Overview
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country located in West Africa. It is the smallest country in continental Africa, with an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 square miles). According to the May 1, 2024 Census, the country has a population of 2,422,712 people, representing a 30.45% increase from 2013.
Geographically, The Gambia is bounded by Senegal on all sides except for its western border, which is defined by the Atlantic Ocean. The country's territory stretches along both sides of the lower Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic, giving The Gambia its distinctive elongated shape.
Major Cities
The capital city is Banjul, an island formerly known as Bathurst during the colonial era and the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The second and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama. Other significant urban centres include Kanifing and Farafenni in the north bank, Basse in Upper River Region, and Soma in the lower river region.
Name and Etymology
The name "Gambia" is derived from the Mandinka term Kambra/Kambaa, meaning the Gambia River. Portuguese explorers who reached the region in the 15th century adopted a variation of this local name, which was later anglicised to Gambia during British colonial rule.
The Gambia is one of only two countries for which the definite article "the" is officially used in its short-form English-language name, the other being The Bahamas. In 1964, shortly before independence, Prime Minister Dawda Jawara requested that the name retain the definite article, in part to reduce confusion with Zambia, which had also recently become independent.
Early History and Foreign Influence
Arab Muslim merchants traded with indigenous West Africans in The Gambia under an arrangement known as the trans-Saharan trade, using a barter exchange system. Throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, Islam was introduced by Arab traders to Western Sudan. Arab traders provided the first written accounts of The Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries, and by the 11th or 12th century, rulers of kingdoms such as Takrur, ancient Ghana, and Gao had converted to Islam.
In 1455, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter The Gambia, although they never established significant trade there. By the mid-15th century, the Portuguese began to dominate overseas trade in the region. In 1588, the claimant to the Portuguese throne sold exclusive trade rights on the Gambia River to English merchants, a grant confirmed by Letters Patent from Queen Elizabeth I.
Colonial Period
Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of The Gambia came under the rule of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a vassal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These territories were formally ceded to England in 1664.
During the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century, the British and French empires competed continually for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the Senegal River and Gambia River. The British occupied The Gambia following an expedition led by Augustus Keppel in 1758. The 1783 Treaty of Versailles granted Great Britain possession of the Gambia River, though the French retained a tiny enclave at Albreda on the river's north bank until it was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1856.
The British established the military post of Bathurst (now Banjul) in 1816. In 1888, The Gambia became a separate colony, and an agreement between Britain and France in 1889 established the colony's boundaries. The Gambia became a British Crown colony divided for administrative purposes into the colony and the protectorate. Slavery was abolished in 1906, and British colonial authority was firmly established.
Independence and Modern History
The Gambia achieved independence on 18 February 1965 as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth. On 24 April 1970, it became a republic. In 1965, the country gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara, who remained president through several elections until he was overthrown by Yahya Jammeh in a bloodless coup on 22 July 1994.
Adama Barrow was elected as The Gambia's third president in December 2016, defeating Yahya Jammeh with the help of a coalition of opposition political parties. Although Jammeh initially accepted the election results, he subsequently refused to leave office, claiming he was cheated and triggering a constitutional crisis. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conducted a military intervention that achieved Jammeh's removal. Adama Barrow was formally sworn in as president on 19 January 2017 in a ceremony at the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
Economy and International Relations
The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism. In 2022, 17.2% of the population lived in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than US$2.15 (2017 PPP) per day.
The Gambia is a founding member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations in 2018 after previously withdrawing in 2013.
Language
English is The Gambia's sole official language. It became widely used throughout the country during British colonial rule.