By Amadou Manjang
Many Gambians said the government discriminates against people based on ethnicity and economic status, an Afrobarometer survey reveals.
It adds that more than four in 10 Gambians (43%) say the government treats their ethnic group unfairly, including 18% who say this happens “often” or “always.”
“The proportion of citizens who say the government “never” discriminates against their ethnic group has dropped from 71% to 53% since 2018,” the survey indicated.
Meanwhile, three-quarter (75%) of Gambians say the government sometimes treats people unfairly based on their economic status.
The survey reveals that most Gambians express tolerant attitudes toward people of different ethnic, national, and religious backgrounds, but not toward homosexuals.
“Ninety-five percent of Gambians express tolerant attitudes toward people of different ethnicities,” the Afrobarometer stated.
It reveals that ninety percent of Gambians express tolerant attitudes towards people who have different political affiliations.
Eighty-three percent express tolerant attitudes toward people of different nationalities, and seventy-six percent express tolerant attitudes toward people of different religions.
Less than one in 10 (7%) expresses tolerance toward people in same-sex relationships or homosexuals.
The survey also indicated that more than three-fourths of Gambians say they trust their relatives (82%) and neighbours (78%).
About fifty-six percent of Gambians express trust in people from other religious backgrounds.
This survey was published by Afrobarometer on 9 February, 2024.
According to Afrobarometer, they interviewed 1,200 adult citizens between 30 August and 19 September, 2022 to provide this data.
“A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level,” it states
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that conducts research and surveys on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
