# The Gambia

Gambia

sovereign state, country| Year dem found am | 1965  |
| Official name | Republic of The Gambia  |
| Native label | Republic of The Gambia  |
| IPA transcription | ðə ˈɡæm.bi.ə  |
| Dem name after | Gambia River  |
| Official language | English  |
| Anthem | For The Gambia Our Homeland  |
| Culture | culture of The Gambia  |
| Motto text | Progress, Peace, Prosperity  |
| Continent | Africa  |
| Country | Gambia  |
| Capital | Banjul  |
| Located in time zone | UTC±00:00, Africa/Banjul  |
| Located in or next to body of water | Atlantic Ocean  |
| Located in/on physical feature | West Africa  |
| Coordinate location | 13°30′0″N 15°30′0″W  |
| Coordinates of easternmost point | 13°25′27″N 13°47′29″W  |
| Coordinates of northernmost point | 13°49′48″N 15°4′48″W  |
| Coordinates of southernmost point | 13°3′49″N 16°44′50″W  |
| Coordinates of westernmost point | 13°23′0″N 16°49′26″W  |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean  |
| Government ein basic form | republic  |
| Office held by head of state | President of the Gambia  |
| State ein head | Adama Barrow  |
| Office head of government hold | President of the Gambia  |
| Government ein head | Adama Barrow  |
| Legislative body | National Assembly of The Gambia  |
| Central bank | Central Bank of The Gambia  |
| Currency | dalasi  |
| Demma headquarters location | Banjul  |
| Dey share bother plus | Senegal  |
| Driving side | right  |
| Electrical plug type | BS 1363  |
| Dey replace | Commonwealth realm of the Gambia  |
| Studied by | Gambian studies  |
| Dema official website |   |
| Hashtag | TheGambia  |
| Top-level Internet domain | .gm  |
| Flag | flag of the Gambia  |
| Coat of arms | coat of arms of the Gambia  |
| Geography of topic | Geography of Gambia  |
| Get characteristic | not-free country  |
| History of topic | history of the Gambia  |
| Economy of topic | economy of the Gambia  |
| Demographics of topic | demographics of the Gambia  |
| Commonwealth Sport country code | GAM  |
| Mobile country code | 607  |
| Country calling code | +220  |
| Emergency phone number | 116, 118, 112  |
| Licence plate code | WAG  |
| Maritime identification digits | 629  |
| Unicode character | 🇬🇲  |
| Category for honorary citizens of entity | Category:Honorary citizens of places in the Gambia  |
| Category for maps or plans | Category:Maps of the Gambia  |

**The Gambia**, ein official name be **Republic of The Gambia**, be country for West Africa. Ebe de smallest country for mainland Africa wey Senegal dey surround am except for ein western coast for de Atlantic Ocean.

De Gambia dey for both sides of de lower reaches of de Gambia River, wey dey give the country ein name, dey flow for de centre of de Gambia then go pour for de Atlantic Ocean insyd. De national namesake river dey demarcate de elongated shape of de country, wich get area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) den population of 2,769,075 people insyd 2024 wich be 2.30% population increase from 2013. Banjul be de Gambian capital, den san be de country ein largest metropolitan area in de country. De second den third-largest cities be Serekunda den Brikama.

Arab Muslim merchants trade plus native West Africans insyd The Gambia thru out de 9th den 10th centuries. De Portuguese for 1455 insyd enter de Gambian region, de first Europeans make dem do so, buh dem never establish important trade der. For 1765 insyd, na dem make the Gambia part of de British Empire by establishment of the Gambia. For 1965 insyd, the Gambia gain independence under Dawda Jawara ein leadership, wey he rule til Yahya Jammeh seize power for bloodless 1994 coup.

Adama Barrow cam turn the Gambia ein third presido for January 2017 insyd, after he defeat Jammeh for de December 2016 elections insyd. Jammeh initially accept de results, before he refuse make he lef office, e trigger constitutional crisis den military intervention by de Economic Community of West African States wey result for ein removal two days after dem schedule make ein term end.

