Human Development Report 2009
Gambia
The Human Development Index - going beyond income
Each year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the human development index (HDI) which looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of well-being. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). The index is not in any sense a comprehensive measure of human development. It does not, for example, include important indicators such as gender or income inequality nor more difficult to measure concepts like respect for human rights and political freedoms. What it does provide is a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the complex relationship between income and well-being.
Of the components of the HDI, only income and gross enrolment are somewhat responsive to short term policy changes. For that reason, it is important to examine changes in the human development index over time. The human development index trends tell an important story in that respect. HDI scores in all regions have increased progressively over the years (Figure 1) although all have experienced periods of slower growth or even reversals. 
Figure 1: HDI Trends
This year's HDI, which refers to 2007, highlights the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our increasingly interconnected world. The HDI for Gambia is 0.456, which gives the country a rank of 168th out of 182 countries with data (Table 1). 
Table 1: Gambia’s human development index 2007 
HDI value Life expectancy at birth 
(years) Combined gross enrolment ratio 
(%) GDP per capita
(PPP US$)  
1. Norway (0.971)  1. Japan (82.7)  1. Australia (114.2)  1. Liechtenstein (85,382)   
166. Senegal (0.464)  145. Mauritania (56.6)  161. Congo (Democratic Republic of the) (48.2)  154. Benin (1,312)   
167. Rwanda (0.460)  146. Ghana (56.5)  162. Mali (46.9)  155. Bangladesh (1,241)   
168. Gambia (0.456)  147. Gambia (55.7)  163. Gambia (46.8)  156. Gambia (1,225)   
169. Liberia (0.442)  148. Senegal (55.4)  164. Comoros (46.4)  157. Tanzania (United Republic of) (1,208)   
170. Guinea (0.435)  149. Djibouti (55.1)  165. Sierra Leone (44.6)  158. Haiti (1,155)   
182. Niger (0.340)  176. Afghanistan (43.6)  177. Djibouti (25.5)  181. Congo (Democratic Republic of the) (298)   
By looking at some of the most fundamental aspects of people’s lives and opportunities the HDI provides a much more complete picture of a country's development than other indicators, such as GDP per capita. Figure 2 illustrates that countries on the same level of HDI can have very different levels of income or that countries with similar levels of income can have very different HDIs.
Figure 2: The human development index gives a more complete picture than income
Human poverty: focusing on the most deprived in multiple dimensions of poverty
The HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development. The Human Poverty Index (HPI-1), focuses on the proportion of people below certain threshold levels in each of the dimensions of the human development index - living a long and healthy life, having access to education, and a decent standard of living. By looking beyond income deprivation, the HPI-1 represents a multi-dimensional alternative to the $1.25 a day (PPP US$) poverty measure.
The HPI-1 value of 40.9% for Gambia, ranks 123rd among 135 countries for which the index has been calculated.
The HPI-1 measures severe deprivation in health by the proportion of people who are not expected to survive to age 40. Education is measured by the adult illiteracy rate. And a decent standard of living is measured by the unweighted average of people not using an improved water source and the proportion of children under age 5 who are underweight for their age. Table 2 shows the values for these variables for Gambia and compares them to other countries. 
 
Table 2: Selected indicators of human poverty for Gambia 
Human Poverty Index 
(HPI-1) Probability of not surviving to age 40 
(%) People not using an improved water source 
(%) Children underweight for age 
(% aged under 5)  
1. Czech Republic (1.5) 1. Hong Kong, China (SAR) (1.4) 1. Barbados (0) 1. Croatia (1)  
121. Papua New Guinea (39.6) 116. Namibia (21.2) 81. Seychelles (13) 91. Vanuatu (20)  
122. Timor-Leste (40.8) 117. Mauritania (21.6) 82. Gabon (13) 92. Côte d'Ivoire (20)  
123. Gambia (40.9) 118. Gambia (21.8) 83. Gambia (14) 93. Gambia (20)  
124. Senegal (41.6) 119. Senegal (22.4) 84. Bolivia (14) 94. Uganda (20)  
125. Central African Republic (42.4) 120. Gabon (22.6) 85. Sao Tome and Principe (14) 95. Solomon Islands (21)  
135. Afghanistan (59.8) 153. Lesotho (47.4) 150. Afghanistan (78) 138. Bangladesh (48)  
 
Building the capabilities of women
The HDI measures average achievements in a country, but it does not incorporate the degree of gender imbalance in these achievements. The gender-related development index (GDI), introduced in Human Development Report 1995, measures achievements in the same dimensions using the same indicators as the HDI but captures inequalities in achievement between women and men. It is simply the HDI adjusted downward for gender inequality. The greater the gender disparity in basic human development, the lower is a country's GDI relative to its HDI.
Gambia's GDI value, 0.452 should be compared to its HDI value of 0.456. Its GDI value is 99.1% of its HDI value. Out of the 155 countries with both HDI and GDI values, 84 countries have a better ratio than Gambia's. 
Table 3 shows how Gambia’s ratio of GDI to HDI compares to other countries, and also shows its values for selected underlying indicators in the calculation of the GDI. 
Table 3: The GDI compared to the HDI – a measure of gender disparity 
GDI as % of HDI Life expectancy at birth
(years) 
2004 Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio
2004  

