Gambia

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.
 * [[image:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/maps/large/ga-map.gif width="415" height="296" align="right" caption="Map of Gambia"]]Gambia **

**Location:** Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal **Area:** total: 11,295 sq km country comparison to the world: 173 land: 10,000 sq km water: 1,295 sq km

** Borders: ** North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal

Tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)
 * Climate:  **

African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1% (2003 census)
 * Ethnic Groups :**

**Government:** Republic

18 years of age; universal  ** GDP Per Capita: ** $1,300 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">201
 * Suffrage: [[image:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/ga-lgflag.gif width="278" height="258" align="right" caption="Gambia Flag "]] **


 * Flag Description:**
 * three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green**

Rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats
 * Agriculture Products: **

Foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment
 * Imports (commodities): **

Muslim 90%, Christian 8%, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">indigenous beliefs 2%
 * Religion: **

Flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills
 * Terrain: **

Fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand, clay, petroleum
 * Natural Resources: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 121%;">** Land Use: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Arable land: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">27.88% Permanent crops: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">0.44% Other: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">71.68% (2005) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Natural Hazards: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

Deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent
 * Enviromental Issues: **

**Languages:** English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars

**Capital:** Name: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">Banjul geographic coordinates: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">13 27 N, 16 34 W time difference: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

**Leader:** Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh

0.5% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world:163 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * Military Expenditures: **

Processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism, beverages, agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing
 * Industries: **

dalasis (GMD) per US dollar - 22.75 (2008 est.), 27.79 (2007), 28.066 (2006), 28.575 (2005), 30.03 (2004)
 * Currency/Exchange Rate: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **Education:** 2% of GDP (2004) country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">166

1,782,893 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">149 2.668% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">26
 * Population: **
 * Population Growth Rate: ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Net Migration Rate: ** 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">69

total: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">67.33 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">29 male: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">73.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">60.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
 * Infant Mortality Rate: **

total population: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">55.35 years country comparison to the world: <span class="category_data">193 male: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">53.43 years female: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">57.34 years (2009 est.)
 * Life Expectancy: **

**Literacy:** definition: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">age 15 and over can read and write total population: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">40.1% male: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">47.8% female: <span class="category_data" style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: top;">32.8% (2003 est.)

18 February 1965 (from the UK)
 * Independence: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Economic Overview:** 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 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">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 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">expected growth in the construction sector. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> NA%
 * Unemployment:** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

**Exports (commodities):** Peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Illicit Drugs: Hashish,Mandrax,Opium,Opium poppy,Poppy straw** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Internet Access: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">100,200 (2007) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; padding-left: 7px;">country comparison to the world <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">143<span class="category_data" style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> **__Timeline of Gambia:__**
 * 2006** March - Government says a planned military coup has been foiled.
 * 2006** July - Head of the independent electoral commission Ndondi Njai is sacked. The opposition complains that many non-Gambians have illegally registered to vote.
 * 2006** August - Thousands flee into Gambia from Senegal's southern Casamance region to escape fighting between Senegalese troops and Casamance separatists.
 * 2006** September - Jammeh wins a third term.
 * 2007** January - Ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) wins parliamentary elections, retaining a tight grip on parliament.
 * 2007** February - UN development envoy Fadzai Gwaradzimba is expelled for criticizing the president's assertion that he can cure AIDS.
 * 2007** April - Ten ex-army officers are sentenced to prison for plotting a coup.
 * 2008** May - President Yahya Jammeh tells a rally that he would "cut off the head" of any homosexual found in The Gambia, prompting an outcry from international gay rights campaigners.
 * 2009** March - Amnesty International says hundreds have been kidnapped during a government campaign against witchcraft.
 * 2009** June - A court charges seven prominent journalists with sedition after criticising the president.

**The Gambia rice project under the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Taiwanese Agricultural Mission on Thursday October 8, organised a field day at BatJaha village in Nianija district in Central River Region North**. The Gambia rice project is a four-year project and it is jointly funded by the government of The Gambia and the Taiwanese government. Addressing the farmers, Richard Shih, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, said the development of the project was initiated by President Jammeh with the aim of increasing food self-sufficiency. He pointed out that the project is being established in one hundred and ninety-six villages across the country. He commended the extension workers and all the stakeholders for their dedication and hardwork. Speaking on behalf of the governor of Central River Region (CRR), the assistant record officer (ARO) Wassabo Darboe, thanked President Jammeh and the Tawanese government for their efforts to help in attaining rice production in the region. The director general of agricultural services, Sait Drammeh hailed the efforts of the Taiwanese government for the assistance. The CRR regional agricultural director, Musa Huma, deliberated on the purpose of the rice production. He urged farmers to take the advice given to them by the technicians. Other speakers included the district chief, Alasan David Cham and the regional Nerica farmers association’s president, Dembo Touray.
 * __ Current Event: __**

**__Tourism:__** Every year, thousands of international visitors come to The Gambia, drawn by its beaches, birds, sunshine, and the country's biggest asset: the Gambian people, whose hospitality and friendliness have made it "The Smiling Coast." Tourism has become the fastest-growing sector of the economy, contributing 12% of the country's GDP and providing employment for over 100,000 Gambians. More and more visitors are returning year after year.

__**Favorite Tourist Destinations:**__ Banjul Juffureh, Forts Albreda and James, Tendaba Camp Wassu Stone Circles River Gambia National Park (Baboon Island) Basse

__**Works Cited:**__

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