Country profile

Gambia, The

Sub-Saharan Africa Low income2.76M inhabitants

Last updated December 22, 2025

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Composite GEFRI Score

Severely underprepared

Gambia, The is severely underprepared (23rd percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

30.79Composite score
Global percentile
23rd
Global rank
#138
Regional rank
#14
Viewing data for
Infrastructure
40.42
21st percentileGlobal avg. 56.42
Human Capital
32.09
20th percentileGlobal avg. 46.98
Innovation
18.01
3rd percentileGlobal avg. 42.60
Governance
42.37
43rd percentileGlobal avg. 47.71
Access & Parity
21.07
33rd percentileGlobal avg. 50.60

Country profile

Gambia, The trails global peers in Infrastructure (40, 21st percentile), Human Capital (32, 20th percentile), and Innovation (18, 3rd percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.

All or most indicators are based on observed data, giving planners a dependable evidence base for decisions. Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination. Limited electricity or internet coverage still constrains classrooms, preventing large-scale digital instruction. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Governance presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Innovation lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.

Key insights

  • Falls below many peers at the 23rd percentile.
  • Places 138th worldwide.
  • Holds a regional position of 14th within Sub-Saharan Africa .
  • Scores range from Governance (42.4) to Innovation (18.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.
  • Trails regional peers most clearly in Innovation.

Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa

Composite GEFRI score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
671South Africa57.14
682Mauritius56.87
——SeychellesMicrostate55.72
743Botswana55.44
1084Namibia43.86
1115Ghana40.92
1136Cabo Verde39.81
1157Sierra Leone38.84
——Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate38.53
1198Eswatini37.54
1279Senegal35.31
12810Gabon34.39
13011Rwanda33.46
13212Kenya33.01
13613Cote d'Ivoire31.71
13814Gambia, The30.79
14015Lesotho29.76
14116Equatorial Guinea29.48
14217Benin29.14
14318Zambia28.93
14419ZimbabweFCS28.92
14620Tanzania28.51
14721Togo28.14
14822CameroonFCS27.69
15023Mauritania25.98
15124ComorosFCS25.84
15225Angola25.63
15426Congo, Rep.FCS24.72
15527MozambiqueFCS24.40
15628NigeriaFCS24.09
15729EthiopiaFCS24.04
15830Madagascar23.66
15931Malawi23.03
16032MaliFCS23.02
16133Burkina FasoFCS22.80
16234Uganda22.60
16435Guinea22.13
16636Liberia21.10
16737NigerFCS20.37
16838SudanFCS20.10
16939BurundiFCS18.87
17040Guinea-BissauFCS18.69
17141EritreaFCS18.19
17242Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS17.22
17443ChadFCS15.73
17544South SudanFCS15.65
17645Somalia, Fed. Rep.FCS14.75
17746Central African RepublicFCS13.33