 Female as % male Female as % male  
1. Mongolia (100.0%) 1. Russian Federation (121.7%) 1. Cuba (121.0%)  
83. Gabon (99.1%) 107. Paraguay (106.0%) 89. Grenada (101.9%)  
84. Mauritius (99.1%) 108. Somalia (106.0%) 90. Nicaragua (101.7%)  
85. Gambia (99.1%) 109. Gambia (106.0%) 91. Gambia (101.6%)  
86. El Salvador (99.0%) 110. Sao Tome and Principe (106.0%) 92. Sao Tome and Principe (101.4%)  
87. Iceland (99.0%) 111. United States (105.9%) 93. Bangladesh (101.4%)  
155. Afghanistan (88.0%) 190. Swaziland (98.0%) 175. Afghanistan (55.6%)  
 
Migration
Every year, millions of people cross national or international borders seeking better living standards. Most migrants, internal and international, reap gains in the form of higher incomes, better access to education and health, and improved prospects for their children. Most of the world’s 195 million international migrants have moved from one developing country to another or between developed countries.
Gambia has an emigration rate of 3.6%. The major continent of destination for migrants from Gambia is Africa with 44.7% of emigrants living there.
Table 4: Emigrants 
Origin of migrants Emigration rate (%) Major continent of destination for migrants (%) 
1. Antigua and Barbuda 45.3 Asia  46.6 
10. Cape Verde 30.5 Europe  49.1 
111. Niger 4.0 Africa  93.3 
118. Togo 3.7 Africa  83.8 
119. Gambia 3.6 Africa  44.7 
124. Chad 3.2 Africa  90.7 
131. Central African Republic 2.7 Africa  84.1 
179. Ethiopia 0.4 Asia  37.5 
181. Mongolia 0.3 Europe  40.7 
Global aggregates 
Least developed countries 3.6 Asia  44.7 
Low human development 3.9 Africa  64.1 
Sub-Saharan Africa 2.5 Africa  72.7 
World 3.0 Europe 33.4 
The United States is host to nearly 40 million international migrants – more than any other country though as a share of total population it is Qatar which has the most migrants – more than 4 in every 5 people are migrants. In Gambia, there are 231.7 thousand migrants which represent 15.2% of the total population.
Table 5: Immigrants 
Destination of migrants Immigrant stock (thousands) Destination of migrants Immigrants as a share of population (%) 2005 
1. United States 39,266.5 1. Qatar 80.5 
18. Côte d'Ivoire 2,371.3 22. Gabon 17.9 
85. Malawi 278.8   
89. Gabon 244.6   
91. Gambia 231.7 26. Gambia 15.2 
94. Senegal 220.2 36. Côte d'Ivoire 12.3 
95. Cameroon 211.9 48. Seychelles 10.2 
177. Sao Tome and Principe 5.4 175. Madagascar 0.2 
182. Vanuatu 1.0 182. China 0.0 
Global aggregates 
Sub-Saharan Africa 15,567.1 Sub-Saharan Africa 2.2 
Least developed countries 10,908.5 Least developed countries 1.4 
Low human development 8,467.5 Low human development 2.3 
World 195,245.4 World 3.0 
Remittances
Remittances, which are usually sent to immediate family members who have stayed behind, are among the most direct benefits from migration; their benefits spread broadly into local economies. They also serve as foreign exchange earnings for the origin countries of migrants. However, remittances are unequally distributed. Of the total US$370 billion remitted in 2007, more than half went to countries in the medium human development category against less than one per cent to low human development countries. In 2007, US$47 million in remittances were sent to Gambia. Average remittances per person were US$28, compared with the average for Sub-Saharan Africa of US$26. (See Table 6 for more details.)
Table 6: Remittances 
Total remittance inflows
(US$ millions) Remittances per capita
(US$)  
1. India 35,262 1. Luxembourg 3,355 
8. Nigeria 9,221 33. Cape Verde 262 
127. Rwanda 51 97. Kenya 42 
128. Burkina Faso 50 104. Togo 35 
129. Gambia 47 109. Gambia 28 
136. Guinea-Bissau 29 110. Uganda 27 
141. Namibia 17 113. Sierra Leone 25 
157. Burundi 0 157. Burundi 0     
Global aggregates 
Sub-Saharan Africa 16,815 Sub-Saharan Africa 26 
Least developed countries 17,293 Least developed countries 26 
Low human development 2,907 Low human development 11 
World 370,765 World 58 




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