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Gambia · Economy

Gambia economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Gambia economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$2.6 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
5.9%
2025
GDP per person
US$919
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$50 million
2024
Remittances received
US$617 million
2025, 23.8% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$274 million
2025, 10.6% of GDP

Gambia economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Gambia's GDP was US$2.6 billion in 2025, after real growth of 5.9%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

01.0bn2.0bn3.0bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$1.4 billionGDP 2016: US$1.5 billionGDP 2017: US$1.5 billionGDP 2018: US$1.7 billionGDP 2019: US$1.8 billionGDP 2020: US$1.8 billionGDP 2021: US$2.0 billionGDP 2022: US$2.2 billionGDP 2023: US$2.4 billionGDP 2024: US$2.4 billionGDP 2025: US$2.6 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

0%2%4%6%8%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 4.1%Real GDP growth 2016: 1.9%Real GDP growth 2017: 4.8%Real GDP growth 2018: 7.2%Real GDP growth 2019: 6.2%Real GDP growth 2020: 0.6%Real GDP growth 2021: 5.3%Real GDP growth 2022: 5.5%Real GDP growth 2023: 5.9%Real GDP growth 2024: 5.6%Real GDP growth 2025: 5.9%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

02505007501k201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$620GDP per person 2016: US$650GDP per person 2017: US$643GDP per person 2018: US$696GDP per person 2019: US$738GDP per person 2020: US$720GDP per person 2021: US$782GDP per person 2022: US$836GDP per person 2023: US$883GDP per person 2024: US$871GDP per person 2025: US$919

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Gambia and in what

Direct investment by investing country

Nigeria was the largest investing country in Gambia, at 65% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.

Inward direct investment positions in Gambia at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 8 largest investing countries.

The IMF data holds no positions reported by Gambia itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.

NigeriaUS$140 million65.5%
MauritiusUS$32 million14.9%
ChinaUS$21 million9.8%
NetherlandsUS$15 million6.8%
SpainUS$4.2 million1.9%
BelgiumUS$3.1 million1.5%
IndiaUS$58 thousand0.0%
ItalyUS$36 thousand0.0%

Source: IMF, 2024. Method

What Gambia sells and buys

Oil seeds and grains was 34% of exports in 2024.

Gambia sold the most to China, 36% of exports in 2024.

Exports by product, 2024

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits: US$17 million, 34.3%Oil seeds and grains34%Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$14 million, 27.5%Mineral fuels and oils28%Sugars and sugar confectionery: US$7.9 million, 15.9%Sugars16%Fruit and nuts, edible: US$2.0 million, 4.0%Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors: US$1.4 million, 2.9%Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates: US$1.2 million, 2.4%Vehicles: US$1.1 million, 2.2%Salt: US$1.0 million, 2.1%Salt, su…2%Food industries, residues and wastes thereof: US$662 thousand, 1.3%Essential oils and resinoids: US$604 thousand, 1.2%Iron and steel: US$539 thousand, 1.1%Animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products: US$518 thousand, 1.0%All other chapters: US$2.0 million, 4.0%All other…4%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Top buyers, 2024

Share of Gambia's exports.

ChinaUS$18 million36.3%
MaliUS$13 million25.2%
Guinea-BissauUS$7.4 million14.8%
SenegalUS$5.8 million11.7%
IndiaUS$1.7 million3.5%
United KingdomUS$722 thousand1.5%
NetherlandsUS$665 thousand1.3%
GuineaUS$454 thousand0.9%
TurkeyUS$429 thousand0.9%
PortugalUS$285 thousand0.6%

Top suppliers, 2024

Share of Gambia's imports.

SenegalUS$209 million21.2%
ChinaUS$86 million8.7%
RussiaUS$51 million5.2%
IndiaUS$50 million5.0%
LiberiaUS$40 million4.1%
BelgiumUS$40 million4.0%
BrazilUS$39 million4.0%
EgyptUS$39 million3.9%
NigeriaUS$38 million3.8%
SpainUS$35 million3.5%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

What Gambia buys, 2024

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$317 million32.0%
VehiclesUS$106 million10.7%
CerealsUS$100 million10.1%
Salt, sulphur, earth and stoneUS$57 million5.7%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$40 million4.1%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$29 million3.0%
FertilisersUS$29 million2.9%
Fats and oilsUS$24 million2.4%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-3.0bn-2.0bn-1.0bn020152017201920212023Trade balance 2015: -US$308 million (exports US$83 million, imports US$391 million)Trade balance 2016: -US$332 million (exports US$34 million, imports US$366 million)Trade balance 2017: -US$447 million (exports US$14 million, imports US$461 million)Trade balance 2018: -US$455 million (exports US$11 million, imports US$466 million)Trade balance 2019: -US$469 million (exports US$25 million, imports US$494 million)Trade balance 2020: -US$527 million (exports US$26 million, imports US$553 million)Trade balance 2021: -US$682 million (exports US$26 million, imports US$708 million)Trade balance 2022: -US$860 million (exports US$55 million, imports US$915 million)Trade balance 2023: -US$2.4 billion (exports US$83 million, imports US$2.4 billion)Trade balance 2024: -US$939 million (exports US$50 million, imports US$988 million)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Gambia

