Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia
Gambia: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 32.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia stood at 32.8%. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of down 6.2% on the previous year and down 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia peaked at 42.7% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 32.8%, in 2020.
Gambia ranks 136th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 42.0% | — |
| 2001 | 42.2% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 42.3% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 42.7% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 42.7% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 42.5% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 42.5% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 42.4% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 42.1% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 42.2% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 41.7% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 41.7% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 41.8% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 40.6% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 41.2% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 39.0% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 38.4% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 37.3% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 36.2% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 35.0% | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 32.8% | -6.2% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 32.8% is below the median for low income countries, which is 43.7%, 75% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 32.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 47.9%, 69% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 42.4% | 42.0% | 42.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.3% | 35.0% | 41.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.8% | 32.8% | 32.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More reference data data for Gambia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0121 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2798 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0232 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3524 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0407 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1264 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Gambia was 32.8% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.7% in 2004.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.8% in 2020.
- How does Gambia rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Gambia ranks 136th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.