4%	94%	6.38%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	100%	93.8%	6.2%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	99.4%	93.4%	6.03%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	98.7%	92.8%	5.87%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	97.8%	92.1%	5.71%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	96.8%	91.3%	5.57%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	95.8%	90.3%	5.44%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	94.7%	89.3%	5.33%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	93.5%	88.3%	5.23%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	92.4%	87.3%	5.15%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	91.3%	86.2%	5.09%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	90.2%	85.2%	5.05%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	89.2%	84.2%	5.03%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	88.4%	83.4%	5.01%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	87.8%	82.8%	5%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	87.2%	82.2%	4.96%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	86.5%	81.6%	4.9%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	85.8%	80.9%	4.86%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	85%	80.2%	4.85%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	84.2%	79.3%	4.86%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	83.3%	78.4%	4.89%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	82.3%	77.3%	4.95%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	81.2%	76.2%	5.01%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	80%	74.9%	5.08%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	78.8%	73.6%	5.17%	54%	39%	15%
2023	77.6%	72.4%	5.29%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	76.4%	71%	5.43%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

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 the Gambia decreased from 95.8% to 76.4% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Gambia working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Gambia	World
1960	56.3%	57.6%
1961	56.5%	57.5%
1962	56.6%	57.4%
1963	56.5%	57.2%
1964	56.2%	57%
1965	56%	56.9%
1966	55.8%	56.8%
1967	55.6%	56.9%
1968	55.5%	56.9%
1969	55.4%	56.9%
1970	55.3%	57%
1971	55.1%	57.1%
1972	55%	57.2%
1973	54.9%	57.3%
1974	54.7%	57.3%
1975	54.3%	57.4%
1976	53.9%	57.5%
1977	53.5%	57.7%
1978	53.1%	58%
1979	52.7%	58.4%
1980	52.2%	58.7%
1981	51.8%	59%
1982	51.4%	59.3%
1983	50.9%	59.6%
1984	50.7%	59.9%
1985	50.6%	60.1%
1986	50.5%	60.4%
1987	50.4%	60.5%
1988	50.4%	60.7%
1989	50.3%	60.8%
1990	50.3%	60.9%
1991	50.3%	61%
1992	50.2%	61.1%
1993	50.2%	61.2%
1994	50.1%	61.3%
1995	50%	61.5%
1996	49.9%	61.7%
1997	49.9%	61.9%
1998	49.9%	62.2%
1999	50%	62.5%
2000	50.1%	62.8%
2001	50.3%	63.1%
2002	50.6%	63.4%
2003	50.8%	63.7%
2004	51.1%	64%
2005	51.4%	64.3%
2006	51.7%	64.5%
2007	52%	64.7%
2008	52.3%	64.9%
2009	52.6%	65%
2010	52.8%	65.1%
2011	53.1%	65.2%
2012	53.3%	65.2%
2013	53.4%	65.2%
2014	53.6%	65.2%
2015	53.8%	65.1%
2016	54.1%	65.1%
2017	54.3%	65%
2018	54.6%	64.9%
2019	54.9%	64.9%
2020	55.2%	64.8%
2021	55.6%	64.9%
2022	55.9%	64.9%
2023	56.3%	65%
2024	56.7%	65.1%
2025	57.1%	65.2%
2026	57.5%	65.3%
2027	58%	65.4%
2028	58.6%	65.4%
2029	59.1%	65.4%
2030	59.5%	65.4%
2031	59.9%	65.4%
2032	60.3%	65.4%
2033	60.7%	65.4%
2034	61%	65.3%
2035	61.4%	65.2%
2036	61.8%	65%
2037	62.1%	64.9%
2038	62.5%	64.7%
2039	62.9%	64.6%
2040	63.3%	64.5%
2041	63.7%	64.4%
2042	64%	64.3%
2043	64.4%	64.2%
2044	64.7%	64.1%
2045	65%	63.9%
2046	65.3%	63.8%