Remittances to Gambia were 2.3 times foreign direct investment in 2025.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
0200m400m600m800m201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$154 millionRemittances 2016: US$146 millionRemittances 2017: US$160 millionRemittances 2018: US$212 millionRemittances 2019: US$276 millionRemittances 2020: US$416 millionRemittances 2021: US$547 millionRemittances 2022: US$502 millionRemittances 2023: US$515 millionRemittances 2024: US$529 millionRemittances 2025: US$617 millionForeign direct investment 2015: US$72 millionForeign direct investment 2016: US$70 millionForeign direct investment 2017: US$64 millionForeign direct investment 2018: US$82 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$71 millionForeign direct investment 2020: US$190 millionForeign direct investment 2021: US$252 millionForeign direct investment 2022: US$231 millionForeign direct investment 2023: US$206 millionForeign direct investment 2024: US$232 millionForeign direct investment 2025: US$274 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
0%10%20%30%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 11.2%Remittances 2016: 9.8%Remittances 2017: 10.6%Remittances 2018: 12.7%Remittances 2019: 15.2%Remittances 2020: 23.0%Remittances 2021: 27.2%Remittances 2022: 22.8%Remittances 2023: 21.6%Remittances 2024: 22.0%Remittances 2025: 23.8%Foreign direct investment 2015: 5.2%Foreign direct investment 2016: 4.7%Foreign direct investment 2017: 4.3%Foreign direct investment 2018: 4.9%Foreign direct investment 2019: 3.9%Foreign direct investment 2020: 10.5%Foreign direct investment 2021: 12.5%Foreign direct investment 2022: 10.5%Foreign direct investment 2023: 8.6%Foreign direct investment 2024: 9.7%Foreign direct investment 2025: 10.6%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Gambia owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Multilateral creditors held 38% of Gambia's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$24 million in 2024, 1% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
0500m1.0bn1.5bn2.0bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$340 millionBilateral 2015: US$139 millionCommercial banks 2015: US$6.2 millionRest of the total 2015: US$101 millionMultilateral 2016: US$326 millionBilateral 2016: US$140 millionCommercial banks 2016: US$51 millionRest of the total 2016: US$105 millionMultilateral 2017: US$428 millionBilateral 2017: US$163 millionCommercial banks 2017: US$47 millionRest of the total 2017: US$117 millionMultilateral 2018: US$458 millionBilateral 2018: US$170 millionCommercial banks 2018: US$41 millionRest of the total 2018: US$109 millionMultilateral 2019: US$477 millionBilateral 2019: US$230 millionCommercial banks 2019: US$37 millionRest of the total 2019: US$108 millionMultilateral 2020: US$530 millionBilateral 2020: US$266 millionCommercial banks 2020: US$34 millionRest of the total 2020: US$135 millionMultilateral 2021: US$533 millionBilateral 2021: US$283 millionCommercial banks 2021: US$30 millionRest of the total 2021: US$266 millionMultilateral 2022: US$551 millionBilateral 2022: US$313 millionCommercial banks 2022: US$27 millionRest of the total 2022: US$288 millionMultilateral 2023: US$619 millionBilateral 2023: US$340 millionCommercial banks 2023: US$24 millionRest of the total 2023: US$342 millionMultilateral 2024: US$625 millionBilateral 2024: US$365 millionCommercial banks 2024: US$20 millionRest of the total 2024: US$633 millionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$0Public debt owed to China 2018: US$0Public debt owed to China 2019: US$25 millionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$27 millionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$27 millionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$25 millionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$24 millionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$24 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

Reserves, US$Months of imports
0200m400m600m800m05101520152017201920212023Reserves 2015: US$111 millionReserves 2016: US$88 millionReserves 2017: US$170 millionReserves 2018: US$192 millionReserves 2019: US$257 millionReserves 2020: US$387 millionReserves 2021: US$653 millionReserves 2022: US$568 millionReserves 2023: US$577 millionReserves 2024: US$629 millionMonths of imports 2015: 3.1 monthsMonths of imports 2016: 2.6 monthsMonths of imports 2017: 3.4 monthsMonths of imports 2018: 3.2 monthsMonths of imports 2019: 4.6 monthsMonths of imports 2020: 6.4 monthsMonths of imports 2021: 10.0 monthsMonths of imports 2022: 7.8 monthsMonths of imports 2023: 5.0 monthsMonths of imports 2024: 4.8 months

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Gambia

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

0100m200m300m400m20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$114 millionAid received 2016: US$92 millionAid received 2017: US$284 millionAid received 2018: US$234 millionAid received 2019: US$191 millionAid received 2020: US$302 millionAid received 2021: US$249 millionAid received 2022: US$272 millionAid received 2023: US$344 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method