West African power deficit.
prob 0.47
severity 3.3 / 5 · revision 2026-05-07watch · 13 West African economies · power + industry$ shortage country get GMB > stress_index: 0.60 WATCH > 1 events · 1 scenarios > refreshed 2026-05-17
BRENT $84.27 ▲ TTF €31.50 ▼ OPEC_SP 3.8 mb/d ● SPR_US 372.4 Mb FAO_FFPI 121.4 ▲
The v3.2 stress index is a six-axis composite of energy and food exposure, geopolitical pressure, fiscal headroom, demography and supply concentration, normalised to a 0–1 scale.
The Gambia, mainland Africa's smallest country, imports all of its fuel and relies on diesel generation for an unreliable grid. Tourism, groundnuts and remittances sustain the economy. It imports much of its rice, the dietary staple.
The Gambia depends on the Gambia River and faces Sahel drought and saltwater intrusion.
No major lake or reservoir
| STOCK TYPE | RESERVE | DAYS COVER | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil · imported fuel stocksAll fuel is imported into mainland Africa's smallest country. | low | 15days | CRITICAL |
| Electricity · diesel generationThe grid relies on diesel and suffers frequent outages. | fragile | — | CRITICAL |
| Grain · rice stocksThe Gambia imports much of its staple rice. | limited | 35days | WATCH |
$ curl -s https://api.shortage.life/v1/countries/GMB | jq '.stress' > 0.60