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Follow the money / Historical investigation / 1970–2026

The Gambia’s public debt

From Jawara
to Jammeh
to Barrow.

How has The Gambia’s public debt changed across successive administrations? What did each government inherit? How did debt relief change the country’s financial position? And what do the latest IMF and World Bank reports reveal?

Explore the debt timelineCompare historical dataRead IMF reportsView audit documents
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The documented reference points

Historical figures differ because of definitions, coverage, exchange rates, GDP estimates and revisions. These are reference points—not a single continuous series.

Financial year 2006

Historical reference

External public debt

≈ 133.1% of GDP

US$676.7M

VERIFIED PRIMARY SOURCE

Nominal external public debt at end-2006

Source & methodology

Joint IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Analysis

Published: 17 March 2009

External debt only. The cited DSA reports 133.1%, correcting the brief’s 133.6%.

IMF / IDA

Financial year 2007

Historical reference

Total public debt

≈ 38% of GDP

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

Public debt as a percentage of GDP in the World Bank historical summary

Source & methodology

The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

Published: 2 September 2025

Rounded post-HIPC ratio; not nominal debt cancelled. Historical coverage and revisions may vary.

World Bank

Financial year 2022

Historical reference

Total public debt

≈ 84% of GDP

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

Public debt as a percentage of GDP in the World Bank historical summary

Source & methodology

The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

Published: 2 September 2025

Article reports 84%, not the brief’s 83.2%. Rounded historical ratio.

World Bank

Financial year 2024

Historical reference

Total public debt

≈ 71.2% of GDP

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

Public debt as a percentage of GDP in the World Bank historical summary

Source & methodology

The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

Published: 2 September 2025

Same World Bank summary vintage, not automatically comparable to later IMF series.

World Bank

Financial year 2025

Estimate · unreviewed

Total public debt

≈ 79% of GDP

UNDER REVIEW

End-2025 total public debt estimate supplied in the brief; definition awaits review

Source & methodology

2026 IMF DSA — awaiting review

Published: Date pending verification

Approximately 79% supplied in the brief; not independently verified. Not an actual outcome.

IMF

Financial year 2025

Estimate · unreviewed

External public debt

≈ 51% of GDP

UNDER REVIEW

End-2025 external public debt estimate supplied in the brief; definition awaits review

Source & methodology

2026 IMF DSA — awaiting review

Published: Date pending verification

Approximately 51% supplied in the brief; not independently verified. Do not infer domestic debt by subtraction.

IMF

Source check: the cited DSA gives 133.1% for end-2006 external debt, rather than the supplied 133.6%. The World Bank summary gives 84% for 2022, rather than 83.2%. End-2025 IMF figures supplied in the brief remain under review; access to the report was blocked by human verification.

Historical debt-to-GDP

Percent of GDP · separate observations · no interpolated years or joined incompatible series.

2006

133.1%

External public debt · VERIFIED PRIMARY SOURCE · Joint IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Analysis

2007

38%

Total public debt · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT · The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

2022

84%

Total public debt · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT · The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

2024

71.2%

Total public debt · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT · The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

2025

79%

Total public debt · UNDER REVIEW · 2026 IMF DSA — awaiting review

2025

51%

External public debt · UNDER REVIEW · 2026 IMF DSA — awaiting review

Three administrations. Different starting points.

1970–1994

The Jawara era

The 1995 IMF Recent Economic Developments report covers 1990–95. A consistent starting and ending debt stock for this administration has not yet been extracted.

IMF

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA for administration-wide totals

1994–2017

The Jammeh era

Read the record in periods: 1994–2000, 2001–2006, 2007–2010, 2011–2016, and the 2017 transition. The pre-relief external debt point must not be mistaken for total public debt.

IMF / IDA

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA for administration-wide totals

2017–present

The Barrow era

World Bank reference points are available for 2022 and 2024. The proposed end-2025 IMF estimates need source review. “Sustainable” does not mean low debt or no repayment risk.

IMF

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA for administration-wide totals

2007: The debt-relief reset

HIPC and MDRI changed the country’s financial position. They did not erase every liability.

2006 · External public debt

US$676.7M

133.1% of GDP · IMF / IDA DSA

2007 · Public debt, World Bank summary

≈ 38% of GDP

Different definitions: these endpoints cannot measure the nominal amount cancelled.

Debt cancellation and a falling debt-to-GDP ratio are not interchangeable measures. Nominal debt before and after relief in a consistent currency: DATA NOT AVAILABLE. Do not subtract these two percentages as a cancellation calculation.

Did The Gambia’s public debt triple?

38% to 83.2% is approximately 2.19×, not 3×. That is arithmetic on the supplied ratios, not proof that nominal debt tripled. The cited World Bank article uses 84%, yielding approximately 2.21×.

Arithmetic result

2.21× · 121.1% change

CALCULATED FROM VERIFIED DATA — same reported series

The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel? → The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?.

A multiple of debt-to-GDP ratios is not a multiple of money owed. Nominal amounts require consistent currency, coverage and source definitions.

