Gambia, The: Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Gambia, The's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) rose 0.55 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.57% to 9.12%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.89 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.8 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.2 percentage points in 1986. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2017 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.5 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 86% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Gambia, The had the 36th highest value of the 38 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Gambia, The in the 2024 ranking

• Madagascar — 33rd of 38: 16.28%
• Comoros — 34th of 38: 14.97%
• Iraq — 35th of 38: 13.99%
• Malawi — 37th of 38: 7.69%
• Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 38th of 38: 5.43%

What this measures

Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Credit to the private sector may sometimes include credit to state-owned or partially state-owned enterprises.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 57 values

Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 5.7% (2025)
• Benin — 19.76% (2025)
• Botswana — 33.12% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 22.68% (2025)
• Burundi — 37.89% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 53.44% (2025)
• Cameroon — 14.06% (2019)
• Central African Republic — 12.77% (2022)
• Chad — 8.27% (2021)
• Comoros

More financial sector data for Gambia, The

• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$71.74 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$71.29 (2025)
• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 285.9 (2024)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 11.56% (2024)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 227.82 (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 64.61 billion (2024)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 32.07 billion (2024)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 76.35 billion (2024)
• Broad money to total reserves ratio — 1.79 (2024)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Gambia, The's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP)?

9.12% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1966?

It is down 7.04 percentage points from 16.16% in 1966. The highest value was 24.89% in 1984 and the lowest 3.51% in 1992.

How does Gambia, The rank?

36th highest of 38 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) unusual for Gambia, The?

In 2024, Gambia, The's domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) rose 0.55 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.57% to 9.12%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.89 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FD.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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