Earlier this year Gainako received a “Statistical Portrait of the Gambian Diaspora in 2020” published by a renowned Gambian statistician based in the United States, C Omar Kebbeh. Mr Kebbeh works for the United States Government as an Economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and is probably the world’s leading Statistician on the Gambian Diaspora. He has been publishing statistics on the Gambian Diaspora for years now.
Gainako first discovered Mr Kebbeh’s work in 2017 after he published a Statistical Portrait of Gambians in the Diaspora reporting that 141,007 Gambians were located abroad. In 2019 Mr Kebbeh published this article highlighting that over “140,000 Gambians live outside the Gambia“.
Similarly, in his 2020 Statistical Portrait of Gambians in the Diaspora, detailed below, Mr Kebbeh reports that 141,000 Gambians live outside the Gambia in 2020. This is his latest publication featuring arguably the most comprehensive statistics of Gambians abroad. Below is the highlight of his study.
By C Omar Kebbeh
1. Global Gambian Diaspora
o An estimated 141,000 Gambians are living outside of the Gambia in 2020
o The largest population of Gambians are in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Italy.
o Over 38,000 Gambians hold citizenship in other countries.
o Gambians Diaspora is generally young.
2. Gambians in the United States
o 27,000 Gambians lived in the United States in 2019. Of this number, 15,000 are males and 12,000 are females
o The largest concentrations of Gambians are in New York, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, and Georgia.
o Between 1988 and 2019, 8,353 Gambians were granted US citizenship
o Between 1988 and 2019, 17,991 Gambians were granted Green Cards (please note that some of these went on to become US citizens)
o Between 2006 and 2018, 71 Gambians arrived as refugees, 1,491 were granted asylum, 1,272 were apprehended on immigration violations, 531 were determined inadmissible, and 249 were returned,
o Between 2011 and 2018, 1,004 Gambians living in New York were granted citizenship, 211 in Ohio, 108 in Pennsylvania, 110 in Rhode Island, 199 in Texas, 490 in Washington, 182 in Wisconsin, 293 in north Carolina, 155 in Minnesota, 106 in Michigan, 372 in Maryland, and 493 in Georgia – further evidence that Gambians are spread all across the United States.
o The educational attainment of Gambians in the United States is high relative to the overall foreign-born population.
o 94 percent of Gambians in the United States speak English very well or well compared to 67 percent for the overall foreign-born population.
o 91 percent of Gambians in the United States are between the ages of 15 and 59.
o Over 90 percent entered the United States after 1990.
3. Gambians in Spain
o 23,617 Gambians lived in Spain in 2020. Of this number, 19,203 are males and 4,414 are females.
o In 1998, 3,972 Gambians lived in Spain. Of this number, 2,890 are males and 1,082 are females.
o 10,231Gambians hold Spaniard citizenship.
o Over 83 percent of Gambians in Spain are between the ages of 20 and 50 years.
o Of Gambians in Spain, 15,323 live in Cataluña region
4. Gambians in the United Kingdom
o 20,000 Gambians lived in the UK in 2019. Of this, 17,000 lived in England, 2,000 in Wales and 1,000 in Scotland.
o Between 1990 and 2019, 9,544 Gambians were granted British citizenship
o The number of Gambians who entered the UK to study decreased from a peak of 570 in 2008 to 70 in 2017.
5. Gambians in Germany
o 15,515 Gambians lived in Germany in 2019. Of this, 13,420 are males and 2,095 are females.
o In 1967, 19 Gambians lived in Germany, 18 males and 1 female.
o In 2010, 3,204 Gambians lived in Germany, 2,351 males and 853 females.
o Between 2000 and 2019, 1,678 Gambians were granted German citizenship.
o Over 90 percent of Gambians living in Germany are between the ages of 20 and 60 years.
6. Gambians in Italy
o 17,318 Gambians lived in Italy in 2019. Of this, 16,524 are males and 794 are females
o 439 Gambians hold Italian citizenship. Of this, 275 are males.
o 16,879 Gambians were granted residence permits in Italy in 2020.
7. Gambians in Sweden
o 5,505 Gambians lived in Sweden in 2019. Of this number, 3,246 are males and 2,259 are females
o 85 percent of Gambians in Sweden are between the ages 20 and 64 years.
o The first Gambians arrived in Sweden in the late 1960s.
o Between 2000 and 2018, 3,188 Gambians were granted Swedish citizenship. Of this, about half are females.
8. Gambians in France
o 2,400 Gambians lived in France in 2017.
o 1,307 Gambians hold French citizenship. Of this, 921 are males.
9. Gambians in Norway
o 1,262 Gambians lived in Norway in 2020. Of this number, 731 are males and 531 are females.
o In 1970, 19 Gambians lived in Norway and all were male.
o 73 percent of Gambians in Norway arrived more than 7 years ago.
o In 2018, 55 percent of Gambians aged 18 and over were employed.
o Between 1977 and 2019, 1,154 Gambians were granted Norwegian citizenship. Of this, 43 percent are females.
9. Gambians in Denmark
o 973 Gambians lived in Denmark in 2020. Of this number, 518 are males and 455 are females
o Majority of Gambians in Denmark live in Hovedstaden and Copenhagen areas.
o Between 1979 and 2019, 443 Gambians were granted Danish citizenship. Of this, 206 are females.
10. Gambians in Austria
o 684 Gambians lived in Austria in 2020. Of this number, 553 are males and 131 are females
o Most Gambians live in the Vienna area
o Between 2010 and 2019, 133 Gambians were granted Austrian citizenship. Of this, about 30 are females.
11. Gambians in Belgium
o 851 Gambians lived in Belgium in 2020.
o Between 1992 and 2019, 436 Gambians were granted Belgian citizenship.
12. Gambians in the Netherlands
o 1,868 Gambians lived in the Netherlands in 2020. Of this, 1,095 are males and 773 are females.
o In 1996, 199 Gambians lived in the Netherlands, 146 males and 53 females.
o Like other countries, the majority of Gambians in the Netherlands are between the ages 20 and 60 years.
o Between 1996 to 2019, 573 Gambians were granted Dutch citizenship.
13. Gambians in Finland
o 959 Gambians lived in Finland in 2019. Of this, 882 are males and 173 are females
o In 1990, 21 Gambians lived in Finland, 19 males and 2 females.
o Between 1990 and 2019, 361 Gambians were granted Finnish citizenship
o In 2018, 369 Gambians were in the Finnish labor force and of this 273 were employed. Among females, 41 were in the labor force and 22 were employed.
o Between 1990 and 2018, on average, about 30 Gambians migrated to Finland each year.
o Majority of Gambians in Finland live in Uusimaa region.
14. Gambians in Canada
o 755 Gambians lived in Canada in 2016. Of this, 435 are males and 320 are females
o As of 2016, 380 Gambians hold Canadian citizenship.
15. Gambians in Switzerland
o 1,007 Gambians lived in Switzerland in 2019. Of this, 828 are males and 179 are females
o 277 Gambians hold Swiss citizenship.
16. Gambians in Australia
o 130 Gambians lived in Australia in 2020. Of this, 90 are males and 40 are females
o 38 Gambians hold Australian citizenship. Of this, 29 are males.
End
The charts shown below was created from C Omar Kebbeh statistics provided in Excel of the Gambian Population located abroad in 2017.