Compare successive administrations

No political scores or rankings. Changes can reflect borrowing, repayment, debt relief, exchange rates, GDP growth and statistical revisions.

Historical observations, not administration starting or ending balances
Year / administrationDefinitionNominal debtDebt / GDPSource / quality
2006 / JammehExternal public debtUSD 676,700,000133.1% IMF / IDA

VERIFIED PRIMARY SOURCE

2007 / JammehTotal public debtNot available38% World Bank

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

2022 / BarrowTotal public debtNot available84% World Bank

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

2024 / BarrowTotal public debtNot available71.2% World Bank

VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

2025 / BarrowTotal public debtNot available79% (estimate)IMF

UNDER REVIEW

2025 / BarrowExternal public debtNot available51% (estimate)IMF

UNDER REVIEW

Jawara · 1970–1994

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA

Starting / ending stocks and ratios, domestic / external breakdown and debt service require consistent boundary-year records.

Jammeh · 1994–2017

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA

Starting / ending stocks and ratios, domestic / external breakdown and debt service require consistent boundary-year records.

Barrow · 2017–present

INSUFFICIENT COMPARABLE DATA

Starting / ending stocks and ratios, domestic / external breakdown and debt service require consistent boundary-year records.

Check the definitions

Public debt

The public-sector liabilities covered by the source. Coverage may include central government, guarantees or other entities; read the source definition.

External debt

Debt classified as external by the source, often by creditor residency. It is a component—not an additional amount to add to total public debt.

Domestic debt

Debt classified as domestic by the source. Do not infer it from mismatched total and external observations.

Never add external debt to total debt. Never add debt-to-GDP ratios together.

Who does The Gambia owe?

Creditor composition · amounts, currencies, shares and reporting dates require an official source.

IMF

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

World Bank / IDA

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

African Development Bank

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Islamic Development Bank

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Other multilateral creditors

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Bilateral creditors

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Commercial creditors

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Domestic banks

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

Treasury bills / other domestic creditors

DATA NOT AVAILABLE — no verified amount or share published

No composition chart is drawn without verified values. Concessional and commercial terms must be documented rather than assumed.

How much does The Gambia pay to service its debt?

Debt service is principal and interest paid over a period—not the outstanding debt stock.

Principal repayments

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

Interest payments

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

Total debt service

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

New borrowing

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

Grants

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

Debt relief

DATA NOT AVAILABLE

Budget allocations are not actual expenditure. Health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and electricity comparisons need the same financial year and currency. No expenditure chart is drawn until consistent figures are verified. Borrowing is not inherently wasteful: terms, project outcomes, revenue generation and repayment obligations matter.

Historical debt timeline · 1970–2026

Only sourced milestones are plotted. Administration periods above provide context; missing historical values remain gaps.

  1. 2006 · VERIFIED PRIMARY SOURCE

    Before the debt-relief reset

    External public debt: US$676.7 million, 133.1% GDP. Not total public debt.

    IMF / IDA

  2. 2007 · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

    HIPC and MDRI debt-relief milestone

    Debt relief reset the debt position. Around 38% GDP in the World Bank summary; not all liabilities were cancelled.

    World Bank

  3. 2022 · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

    World Bank historical reference point

    Public debt at 84% GDP in the September 2025 summary.

    World Bank

  4. 2024 · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

    World Bank reports a lower ratio

    Public debt reported at 71.2% GDP.

    World Bank

Follow the audited record

Audit observations are not criminal findings. Original wording, page references and government responses matter.

No debt-specific findings with checked page references have been published. No findings are inferred from the audit opinions.

Government audit reports

Government explanations & responses

No issue-specific government response has been published here yet. Official analytical reports are linked below.

Read the source documents

IMF / IDA · VERIFIED PRIMARY SOURCE

The Gambia: Joint IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Analysis

Published: 17 March 2009

Review notes

End-2006 external debt: US$676.7 million, 133.1% GDP; not 133.6%.

Read original source

World Bank · VERIFIED OFFICIAL REPORT

The Gambia Economic Update: The Gambia Public Debt—An Achilles Heel?

Published: 2 September 2025

Review notes

Reports 38% (2007), 84% (2022), 71.2% (2024). 83.2% in brief not verified.

Read original source

IMF · UNDER REVIEW

The Gambia: 2026 Debt Sustainability Analysis — reference awaiting review

Published: Date pending verification

Review notes

Content blocked by human verification. Metadata and end-2025 figures await independent review.

Read original source

IMF · UNDER REVIEW

The Gambia: Recent Economic Developments

Published: 19 December 1995

Review notes

Covers 1990–95. Debt tables await extraction.

Read original source

IMF · UNDER REVIEW

The Gambia: Selected Issues

Published: 18 August 1999

Review notes

Covers 1994–98. Debt tables await extraction.

Read original source
Enter the Evidence Room

The Gambia’s debt story spans generations.

What was inherited? What was borrowed?
What was repaid? What was cancelled?
What remains owed? And what does it mean for the country today?

Read the reports. Compare the numbers. Check the definitions. Follow the money.