Kanifing: population, jobs, poverty, health and schooling
Kanifing is a municipality of the Gambia, number 2 of 8 by population. Kanifing Municipality had 379,348 residents at the 2024 Population and Housing Census (preliminary results), 15.7% of The Gambia's 2,422,712; it is the 2nd largest of the 8 local government areas.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Kanifing: 8.6% of the labour force aged 15 and over in Kanifing was unemployed in the first quarter of 2026, the 3rd highest rate of the 8 areas (The Gambia: 6.2%); a year earlier the rate was 9.1%.
- Health in Kanifing: 90.7% of births in Kanifing in the five years before the 2019-20 survey took place in a health facility, the 2nd highest share of the 8 areas (The Gambia: 83.7%).
- Education in Kanifing: 78.1% of children of primary-school age (7-12) in Kanifing were attending primary school in 2019-20, the 2nd highest net attendance of the 8 areas (The Gambia: 74.1%).
- Poverty and living standards in Kanifing: 11.6% of people in Kanifing lived below the national poverty line in 2020, the 2nd lowest poverty rate of the 8 areas (The Gambia: 53.4%); in 2015/16 the rate was 17.3%.
How densely populated is Kanifing?
Kanifing had 5,021 people per square kilometre in 2024, against 4,992 at the 2013 census; the national density is 227.
Source: Gambia Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow many children live in Kanifing?
34.2% of the people counted in Kanifing at the 2024 census were children under 15, the 2nd lowest share among the 8 areas (The Gambia: 40.8%); 3.2% were 65 or older.
Source: Gambia Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow many households are there in Kanifing?
The 2024 census (preliminary results) counted 61,586 households in Kanifing, 20.7% of the national total of 297,581.
Source: Gambia Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow municipalitys are governed in the Gambia
Administrative regions (5) and the 2 municipalities. Regional governor appointed by the president. Represents central government and supervises chiefs.
Every tier of government in the Gambia
Other municipalities of the Gambia
- Brikama 1,151,128
- Basse 261,160
- Kerewan 248,475
- Janjanbureh 147,412
- Kuntaur 118,104
- Mansakonko 90,624
- Banjul 26,461
Up a level: the Gambia · government and power in the Gambia
Sources
- Gambia Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of Health (with ICF): The Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2019-20, Final Report (tables by Local Government Area), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bbe8f65f5280…)
- Gambia Bureau of Statistics: Integrated Household Survey 2020, Volume II: Prevalence and Depth of Poverty (Tables 13, 18, 19, 20 and 21 by LGA), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 87b8e1aa0542…)
- Gambia Bureau of Statistics: The Gambia Labour Force Survey 2026 (Q1) Findings Report (Tables 0.3, 0.4, 2.3 and the child labour table by LGA), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 cec405f9bf4c…)
- Gambia Bureau of Statistics: The Gambia 2024 Population and Housing Census, Preliminary Report (Tables 2, 3, 5, 11 and 12 by LGA), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4277026e8648…)
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