Country Foundations

The Gambia

Constitution in force since 1996, 43,465 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
78%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
74%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−4%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
61%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 88%, gap −12%Right to life100%88%−12%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Freedom from torture100%74%−26%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 75%, practiced 79%, gap +4%Freedom from slavery and forced labour75%79%+4%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 50%, practiced 76%, gap +26%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…50%76%+26%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Right to a fair and public trial100%69%−31%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 60%, gap +60%Due process of law0%60%+60%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure100%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom of expression100%71%−29%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 63%, gap −37%Freedom of the press100%63%−37%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Freedom of thought and conscience100%73%−27%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of religion100%82%−18%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Academic freedom100%70%−30%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom of assembly100%78%−22%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of association100%80%−20%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 50%, practiced 76%, gap +26%Right to form and join trade unions50%76%+26%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 93%, gap +43%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%93%+43%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 92%, gap −8%Right to privacy100%92%−8%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom of movement100%90%−10%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 13%, practiced 79%, gap +67%Right to own property13%79%+67%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 84%, gap −16%Equality before the law100%84%−16%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 51%, gap −49%Right to education100%51%−49%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 47%, gap +47%Right to health care0%47%+47%Right to shelter or housing — declared 50%, practiced 53%, gap +3%Right to shelter or housing50%53%+3%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Independent judiciary100%76%−24%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001996: constitutional text changed (+13 pts declared)197019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1970–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −26%
  • Right to a fair and public trial −31%
  • Freedom of expression −29%
  • Freedom of the press −37%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Due process of law +60%
  • Right to own property +67%
  • Right to health care +47%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1979
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1978
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1978
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1983
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2018
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2015
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2018
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2018

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.