Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in The Gambia?
In 2026, The Gambia scores 36 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 116th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 93rd to 154th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is privacy and security (48 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). The furthest behind is one record across your care (22 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country).
The Gambia passed its first data protection law in 2025, but most patient records are still on paper and no shared record exists.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
36/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 93rd to 154th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 45 out of 100 in The Gambia; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The 2025 Act gives a free copy of your personal data within one month, which covers medical files. Free with a deadline adds 5 to the base of 45, but the deadline can stretch to two months and the new regulator has no enforcement record, so 45. Source: assembly.gm, 2024, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in The Gambia?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in The Gambia. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in The Gambia; the typical country scores 30. Where consent is used it must be specific and can be withdrawn, but health data may be processed without consent for managing health services. With no shared record there is no opt-out setting or access log for patients to use. Source: assembly.gm, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does The Gambia compare?
In 2026, The Gambia scores 36 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Cape Verde (36 out of 100), Gabon (36 out of 100) and Morocco (36 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Cape Verde, Gabon, Morocco and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
45
35 · 35 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
30
30 · 30 · 32
Privacy and security15%
48
50 · 54 · 45
One record across your care15%
22
32 · 30 · 30
Protection from sale and ads10%
48
45 · 46 · 42
Doctors see it when treating you10%
18
28 · 25 · 26
Your say over research use5%
46
49 · 50 · 49
Rules for AI in your care5%
25
28 · 25 · 28
Black dot: The Gambia. Hollow dots: Cape Verde, Gabon, Morocco (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: The Gambia 36 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would The Gambia need to change to score higher?
The Gambia sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (22 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and doctors see it when treating you (18 out of 100, against 33 to 34 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Doctors see it when treating you: Doctors who treat you able to see your full record from other providers, with your consent and emergency rules in place.
Which laws give health record rights in The Gambia?
Personal Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2025: Special category health data, free access in one month, 72-hour breach notice, ban on selling data.
Access to Information Act, 2021: Creates the Information Commission, which also enforces the data protection law.
Medicines and Related Products Act, 2014: Medicines Control Agency licenses medicines and devices; trials need ethics clearance and written consent.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
0.9 2023
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
6.6 2023
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
35.0% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, The Gambia scored 36 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 116th of 198 countries and territories (could be 93rd to 154th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/the-gambia/
The 13 sources for The Gambia
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Personal Data Protection and Privacy Bill, 2024 (National Assembly bill text)”
assembly.gm (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use; Rules for AI in your care
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/the-gambia/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
