The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965. Geographically surrounded by Senegal, it formed a short-lived federation of Senegambia between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty, but tensions have flared up intermittently since then. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH led a military coup in 1994 that overthrew the president and banned political activity. A new constitution and presidential elections in 1996, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a nominal return to civilian rule. JAMMEH has been elected president in all subsequent elections, including most recently in late 2006.

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal
13 28 N, 16 34 W
Africa
total: 11,300 sq km ; land: 10,000 sq km ; water: 1,300 sq km
slightly less than twice the size of Delaware
total: 740 km ; border countries: Senegal 740 km
80 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; contiguous zone: 18 nm ; exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm ; continental shelf: extent not specified
tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)
flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m ; highest point: unnamed location 53 m
fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand, clay, petroleum
arable land: 27.88% ; permanent crops: 0.44% ; other: 71.68% (2005)
20 sq km (2003)
8 cu km (1982)
Total: 0.03 cu km/yr (23%/12%/65%) ; Per capita: 20 cu m/yr (2000)
drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)
deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa
1,688,359 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 373,831/female 370,397) ; 15-64 years: 53.2% (male 445,365/female 452,311) ; 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 23,582/female 22,873) (2007 est.)
total: 17.8 years ; male: 17.6 years ; female: 17.9 years (2007 est.)
2.781% (2007 est.)
38.86 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
11.99 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.009 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 1.031 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 70.14 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 76.55 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 63.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 54.54 years ; male: 52.68 years ; female: 56.46 years (2007 est.)
5.21 children born/woman (2007 est.)
1.2% (2003 est.)
6,800 (2003 est.)
600 (2003 est.)
noun: Gambian(s) ; adjective: Gambian
African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1%
Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 40.1% ; male: 47.8% ; female: 32.8% (2003 est.)
degree of risk: very high ; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever ; vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever are high risks in some locations ; water contact disease: schistosomiasis ; respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia ; conventional short form: The Gambia
republic
name: Banjul ; geographic coordinates: 13 27 N, 16 34 W ; time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Central River, Lower River, North Bank, Upper River, Western

18 February 1965 (from UK)
Independence Day, 18 February (1965)
approved by national referendum 8 August 1996; effective 16 January 1997
based on a composite of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996); note - from 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of the Junta; Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government ; head of government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996); Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997) ; cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president ; elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 22 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011) ; election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 67.3%, Ousainou DARBOE 26.6%, Halifa SALLAH 6.0%
unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 members elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held 25 January 2007 (next to be held in 2012) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APRC 47, UDP 4, NADD 1, independent 1
Supreme Court
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC (the ruling party) [Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH]; Gambia People's Democratic Party or GPDP [Henry GOMEZ]; National Alliance for Democracy and Development or NADD [Halifa SALLAH]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sheriff DIBBA]; National Reconciliation Party or NRP [Hamat N. K. BAH]; People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Ousainou DARBOE]
NA
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green
chief of mission: Ambassador Dodou Bammy JAGNE ; chancery: Suite 905, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 ; telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 ; FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph D. STAFFORD, III ; embassy: Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul ; mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul ; telephone: [220] 439-2856, 437-6169, 437-6170 ; FAX: [220] 439-2475





The Gambia has no confirmed mineral or natural resource deposits and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and hides. Reexport trade normally constitutes a major segment of economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed preshipment inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency) have drawn some of the reexport trade away from The Gambia. The Gambia's natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of the larger markets for tourism in West Africa. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts. Despite an announced program to begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans have been made public that would indicate that the government intends to follow through on its promises. Unemployment and underemployment rates remain extremely high; short-run economic progress depends on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management, on continued technical assistance from the IMF and bilateral donors, and on expected growth in the construction sector.
$1.338 billion (2007 est.)
$512 million (2007 est.)
7% (2007 est.)
$800 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 32.8% ; industry: 8.7% ; services: 58.5% (2007 est.)
400,000 (1996)
agriculture: 75% ; industry: 19% ; services: 6% (1996)
NA%
NA%
lowest 10%: 1.8% ; highest 10%: 37% (1998)
50.2 (1998)
3.5% (2007 est.)
27.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $160.4 million ; expenditures: $165.7 million (2007 est.)

rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats
processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism, beverages, agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing
-2.3% (2007 est.)
145 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
134.9 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
2,030 bbl/day (2005 est.)
41.5 bbl/day (2004)
2,050 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$31.69 million (2007 est.)
$147.7 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports
India 38.5%, UK 15.9%, Indonesia 7.9%, France 7.1%, Italy 4.6% (2006)
$276 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
China 25.2%, Senegal 11.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Netherlands 4.5% (2006)

$119.9 million (31 December 2007 est.)
$628.8 million (2003 est.)


$NA
dalasi (GMD)
GMD
dalasi per US dollar - 27.79 (2007), 28.066 (2006), 28.575 (2005), 30.03 (2004), 27.306 (2003)
calendar year
$58.15 million (2005)
52,900 (2006)
404,300 (2006)
general assessment: adequate; a packet switched data network is available; two mobile-cellular service providers ; domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open-wire; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity approaching 30 telephones per 100 persons ; international: country code - 220; microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)
196,000 (1997)
1 (government-owned) (1997)
5,000 (2000)
.gm
6 (2007)
2 (2001)
58,000 (2005)

1 (2007)
total: 1 ; over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)




total: 3,742 km ; paved: 723 km ; unpaved: 3,019 km (2004)
390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190 km) (2006)
total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,064 GRT/9,751 DWT ; by type: passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1 ; foreign-owned: 1 (Australia 1) (2007)
Banjul

Gambian National Army (National Guard, GNA), Gambian Navy (GN) (2007)
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
males age 18-49: 311,025 ; females age 18-49: 316,214 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 183,057 ; females age 18-49: 194,551 (2005 est.)

0.5% (2006)

attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African states
refugees (country of origin): 5,955 (Sierra Leone) (2006)


