Gambia population pyramid 2026
2,884,079 people in 2026 (projected). The Gambia’s pyramid is still a broad triangle, but fertility has fallen from 5.6 to 3.7 since 2010, and by 2075 the bands under 35 are almost equal.
- 2026 population
- 2.9Mrank 141 of 237
- Median age
- 18.8 yearsoldest rank 211
- Fertility rate
- 3.70births per woman · above replacement
- Structure
- Youthful3.3% age 65+
Gambia population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Gambia age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 39.2% of the population, while 3.3% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 57.5% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Gambia’s age structure as youthful; the guide to expansive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 73.8: about 74 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (68.0 children and 5.7 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Gambia’s population pyramid
A small country with a broad base
The Gambia, a narrow strip along the Gambia River almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, is the smallest country on the African mainland and one of the most densely settled, with about 285 people per square kilometre. Its population has grown nearly tenfold since 1950, from about 307,000 to 2.9 million in 2026, as life expectancy more than doubled, from about 31 years to 66 in 2023, while fertility stayed above six children per woman until the 1990s. In 2000 almost 47% of residents were under 15. The 2026 pyramid still has the classic expansive shape: every band is smaller than the one below it, and there are no notches or bulges.
Fertility now falling quickly
After decades of little change, fertility has dropped steeply, from about 5.6 children per woman in 2010 to 4.0 in 2023 and 3.7 in 2026. The effect is beginning to show at the base. In 2000 the 0–4 band was about 16% larger than the 5–9 band; in 2026 the difference is only about 7%. Under the medium scenario fertility reaches about 2.4 by 2050, and by 2075 the seven bands from 0 to 34 are almost identical in size, turning the lower half of the pyramid into a column. Because so many people are still young, the total keeps rising throughout the century, to about 4.3 million in 2050 and 5.7 million in 2100, an example of population momentum.
Migration and the balance of the sexes
The UN series records net immigration of about 177,000 between 1950 and 1999, turning to net emigration of about 72,000 in 2000–23, a period in which irregular migration by young Gambians towards Europe, known locally as the “backway”, was widely reported. In the 2000 pyramid women outnumber men in every band from 25 to 59, a pattern consistent with men living or working abroad, although the chart alone cannot establish the cause.
In 2026 the sexes are almost exactly balanced up to the early forties. From 50 onward women increasingly outnumber men, with 93 men per 100 women at 50–54, 85 at 60–64 and 78 at 70–74, partly because women live about three and a half years longer. Guinea, Liberia and Senegal have the most similar age structures.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Gambia’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
In the UN medium scenario births outnumber deaths in every year through 2100. People aged 65 and older are projected to outnumber children under 15 by 2100.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Gambia is projected to record 82,634 births (about 226 births a day) and 17,812 deaths, a natural increase of 64,822. Net migration adds −2,894 people, ranking #152 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 1,764,164 births, 398,080 deaths, and cumulative net migration of −72,477. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of −61,086 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 68.2 years31.8 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 64.7 years30.6 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 14.2 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 27.8per 1,000 births · 148 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 41.5per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 29.8 yearssex ratio at birth 103.2
Women in Gambia are projected to live 3.5 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 148 to 27.8 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #42 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 29.8 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Gambia
The median age of 18.8 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 3.70 births per woman is above the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 66.5 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,884,079 | #141 | Largest first |
| Median age | 18.8 years | #211 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 3.70 | #31 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | +2.1% | #34 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 66.5 years | #206 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 3.3% | #203 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Gambia
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–4 | 394,743 | 13.7% | 199.6K / 195.1K |
| 2 | 5–9 | 369,818 | 12.8% | 186.7K / 183.1K |
| 3 | 10–14 | 364,734 | 12.6% | 184.1K / 180.7K |
| 4 | 15–19 | 322,637 | 11.2% | 162.6K / 160K |
| 5 | 20–24 | 271,232 | 9.4% | 136.4K / 134.9K |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Gambia has 1,436,232 males and 1,447,848 females. That is 99.2 males per 100 females, ranking #93 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.8% of the population and females for 50.2%. There are 11,616 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 79.1 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 103.2 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, slightly below the typical value of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Gambia has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 306,736 in 1950 to 2,884,079 in 2026, a change of 840%. Over the same span, median age moved from 17.0 to 18.8 years.
