AD1215: Most Gambians have considered emigrating, primarily to seek economic opportunities – Afrobarometer

Migration is deeply embedded in Gambian life. As the smallest country in mainland Africa,  almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, The Gambia has one of the highest emigration rates  on the continent (Integral Human Development, 2022). Its diaspora, concentrated in Europe (particularly Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Germany), sustains a substantial share  of Gambian households through remittances. Personal remittances to The Gambia  represented 31.5% of gross domestic product in 2024, among the highest shares recorded  anywhere in Africa, underlining the centrality of migration to national economic life (Ceesay,  2025; World Bank, 2024). 

In recent years, “backway” migration – referring to irregular journeys overland through the  Sahara and across the Mediterranean – has become both a national tragedy and a subject  of urgent public debate (Bah, Batista, Gubert, & McKenzie, 2023; International Organization  for Migration, 2024). Young Gambians, many of them men with limited access to  employment, have risked their lives on these perilous routes in search of economic  opportunities abroad (Bah et al., 2023; International Organization for Migration Development  Fund, 2025). The human cost has been devastating, reinforcing calls for stronger domestic  job creation and better-managed migration pathways to reduce the pressures driving  irregular movement. 

As a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), The Gambia is  party to regional frameworks designed to facilitate the free movement of people across  West Africa for work and trade. These include the ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement  of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment and the African Continental Free Trade  Area (AfCFTA), which The Gambia ratified in 2019 (Economic Community of West African  States, 1979; Dogbevi, 2019). Notably, The Gambia is one of only four African countries (Benin, Rwanda, and Seychelles are the others) that offer visa-free entry to all Africans (Ighobor, 2024). Although these frameworks are intended to promote mobility, practical  barriers, including administrative hurdles and documentation requirements at border  crossings, continue to constrain movement in reality (Zanker, Arhin-Sam, Jegen, & Bisong,  2020). As the government seeks to leverage its diaspora for national development while also  managing domestic economic pressures, understanding how citizens perceive migration is  essential for evidence-based policy making. 

Findings from Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey (2024) reveal mixed views on crossing borders  and immigration. A majority of Gambians want their government to restrict cross-border  movement, which most say is already difficult in practice. Most Gambians express tolerant  personal attitudes toward immigrant workers and refugees, yet strong majorities favour  limiting their entry into the country.

More than two-thirds of Gambians say they have considered emigrating, mostly to escape  economic hardship and to find better job opportunities.