The Gambia be member of de Economic Community of West African States since ein conception for 1975 insyd den member of de Commonwealth, plus English be de country ein sole official language, both legacies of ein British colonial past. Farming, fishing, den especially tourism dey dominate The Gambia ein economy. For 2015 insyd, 48.6% of de population live for poverty insyd. For rural areas, na poverty be even more widespread, for almost 70%.

## Etymology

## History

### 9th–16th centuries: Muslim den Portuguese influence

### English den French administration

### Slavery (17th–19th centuries)

### Gambia Colony den Protectorate (1821–1965)

### Post-independence (1965–present)

#### Monarchy den republican democracy

##### 1981 coup dem attempt

#### Senegambia Confederation

#### 1994 Yahya Jammeh ein military coup, follow by return to electoral democracy insyd 1997

#### Withdraw from de Commonwealth wey dem declare The Gambia Islamic Republic

#### 2016 presidential elections

##### Political impasse

#### Barrow ein first term in office

#### 2021 presidential election

## Geography

### Climate

The Gambia get tropical savannah climate. Short rainy season normally dey last from June til September, buh from then til May, lower temperatures predominate, plus less precipitation. De climate insyd The Gambia closely dey resemble dat of neighboring Senegal, of Mali, den of de northern part of Guinea.

| Climate data for Banjul |
| --- |
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.2
(99.0) | 38.9
(102.0) | 40.6
(105.1) | 41.1
(106.0) | 41.1
(106.0) | 37.8
(100.0) | 33.9
(93.0) | 33.3
(91.9) | 34.4
(93.9) | 37.2
(99.0) | 35.6
(96.1) | 35.6
(96.1) | 41.1
(106.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.7
(89.1) | 33.5
(92.3) | 33.9
(93.0) | 33.0
(91.4) | 31.9
(89.4) | 31.9
(89.4) | 30.8
(87.4) | 30.2
(86.4) | 31.0
(87.8) | 31.8
(89.2) | 32.7
(90.9) | 31.9
(89.4) | 32.0
(89.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.7
(60.3) | 16.6
(61.9) | 17.9
(64.2) | 18.8
(65.8) | 20.3
(68.5) | 22.9
(73.2) | 23.6
(74.5) | 23.3
(73.9) | 22.6
(72.7) | 22.2
(72.0) | 18.8
(65.8) | 16.2
(61.2) | 19.9
(67.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 7.2
(45.0) | 10.0
(50.0) | 11.7
(53.1) | 12.2
(54.0) | 13.9
(57.0) | 18.3
(64.9) | 20.0
(68.0) | 20.0
(68.0) | 17.2
(63.0) | 16.1
(61.0) | 12.2
(54.0) | 8.9
(48.0) | 7.2
(45.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.5
(0.02) | 0.0
(0.0) | 0.0
(0.0) | 0.0
(0.0) | 1.3
(0.05) | 62.7
(2.47) | 232.4
(9.15) | 346.8
(13.65) | 255.1
(10.04) | 75.8
(2.98) | 1.6
(0.06) | 0.7
(0.03) | 976.9
(38.46) |
| Average rainy days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 47 | 47 | 50 | 58 | 67 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 84 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 67 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 207.7 | 237.3 | 266.6 | 252.0 | 229.4 | 201.0 | 182.9 | 189.1 | 183.0 | 217.0 | 246.0 | 210.8 | 2,622.8 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 8.2 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
| Source 1: World Meteorological Organization |
| Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity, den sun) |

### Wildlife

## Government den politics

### Political history

### Constitution

### Presidency

### Foreign relations

#### List of international organization memberships

* Commonwealth of Nations
* Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
* Organization of Islamic Cooperation
* United Nations
* African Union
* Organization of Islamic Cooperation

### Military

### Human rights

### Administrative divisions

Local government areas of the Gambia
Dem divide The Gambia into eight local government areas, wey dey include de national capital, Banjul, wich dem classify as city. Na dem create de divisions of The Gambia by de Independent Electoral Commission for accordance to Article 192 of de National Constitution.

