The cost of daily life in Gambia is pushing young people onto the 'backway' to the Canary Islands

A decision that starts far from the sea

In Gambia, the route to the Canary Islands does not begin on a beach or when a cayuco — known locally as a kulung — puts out to sea. It begins much earlier: in homes where money does not stretch far enough, in markets where prices keep rising, and among young people who, despite years of study or learning a trade, still cannot find steady work. Many there call irregular migration the backway — the back road, the dangerous path that presents itself as a chance at a future.

According to information published by El Día and La Provincia, the average wage in the country is around 5,000 dalasis, roughly 100 euros a month — an amount that falls well short of covering basic needs such as food, schooling, transport or medical care, in a context where social safety nets are almost non-existent.

The pressure becomes clearer when looking at some prices. In Gambian markets, a kilogram of rice can range between 50 and 72 dalasis in urban areas, and reach as high as 125 in places such as Basse, meaning that stocking a pantry consumes a large share of the family budget.

No minimum wage and high unemployment

Adrian Corish, an activist and founder of the African Centre for Migration Advisory, sums up that reality: "In Gambia there is no minimum wage, and what many families earn is not enough to live on. In that context, irregular migration ends up being presented as the only way out."

Youth unemployment is one of the main drivers. According to figures gathered by Al Jazeera and by activist Yahya Sonko in statements to The Point, the youth unemployment rate in the country stands at around 41%. Remittances carry significant weight for Gambia: according to World Bank data cited by Al Jazeera, they represented around 26% of gross domestic product.

The decision to leave is rarely made alone. In many families, children are seen as the household's economic future; they are expected to help pay for food, medicine, school fees or debts. Added to that pressure are the images arriving from Europe — houses built with remittances, social media photos and success stories that rarely show the other side of the journey.

Coastal communities and new departure points

In communities tied to fishing, many young people say it is increasingly difficult to make a living from the sea, and the lack of income pushes them to look at the very same Atlantic that once sustained them as a route of escape. Gambia serves as a departure point not only for Gambians, but also for migrants from other African countries seeking to reach the Canary Islands.

The Dubawa Agency and Gambian media have documented the emergence of new departure points, such as Tanji, Barra and, especially in recent months, Jinack, in the North Bank Region. According to these accounts, trafficking networks charge between 50,000 and 90,000 dalasis per person (approximately between 800 and 1,350 dollars). Between July and August 2025, Gambia's Department of Immigration intercepted more than 5,000 migrants attempting to leave the country irregularly, according to Dubawa.

Fewer arrivals, but a deadlier route

This phenomenon is unfolding alongside a statistical decline in arrivals. According to Frontex, detections on the West African route — which affects the Canary Islands — fell 71% in the first five months of 2026, with 3,200 cases, thanks to surveillance measures by countries including Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. Across 2025 as a whole, this route recorded the sharpest decline of all European routes.

The European agency nevertheless warns that Gambia and Guinea were the only countries where departures increased in 2025, and that routes from these territories are longer and more dangerous. The organisation Caminando Fronteras stresses that, despite the fall in arrivals, the Atlantic route remains the deadliest: in the first five months of 2026 it documented 635 deaths on this route, and notes that for every 100 people who arrived in 2025, around 14 died; in 2026 that figure rises to 21.

Gambian migration activists, led by Ebrima Drammeh, put the number of young Gambians who died on the backway in 2025 at around 893, of whom 840 are estimated to have perished at sea, according to figures presented at a press conference in January 2026 and reported by The Alkamba Times.

From the islands, where the Atlantic route is often measured in arrival statistics, looking at everyday life in Gambia makes it possible to understand that every cayuco is also a symptom of a crisis that began long before anyone reached the Canarian coast.