The Gambia’s lending interest rate held at 22% in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher rate pays banks and savers more and compensates lenders for risk, while a lower rate makes borrowing cheaper and trims returns on deposits. Which suits the country depends on who is asking. The latest figure is 22% in January 2025, the same as the 22% of a year earlier, a change of 0 percentage points. Since 2014 the rate has ranged from a low of 19% in January 2022 to a high of 29% in January 2017, so today's level sits in the lower half of that range, closer to the low than the high.

Why it matters. At 22%, a Gambian business borrowing from a bank carries a heavy financing cost, which weighs on decisions about stock, equipment and hiring. Households taking a bank loan face the same price, so large purchases need steady income to service them. Savers and banks benefit from the higher return, and the January 2022 low of 19% shows how much cheaper credit has been in this period.