2047	65.5%	63.7%
2048	65.8%	63.6%
2049	66%	63.4%
2050	66.2%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in the Gambia changed from 51.1% to 56.7% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Gambia	World
1960	41%	37.4%
1961	40.8%	37.5%
1962	40.7%	37.6%
1963	40.8%	37.8%
1964	41%	38%
1965	41.3%	38%
1966	41.5%	38%
1967	41.6%	38%
1968	41.8%	37.9%
1969	41.9%	37.8%
1970	42%	37.7%
1971	42.1%	37.6%
1972	42.2%	37.5%
1973	42.3%	37.3%
1974	42.4%	37.2%
1975	42.6%	37.1%
1976	42.8%	36.9%
1977	43%	36.7%
1978	43.3%	36.3%
1979	43.5%	35.9%
1980	43.7%	35.5%
1981	44%	35.2%
1982	44.3%	34.9%
1983	44.6%	34.6%
1984	44.9%	34.3%
1985	45%	34%
1986	45.2%	33.8%
1987	45.4%	33.6%
1988	45.5%	33.4%
1989	45.6%	33.2%
1990	45.7%	33%
1991	45.8%	32.9%
1992	45.9%	32.7%
1993	46%	32.5%
1994	46.3%	32.3%
1995	46.5%	32.1%
1996	46.7%	31.8%
1997	46.9%	31.5%
1998	46.9%	31.1%
1999	46.9%	30.8%
2000	46.8%	30.4%
2001	46.7%	30%
2002	46.6%	29.6%
2003	46.4%	29.2%
2004	46.1%	28.8%
2005	45.9%	28.5%
2006	45.6%	28.1%
2007	45.3%	27.9%
2008	45.1%	27.6%
2009	44.8%	27.5%
2010	44.5%	27.3%
2011	44.3%	27.1%
2012	44.1%	27%
2013	43.9%	26.9%
2014	43.7%	26.8%
2015	43.6%	26.6%
2016	43.3%	26.5%
2017	43.1%	26.4%
2018	42.8%	26.2%
2019	42.4%	26%
2020	42%	25.8%
2021	41.6%	25.6%
2022	41.2%	25.3%
2023	40.7%	25%
2024	40.2%	24.7%
2025	39.7%	24.4%
2026	39.2%	24.1%
2027	38.5%	23.8%
2028	37.9%	23.4%
2029	37.3%	23.1%
2030	36.7%	22.8%
2031	36.2%	22.6%
2032	35.7%	22.3%
2033	35.2%	22.1%
2034	34.8%	21.9%
2035	34.3%	21.7%
2036	33.9%	21.6%
2037	33.4%	21.5%
2038	33%	21.4%
2039	32.5%	21.3%
2040	32.1%	21.2%
2041	31.7%	21.1%
2042	31.3%	21%
2043	30.9%	21%
2044	30.5%	20.9%
2045	30.2%	20.8%
2046	29.8%	20.7%
2047	29.5%	20.7%
2048	29.1%	20.6%
2049	28.8%	20.5%
2050	28.4%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in the Gambia decreased from 46.1% to 40.2% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Gambia	World
1960	2.68%	4.97%
1961	2.69%	4.99%
1962	2.7%	5.01%
1963	2.71%	5.02%
1964	2.72%	5.04%
1965	2.73%	5.08%
1966	2.74%	5.12%
1967	2.75%	5.16%
1968	2.76%	5.2%
1969	2.77%	5.24%
1970	2.78%	5.28%
1971	2.79%	5.32%
1972	2.8%	5.37%
1973	2.81%	5.42%
1974	2.91%	5.47%
1975	3.09%	5.53%
1976	3.28%	5.59%
1977	3.48%	5.65%
1978	3.68%	5.71%
1979	3.87%	5.77%
1980	4.05%	5.81%
1981	4.2%	5.81%
1982	4.33%	5.8%
1983	4.46%	5.79%
1984	4.47%	5.8%
1985	4.36%	5.82%
1986	4.27%	5.86%
1987	4.19%	5.91%
1988	4.12%	5.95%
1989	4.06%	6.01%
1990	4%	6.07%
1991	3.94%	6.14%
1992	3.87%	6.21%
1993	3.76%	6.29%
1994	3.62%	6.37%
1995	3.49%	6.45%
1996	3.38%	6.53%
1997	3.28%	6.61%
1998	3.19%	6.68%
1999	3.1%	6.76%
2000	3.02%	6.84%
2001	2.95%	6.92%
2002	2.89%	7.01%
2003	2.83%	7.1%
2004	2.78%	7.18%
2005	2.74%	7.26%
2006	2.7%	7.34%
2007	2.68%	7.41%
2008	2.66%	7.47%
2009	2.66%	7.52%
2010	2.66%	7.58%
2011	2.66%	7.66%
2012	2.66%	7.78%
2013	2.65%	7.92%
2014	2.63%	8.08%
2015	2.61%	8.26%
2016	2.62%	8.45%
2017	2.64%	8.65%
2018	2.67%	8.88%
2019	2.72%	9.1%
2020	2.77%	9.33%
2021	2.82%	9.53%
2022	2.89%	9.74%
2023	2.98%	9.98%
2024	3.08%	10.2%
2025	3.19%	10.4%
2026	3.3%	10.6%
2027	3.42%	10.8%
2028	3.54%	11.1%
2029	3.66%	11.5%
2030	3.78%	11.7%
2031	3.89%	12%
2032	4%	12.3%
2033	4.11%	12.6%
2034	4.21%	12.8%
2035	4.29%	13.1%
2036	4.37%	13.4%
2037	4.44%	13.7%
2038	4.5%	13.9%
2039	4.55%	14.1%
2040	4.6%	14.3%
2041	4.64%	14.5%
2042	4.68%	14.7%
2043	4.72%	14.9%
2044	4.78%	15%
2045	4.85%	15.2%
2046	4.93%	15.4%
2047	5.02%	15.7%
2048	5.13%	15.9%
2049	5.26%	16.1%
2050	5.39%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in the Gambia increased from 2.78% to 3.08% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.