Administrative divisions| Name | Area (km2) | Population census 2003 | Population census 2013 (provisional) | Capital | Number of districts |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Banjul** (capital city) | 12.2 | 35,061 | 31,301 | Banjul | 3 |
| Kanifing | 75.6 | 322,735 | 382,096 | Kanifing | 1 |
| Brikama (formerly Western) | 1,764.3 | 389,594 | 699,704 | Brikama | 9 |
| Mansa Konko (formerly Lower River) | 1,628.0 | 72,167 | 82,381 | Mansakonko | 6 |
| Kerewan (formerly North Bank) | 2,255.5 | 172,835 | 221,054 | Kerewan | 7 |
| Kuntaur (formerly the western half of Central River Division) | 1,466.5 | 78,491 | 99,108 | Kuntaur | 5 |
| Janjanbureh (formerly de eastern half of Central River Division) | 1,427.8 | 107,212 | 126,910 | Janjanbureh | 5 |
| Basse (formerly Upper River) | 2,069.5 | 182,586 | 239,916 | Basse Santa Su | 7 |
| Total Gambia | 10,689 | 1,360,681 | 1,882,450 | Banjul | 43 |

Dem further subdivide de local government areas (2013) into 43 districts. Of these, Kanifing den Kombo Saint Mary (wich dey share Brikama as capital plus de Brikama Local Government Area) be effectively part of de Greater Banjul area.

## Economy

Proportional representation of The Gambia exports, 2019
Tourists insyd The Gambia, 2014
GDP per capita development insyd Senegal den Gambia
* Serekunda market
* Brightly fishing boats dem paint be common insyd Bakau
* The Gambia ein wildlife, like dis green monkey, dey attract tourists

## Transportation

Road insyd Gambia, 2007
De Banjul ferry
## Demographics

Population pyramid

| Population insyd The Gambia |
| --- |
| Year | Million |
| 1950 | 0.27 |
| 2000 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 2.6 |

### Ethnic groups

Variety of ethnic groups dey live insyd The Gambia, each dey preserve ein own language den traditions. De Mandinka ethnicity be de most numerous, follow by de Fula, Wolof, Jola/Karoninka, Serahule / Jahanka, Serers, Manjago, Bambara, Aku Marabou, Bainunka den odas, such as Tukulor. De Krio people, locally dem know dem as Akus, dey constitute one of de smallest ethnic minorities insyd The Gambia. Dem descend from Sierra Leone Creole people wey dem traditionally concentrate insyd de capital.

De roughly 3,500 non-African residents dey include Europeans den families of Lebanese origin (0.23% of de total population). Most of de European minority be British, although chaw of de British lef after independence.

### Languages

English be de official language of The Gambia wey dem thus dey use am for official purposes den education. Oda languages dey include Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Serer, Soninke, Krio, Jola den oda indigenous vernaculars. Dey owe to de country ein geographical setting, knowledge of French (official language insyd much of West Africa) be relatively widespread.

Dem dey speak Mandinka as first language by 38% of de population, Pulaar by 21%, Wolof by 18%, Soninke by 9%, Jola by 4.5%, Serer by 2.4%, Manjak den Bainouk by 1.6% each, Portuguese Creole by 1%, den English by 0.5%. Dem dey speak several oda languages by smaller numbers. De deaf dey use de Gambian Sign Language.

### Education

Classroom at Armitage High School
#### Higher education

### Health

### Religion

Bundung mosque be one of de largest mosques insyd Serekunda
Approximately 96% of de population identify as Sunni Muslim, mostly Malikite Sufi. Except for tiny fraction of one percent, de remainder of de population be Christian. Article 25 of de Constitution dey protect de rights of citizens make dem practise any religion wey dem dey choose wey intermarriage between Muslims den Christians be common.

#### Islam

#### Christianity

#### Traditional religions

#### Oda religions

## Culture

Elderly Gambian woman
Drummers at wrestling match
### Music

### Cuisine

### Literature

### Media

## Tourism

### Sports

### Government

* "The Official Web Portal of The Government of The Gambia"

### General information

* "Gambia, The". *The World Factbook* (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
* The Gambia from *UCB Libraries GovPubs*
* The Gambia at Curlie
* The Gambia from de BBC News
* Wikimedia Atlas of The Gambia
* Geographic data related to The Gambia at OpenStreetMap
* Key Development Forecasts for The Gambia from International Futures
* The Gambia Population

### Tourism

* Visit The Gambia – De official website of The Gambia Tourism Board.

### Trade

* Gambia 2011 Trade Summary Statistics