country profile

Gambia, The

Sub-Saharan AfricaLow income2.82M population

Last updated July 15, 2026

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Severely underprepared

Composite GEFRI Score

Severe readiness constraints across dimensions

Gambia, The shows severely limited readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (24th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms.

32.46Composite score
Global percentile
24th
Global rank
#135
Regional rank
#13
Viewing data for
Severely underprepared
Infrastructure
40.96
24th percentileGlobal avg. 55.13
Severely underprepared
Human Capital
32.10
19th percentileGlobal avg. 47.36
Critically unprepared
Innovation
24.61
6th percentileGlobal avg. 46.19
Severely underprepared
Governance
40.89
42nd percentileGlobal avg. 47.46
Critically unprepared
Access & Parity
23.73
36th percentileGlobal avg. 48.49

Country profile

Gambia, The faces substantial readiness constraints across core dimensions. Its weakest results are in Infrastructure (41, 24th percentile), GEFRI Composite (32, 24th percentile), Human Capital (32, 19th percentile) and Innovation (25, 6th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.

Dimension scores cluster tightly, showing the system operates with balanced readiness. 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, Gambia, The leads most clearly in School Access and Gender Parity, sitting well above the peer average.

Most indicators are observed rather than imputed, so estimation uncertainty is limited.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 24th percentile.

Places 135th worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 13th within Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scores range from Infrastructure (41.0) to Access & Parity (23.7), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Leads regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
651South Africa57.44
742Mauritius55.85
SeychellesMicrostate55.06
803Botswana53.75
994Ghana48.08
1085Namibia44.23
1146Cabo Verde39.44
1207Eswatini36.39
1258Equatorial Guinea35.21
1269Senegal34.71
12710Gabon34.67
12811Rwanda34.54
13312Kenya32.83
13513Gambia, The32.46
13614Cote d'Ivoire32.04
13715Lesotho31.46
14016Tanzania29.45
14217Benin29.31
Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate29.18
14318Togo28.93
14419Zimbabwe28.61
14520CameroonFCS28.42
14621Mauritania27.91
14822Zambia27.69
15023Angola27.20
15324Guinea25.53
15425MozambiqueFCS25.03
15526Madagascar24.90
15627Uganda24.77
15728Congo, Rep.FCS24.76
15829NigeriaFCS24.43
16030EthiopiaFCS24.27
16131Burkina FasoFCS24.20
16232ComorosFCS24.06
16333Sierra Leone23.91
16434MalawiFCS23.31
16535Liberia22.51
16636Guinea-BissauFCS22.30
16737MaliFCS21.77
16838Burundi20.39
16939SudanFCS19.96
17040NigerFCS19.49
17141EritreaFCS19.24
17242Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS19.13
17343ChadFCS17.06
17544SomaliaFCS16.33
17645South SudanFCS16.19
17746Central African RepublicFCS16.10