Gambia Makes Top Ten In Africa For Political Freedom
The Gambia has cemented its place among Africa’s freest countries, ranking in the top 10 for political freedom in the 2026 Freedom in Africa Index.
The report, unveiled at the Conference of Freedom Advocates in Abuja, puts Seychelles, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, The Gambia, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho as the continent’s best performers.
Africa’s overall political freedom score rose from 47 in 2025 to 52.8 in 2026, driven by gains in electoral processes, press freedom and freedom of assembly.
According to the report The Gambia’s rise was not accidental. It was driven by measurable improvements in two critical areas including freedom of speech, the score of which jumped from 5.8 to 8.7, one of the sharpest improvements recorded. The report links this to an improved media environment and reduced self-censorship among journalists.
That contrasts sharply with Gabon, where suspension of access to major social media platforms was flagged as a setback.
The Gambia’s second strongest gain is judicial independence, (the weakest indicator continent-wide at an average of 4.0 out of 10). But the report said judicial independence improved in The Gambia, from 7.0 to 8.1.
Seychelles led the category, rising from 9.0 to 9.9, while Benin improved from 4.9 to 7.8. Nigeria fell sharply from 6.1 to 2.9.
Election integrity
According to the report, election integrity across Africa improved from 4.0 to 5.2 out of 10. Ghana moved from 6.8 to 9.5, Morocco from 2.9 to 7.9, and Côte d’Ivoire from 1.8 to 6.0. Somalia and Libya declined.
Press freedom averaged 6.4 out of 10, but journalists still face verbal attacks, legal and economic pressures, according to Reporters Without Borders findings cited in the report.
The report also said freedom of assembly averaged 5.8 out of 10, with Nigeria, Madagascar and Lesotho recording gains.
At the bottom are Sudan, Chad, Libya, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Eswatini, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea. Chad, Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea also recorded setbacks in some indicators.
The 2026 Freedom in Africa Index, the second edition by the Liberalist Centre, assesses political freedom, economic freedom and prosperity using secondary data from international and African datasets. It does not conduct independent surveys.
For The Gambia, political freedom is improving, and improving fast. The test now is to sustain it, especially on judicial independence and freedom of expression where gains remain fragile across the continent.
Source: The Standard
