The party was founded in 1959 as the Protectorate People's Party (PPP), but just before the 1960 elections, it was changed to People's Progressive Party. The party won the 1962 election, and in October 1963, upon the attainment of self-government, their leader, Dawda Jawara, became Prime Minister of the Gambia. With the republican referendum in 1970, Jawara became the first President of the Gambia.

The People's Progressive Party is a political party in the Gambia. It was the dominant ruling party from 1965 with president Dawda Jawara. He was elected for a sixth term of office in 1992, but was overthrown in a coup by young army officers in 1994. The party was banned from the 1996 and 1997 elections.

In 2005, the PPP joined the opposition National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD).

The PPP was part of the Coalition 2016 for the 2016 presidential election, where Adama Barrow was declared the coalition's candidate and subsequently won