Gambia, The: Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Gambia, The's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 16.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 33.42% to 49.44%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 16.02 percentage points in 2025 and the biggest yearly fall was 36.92 percentage points in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 17% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2025, Gambia, The had the 60th highest value of the 137 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 2025 ranking

• Bulgaria — 56th of 137: 51.78%
• Morocco — 57th of 137: 51.13%
• Sweden — 58th of 137: 51.11%
• Poland — 60th of 137: 47.08%
• Macao SAR, China — 61st of 137: 46.85%
• Greece — 62nd of 137: 43.99%

What this measures

Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. 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: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data.

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

All 60 values

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 11.67% (2025)
• Benin — 20.06% (2025)
• Botswana — 37.51% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 30.01% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 53.35% (2025)
• Cameroon — 20.3% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 33.56% (2025)
• Chad — 16.72% (2025)
• Comoros — 31.59% (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 43.92% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Gambia, The

• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$285.75 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, United Kingdom (current US$) — US$15.6 million (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$129.96 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$343.86 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$343.86 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$343.86 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (constant 2023 US$) — US$343.86 million (2023)
• Net ODA received per capita (current US$)

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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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Gambia, The's imports of goods and services (% of GDP)?

49.44% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1966?

It is up 5.86 percentage points from 43.58% in 1966. The highest value was 71.58% in 1990 and the lowest 24.61% in 2008.

How does Gambia, The rank?

60th highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Gambia, The?

In 2025, Gambia, The's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 16.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 33.42% to 49.44%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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