The Gambia

sovereign state for West Africa insyd

The Gambia, ein official name be Republic of The Gambia,[1] 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.[2]

Gambia
sovereign state, country
Part ofWest Africa Edit
Year dem found am1965 Edit
Official nameRepublic of The Gambia, République de Gambie, Islamic Republic of The Gambia Edit
Native labelRepublic of The Gambia Edit
Short name🇬🇲 Edit
IPA transcriptionðə ˈɡæm.bi.ə Edit
Dem name afterGambia River Edit
Official languageEnglish Edit
AnthemFor The Gambia Our Homeland Edit
Cultureculture of The Gambia Edit
Motto textProgress, Peace, Prosperity, Прогрес, мир, просперитет, The smiling coast of Africa, Cynnydd, Heddwch, Ffyniant Edit
ContinentAfrica Edit
CountryGambia Edit
CapitalBanjul Edit
Located in time zoneUTC±00:00, Africa/Banjul Edit
Located in or next to body of waterAtlantic Ocean Edit
Located in/on physical featureWest Africa Edit
Coordinate location13°30′0″N 15°30′0″W Edit
Coordinates of easternmost point13°25′27″N 13°47′29″W Edit
Coordinates of northernmost point13°49′48″N 15°4′48″W Edit
Coordinates of southernmost point13°3′49″N 16°44′50″W Edit
Coordinates of westernmost point13°23′0″N 16°49′26″W Edit
Lowest pointAtlantic Ocean Edit
Government ein basic formrepublic Edit
Office held by head of statePresident of the Gambia Edit
State ein headAdama Barrow Edit
Office head of government holdPresident of the Gambia Edit
Government ein headAdama Barrow Edit
Legislative bodyNational Assembly of The Gambia Edit
Central bankCentral Bank of The Gambia Edit
Currencydalasi Edit
Demma headquarters locationBanjul Edit
Dey share bother plusSenegal Edit
Driving sideright Edit
Electrical plug typeBS 1363 Edit
Dey replaceCommonwealth realm of the Gambia Edit
Studied inGambian studies Edit
Dema official website Edit
HashtagTheGambia Edit
Top-level Internet domain.gm Edit
FlagFlag of the Gambia Edit
Coat of armscoat of arms of the Gambia Edit
Geography of topicgeography of the Gambia Edit
Get characteristicnot-free country Edit
History of topichistory of the Gambia Edit
Economy of topiceconomy of the Gambia Edit
Demographics of topicdemographics of the Gambia Edit
Mobile country code607 Edit
Country calling code+220 Edit
Emergency phone number116, 118, 112 Edit
Licence plate codeWAG Edit
Maritime identification digits629 Edit
Unicode character🇬🇲 Edit
Category for honorary citizens of entityCategory:Honorary citizens of places in the Gambia Edit
Category for maps or plansCategory:Maps of the Gambia Edit
Map

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.[3] Banjul be de Gambian capital, den san be de country ein largest metropolitan area in de country.[4] De second den third-largest cities be Serekunda den Brikama.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8][9][10]

The Gambia be member of de Economic Community of West African States since ein conception for 1975 insyd den member of de Commonwealth,[11] 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.[12] De climate insyd The Gambia closely dey resemble dat of neighboring Senegal, of Mali, den of de northern part of Guinea.[13]

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[14]
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity, den sun)[15]

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[16]
  • United Nations
  • African Union[17]
  • Organization of Islamic Cooperation[18]

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.[12]

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.[19]

Economy

 
Proportional representation of The Gambia exports, 2019
 
Tourists insyd The Gambia, 2014
 
GDP per capita development insyd Senegal den Gambia

Transportation

 
Road insyd Gambia, 2007
 
De Banjul ferry

Demographics

 
Population pyramid
Population insyd The Gambia[20][21]
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,[22] 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).[23] 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.[24]

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.[25][26][27]

Islam

Christianity

Traditional religions

Oda religions

Culture

 
Elderly Gambian woman
 
Drummers at wrestling match

Music

Cuisine

Literature

Media

Tourism

Sports

References

  1. "Member States". United Nations. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  2. Hoare, Ben. (2002) The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia, Kingfisher Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0-7534-5569-2.
  3. "Gambia, The". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. "Banjul | national capital, The Gambia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. "Population of Cities in Gambia 2023". World Population Review. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  6. Hughes, Arnold (2008) Historical Dictionary of the Gambia. Scarecrow Press. p. xx. ISBN 0810862603.
  7. Wiseman, John A. (2004). "The Gambia: Recent History". Africa South of the Sahara 2004 (33rd ed.). Europa. p. 456. ISBN 9781857431834.
  8. Maclean, Ruth (21 January 2017). "Yahya Jammeh leaves the Gambia after 22 years of rule". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  9. "Gambia's Yayah Jammeh confirms he will step down". Al Jazeera. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  10. Ramsay, Stuart (22 January 2017). "Former Gambia leader Yahya Jammeh flies into political exile". Sky News. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  11. "The Gambia rejoins the Commonwealth". Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Gambia, The". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 30 May 2007. (Archived 2007 edition.)
  13. Hayward, Derek; Oguntoyinbo, J. S. (1987). Climatology of West Africa. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-389-20721-4. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  14. "World Weather Information Service – Banjul". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  15. "Klimatafel von Banjul-Yundum (Flugh.) / Gambia" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (insyd German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  16. "Member States". OIC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. "Member States". African Union. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  18. "Organisation of Islamic Cooperation". www.oic-oci.org. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  19. Law, Gwillim (19 April 2006). "Divisions of Gambia". Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids"). Archived from the original on 4 August 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  20. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  21. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  22. National Population Commission Secretariat (30 April 2005). "2013 Population and Housing Census: Spatial Distribution" (PDF). Gambia Bureau of Statistics. The Republic of The Gambia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  23. "Background note: The Gambia" Archived 2020-10-22 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Department of State (October 2008). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. Gambia. Archived 2021-12-05 at the Wayback Machine Ethnologue 24, 2021 Ethnologue 24, 2021
  25. "Chapter IV – Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms". Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia. 1997. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009. 25. Freedom of speech, conscience, assembly, association and movement (1) Every person shall have the right to – [...] (c) freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice;
  26. "Gambia, The". International Religious Freedom Report 2007. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  27. "Religions' Roles in Peacebuilding in The Gambia". Talk About: Law and Religion. 19 April 2023. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.

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