The under-15 share changed from 43.7% to 39.2%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 2.5% to 3.3%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Gambia’s population is projected to grow by about 49%, reaching 4,301,895 in 2050. The median age changes from 18.8 to 26.1 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 2.1 percentage points to 5.4%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 28.4%. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The population is still rising at the end of the UN medium projection in 2100, when it reaches 5,703,042. The page therefore does not assign a peak year beyond the available horizon.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 306,736 | 17.0 | 6.35 | 31.2 | 15,238 | 9,991 | +2,272 | +2.5% |
| 1960 | 398,060 | 18.3 | 6.25 | 34.6 | 20,075 | 11,655 | +2,272 | +2.7% |
| 1970 | 524,105 | 18.4 | 6.26 | 39.5 | 24,827 | 12,699 | +2,777 | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 713,914 | 17.2 | 6.41 | 45.0 | 34,404 | 14,839 | +5,268 | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 1,054,696 | 16.1 | 6.25 | 51.3 | 50,331 | 17,169 | +11,242 | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 1,455,084 | 15.4 | 5.72 | 56.9 | 59,739 | 16,489 | −3,670 | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 1,926,630 | 16.3 | 5.56 | 61.2 | 74,892 | 16,339 | −2,456 | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 2,515,733 | 17.6 | 4.25 | 64.4 | 79,308 | 17,100 | −1,949 | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 2,697,846 | 18.2 | 4.01 | 65.9 | 82,092 | 16,975 | −3,000 | +2.3% |
| 2024* | 2,759,988 | 18.4 | 3.91 | 66.1 | 82,405 | 17,247 | −2,989 | +2.3% |
| 2026* | 2,884,079 | 18.8 | 3.70 | 66.5 | 82,634 | 17,812 | −2,894 | +2.1% |
| 2030* | 3,130,134 | 19.9 | 3.33 | 67.2 | 82,941 | 19,110 | −2,887 | +1.9% |
| 2040* | 3,732,798 | 23.1 | 2.71 | 68.8 | 84,742 | 23,210 | −2,196 | +1.6% |
| 2050* | 4,301,895 | 26.1 | 2.38 | 70.2 | 84,089 | 28,103 | −2,103 | +1.3% |
| 2060* | 4,800,124 | 29.2 | 2.18 | 71.5 | 81,478 | 34,146 | −1,516 | +0.9% |
| 2070* | 5,203,320 | 32.0 | 2.03 | 72.7 | 78,555 | 42,364 | −1,803 | +0.7% |
| 2080* | 5,487,552 | 34.7 | 1.94 | 74.0 | 74,987 | 51,025 | −1,743 | +0.4% |
| 2090* | 5,649,789 | 37.0 | 1.87 | 75.2 | 70,824 | 58,975 | −1,439 | +0.2% |
| 2100* | 5,703,042 | 38.9 | 1.82 | 76.5 | 66,897 | 65,051 | −1,190 | +0.0% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 199,607 | 195,136 | 394,743 | 13.7% |
| 5–9 | 186,742 | 183,076 | 369,818 | 12.8% |
| 10–14 | 184,059 | 180,675 | 364,734 | 12.6% |
| 15–19 | 162,599 | 160,038 | 322,637 | 11.2% |
| 20–24 | 136,362 | 134,870 | 271,232 | 9.4% |
| 25–29 | 118,147 | 117,677 | 235,824 | 8.2% |
| 30–34 | 103,743 | 104,314 | 208,057 | 7.2% |
| 35–39 | 84,269 | 85,495 | 169,764 | 5.9% |
| 40–44 | 65,239 | 66,405 | 131,644 | 4.6% |
| 45–49 | 48,894 | 50,034 | 98,928 | 3.4% |
| 50–54 | 40,144 | 43,154 | 83,298 | 2.9% |
| 55–59 | 35,634 | 39,969 | 75,603 | 2.6% |
| 60–64 | 28,785 | 33,909 | 62,694 | 2.2% |
| 65–69 | 19,498 | 24,375 | 43,873 | 1.5% |
| 70–74 | 11,368 | 14,630 | 25,998 | 0.9% |
| 75–79 | 6,235 | 7,867 | 14,102 | 0.5% |
| 80–84 | 3,442 | 4,279 | 7,721 | 0.3% |
| 85–89 | 1,182 | 1,507 | 2,689 | 0.1% |
| 90–94 | 259 | 380 | 639 | 0.0% |
| 95–99 | 27 | 55 | 82 | 0.0% |
| 100+ | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Gambia’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Guinea98% overlap · median age 18.5
- Liberia98% overlap · median age 19.0
- Senegal98% overlap · median age 19.8
- Sudan98% overlap · median age 18.8
- Madagascar98% overlap · median age 19.4
- Guinea-Bissau98% overlap · median age 19.6
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Gambia.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Gambia Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/gambia/
MLA
“Gambia Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/gambia/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “Gambia Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/gambia/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Gambia in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Gambia's population in 2026 is projected at 2,884,079.
What is the median age in Gambia?
The projected median age in Gambia in 2026 is 18.8 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Gambia?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 3.70 births per woman, above the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Gambia's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will grow by about 49%, from 2.9M to 4.3M.
What share of Gambia is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 3.3% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 5.4%.
How many babies are born in Gambia each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 82,634 births and 17,812 deaths in 2026, about 226 births a day. Births exceed deaths by 64,822.
What is life expectancy in Gambia for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 68.2 years for women and 64.7 years for men, a gap of 3.5 years in favour of women.
Does Gambia have more immigrants or emigrants?
Gambia is projected to lose about 2,894 more people through emigration than it gains in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of −72,477.
What is the sex ratio in Gambia?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 99.2 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.