the gambia

48 Pages·2017·4.28 MB·English

COUNTRY PROFILE 2016
THE GAMBIA

COUNTRY PROFILE 2016
THE GAMBIA
Ordering information
To order copies of Country Profile - The Gambia, please contact:
Publications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: [phone]
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E-mail: [email protected]
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please visit: www.uneca.org/publications
© 2017 Economic Commission for Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
All rights reserved
First printing: March 2017
ISBN: 978-99944-68-94-2
Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted. Acknowledgement is requested,
together with a copy of the publication.
Note
The designations used and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities,
or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of
development. Designations such as “developed”, “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for
statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a
particular country or area in the development process.
COUNTRY PROFILE - THE GAMBIA
Contents
Abbreviations and acronyms v
Acknowledgements vii
The Gambia at a glance viii
1. Overview 1
2. National and subregional context 2
3. Economic performance 7
3.1 Economic growth 7
3.2 Fiscal policy 10
3.3 Monetary policy 12
3.4 Current account 13
3.5 Capital and financial accounts 16
4. Social developments 17
4.1 Demography 17
4.2 Poverty and employment 18
4.3 Health 20
4.4 Education 21
4.5 Gender equality and women’s empowerment 22
5. Thematic analysis - Agricultural development: status, constraints
and policy challenges 24
5.1 Current state of the agricultural sector 24
5.2 Policy interventions 27
6. National data quality evaluation 30
References 31
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COUNTRY PROFILE - THE GAMBIA
Abbreviations and acronyms
CEN-SAD Community of Sahel-Saharan States
ECA Economic Commission for Africa
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FDI Foreign direct investment
GDP Gross domestic product
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union
PAGE Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
VAT Value added tax
WHO World Health Organization
WTO World Trade Organization
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COUNTRY PROFILE - THE GAMBIA
Acknowledgements
Country Profiles is a series published annually by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
The aim of the series is to disseminate country- and region-specific policy analyses and
recommendations for economic transformation, with an emphasis on promoting sustainable
growth and social development, strengthening regional integration and facilitating development
planning and economic governance. The present series is the result of the close collaboration of
the subregional offices of ECA and the African Centre for Statistics. Specific contributions were
provided by relevant programme areas of ECA, in particular, the Macroeconomic Policy Division,
the Regional Integration and Trade Division, and the Social Development and Policy Division.
The country profile on the Gambia was prepared under the overall coordination and substantive
guidance of Giovanie Biha, Deputy Executive Secretary for Knowledge Delivery of ECA, and
the direct leadership of Dimitri Sanga, Director of the Subregional Office for West Africa.
The lead author of the Gambia country profile was Simon Neumueller, Associate Economic
Affairs Officer at the Subregional Office for West Africa. Technical supervision was provided
by Bakary Dosso, Chief of the Subregional Data Centre.
Valuable contributions and comments were made by the internal review panel, put together
by the Operational Quality Section of ECA. We would also like to thank Abbi M. Kedir, a
Research Fellow in the Management School at the University of Sheffield, for his expert critique
and review.
A special mention goes to the Publications Section for ensuring the editing, translation, design
and printing of the 2016 Country Profiles series.
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COUNTRY PROFILE - THE GAMBIA
The Gambia at a glance
General information Rankings
Subregion West Africa Human development index 175/188 (2014)
(United Nations Development Programme)
Official language English Gender inequality index 143/155 (2014)
(United Nations Development Programme)
Currency Dalasi Ibrahim index of African governance 35/54 (2015)
(Mo Ibrahim Foundation)
Capital city Banjul Ease of doing business index 145/189 (2017)
(World Bank)
Regional Economic ECOWAS, Corruption perceptions index 145/176 (2016)
Community CEN-SAD (Transparency International)
membership (s)
Economic growth
The Gambia has experienced positive, although highly volatile, growth in
recent years, fluctuating from -4.3 per cent in 2011 to 5.9 per cent in 2012
and back to 0.9 per cent in 2014. The economy of the Gambia is mainly
dependent on rain-fed agriculture and on services. Exogenous factors such as
climate change and the recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa
are endangering stability in the country.
Fiscal policy
Although tax revenues in the Gambia have increased since the introduction
of value added tax (VAT) in 2013, fiscal spending has increased substantially
since then. Pressures have grown since the debt-to-GDP ratio reached more
than 100 per cent in 2014. This poses a threat to monetary stability and is
crowding out private investment.
Monetary policy
The Central Bank of Gambia follows a prudent monetary policy and has
achieved average inflation of slightly above 5 per cent since 2010. The trend
of exchange rate depreciation seemed to have stopped in 2016. High interest
rates of more than 20 per cent for private investors nonetheless create a
challenging environment for the economy.
Current account
As a net importer, predominantly of petroleum products and food items, the
economy of the Gambia is susceptible to fluctuations in global commodity
prices. Its trade balance has worsened since 2014. The Gambia has a strong
tradition in re-export trade with Guinea, Mali and Senegal, of which more
than 60 per cent is textiles. The Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) common external tariff, introduced in 2015, poses a threat to the
practice of re-export trade.
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