Gambia: health and care
13 answers, 5 from the Gambia's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
What is the life expectancy in The Gambia?
Life expectancy at birth in The Gambia was 66.1 years in 2024, according to the World Bank, up from 63.9 years in 2021.
Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn would live if the death rates of that year stayed the same. It is pulled down by deaths in childhood, so improvements in child survival raise it quickly. The World Bank series is based on UN population estimates. The Ministry of Health's website could not be reached securely on 15 October 2026. GBoS publishes health survey data, including the Demographic and Health Survey and the Malaria Indicator Survey, on its health data pages.
What is the infant mortality rate in The Gambia?
The Gambia's infant mortality rate was 32.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, and the under-five mortality rate 42.4, according to the World Bank. In 2021 the rates were 35.9 and 47.0.
Infant mortality counts deaths before age one, and under-five mortality deaths before the fifth birthday. The World Bank publishes modelled estimates from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, which combine household surveys and other data. In The Gambia the main survey source is the Demographic and Health Survey run by GBoS, last conducted in 2019/20. GBoS is running the 2026 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS7), which will give new figures.
What is the maternal mortality rate in The Gambia?
The Gambia's maternal mortality ratio was 354 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, according to the modelled estimate published by the World Bank. It was 420 in 2021.
The ratio counts deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes during pregnancy or within 42 days of its end, per 100,000 live births. The estimates come from the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group, which models them from surveys, health facility records and other sources, and they carry wide uncertainty ranges. Country surveys such as the Demographic and Health Survey, published by GBoS, give their own estimates for the years before the survey.
How common is malaria in The Gambia?
There were 75.4 malaria cases per 1,000 people at risk in The Gambia in 2024, according to the World Bank, which publishes World Health Organization estimates. The rate was 87.5 in 2023 and 95.5 in 2022.
The figure is an estimate of new cases each year, including those not seen at health facilities. GBoS publishes data from the Malaria Indicator Survey, including the share of households owning insecticide-treated nets and the share of children under five and pregnant women sleeping under them, on its health data pages.
How many doctors does The Gambia have?
The Gambia had 0.09 doctors per 1,000 people in 2023, according to the World Bank, which publishes World Health Organization data. With a population of about 2.8 million, that is roughly 250 doctors.
The rate was 0.10 in 2021 and 2022. It counts physicians, generalist and specialist, reported by the health ministry. Nurses and midwives are counted separately. Because the count is small, a few doctors joining or leaving the workforce changes the rate noticeably.
International comparisons
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
How long do people live in the Gambia?
In 2024, life expectancy at birth in the Gambia was 66.1 years, according to the UN Population Division. No year since 2005 has been higher. It is 20th highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 64.3 years. Worldwide: 163rd of 193.
How many babies die in the Gambia?
32.7 per 1,000: that is the infant mortality rate in the Gambia for 2024, according to the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. It is the bottom of the series, which starts in 2005. It is 32nd highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 37.2 per 1,000. Worldwide: 41st of 192.
How many women die in childbirth in the Gambia?
The WHO puts the maternal mortality ratio in the Gambia at 354 per 100,000 in 2023. It is the bottom of the series, which starts in 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 257 per 100,000; the Gambia is 18th highest of 48. Worldwide: 19th of 192.
What is the Gambia's health spending?
According to the WHO, current health spending in the Gambia was 2.9% of GDP in 2023. No year since 2005 has been lower. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 4.4% of GDP, and the Gambia placed 45th highest of 48. Of 191 countries with 2023 data, 178th highest.
How much do people in the Gambia pay for health care themselves?
According to the WHO, out-of-pocket health spending in the Gambia was 33.8% in 2023. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 32.4%, and the Gambia placed 23rd highest of 48. Worldwide: 70th of 191.
How many doctors does the Gambia have?
0.09 per 1,000: that is the number of doctors per 1,000 people in the Gambia for 2023, according to the WHO. Its high point since 2005 was 2018, at 0.12 per 1,000; its low point was 2019, at 0.08 per 1,000. It is 13th highest of 16 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 0.18 per 1,000. Of 58 countries with 2023 data, 54th highest.
How many hospital beds does the Gambia have?
According to the WHO, hospital beds per 1,000 people in the Gambia was 1.1 per 1,000 in 2023. Its high point since 2014 was 2021, at 1.2 per 1,000; its low point was 2019, at 0.96 per 1,000. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 1.1 per 1,000, and the Gambia placed 3rd highest of 5. World rank, highest first: 59th of 73.
What is the measles vaccination rate in the Gambia?
WHO and UNICEF puts measles vaccination among children aged 12 to 23 months in the Gambia at 83.0% in 2024. Since 2005 it has ranged from 74.0% (2022) to 97.0% (2015). Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 81.0%, and the Gambia placed 22nd highest of 48. Of 191 countries with 2024 data, 132nd highest.
Official bodies in the Gambia
More about the Gambia
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error