The Gambia

• tropical;
• hot, rainy season (June to November);
• cooler, dry season (November to May)

agricultural land:

56.1%;

• arable land 41%;
• permanent crops 0.5%;
• permanent pasture 14.6%

forest:

43.9%

other:

0% (2011 est.)

• settlements are found scattered along the Gambia River;
• the largest communities, including the capital of Banjul, and the country's largest city, Serekunda, are found at the mouth of the Gambia River along the Atlantic coast

• 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

noun:

Gambian(s)

adjective:

Gambian

• settlements are found scattered along the Gambia River;
• the largest communities, including the capital of Banjul, and the country's largest city, Serekunda, are found at the mouth of the Gambia River along the Atlantic coast

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of The Gambia

conventional short form:

The Gambia

etymology:

named for the Gambia River that flows through the heart of the country

name:

Banjul

geographic coordinates:

13 27 N, 16 34 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1965 (independence act), 1970; latest adopted 8 April 1996, approved by referendum 8 August 1996, effective 16 January 1997

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly;
• passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the Assembly membership in each of several readings and approval by the president of the republic;
• a referendum is required for amendments affecting national sovereignty, fundamental rights and freedoms, government structures and authorities, taxation, and public funding;
• passage by referendum requires participation of at least 50% of eligible voters and approval by at least 75% of votes cast;
• amended 2001, 2004, 2010 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017);
• Vice President Fatoumata JALLOW-TAMBAJANG (since 23 January 2017);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017); Vice President Fatoumata JALLOW-TAMBAJANG (since 23 January 2017)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 24 November 2011 (next to be held on 1 December 2016);
• vice president appointed by the president

election results:

Adama BARROW elected president; percent of vote - Adama BARROW (Coalition 2016) 43.3%, Yahya JAMMEH (APRC)39.6%, Mamma KANDEH (GDC) 17.1%

description:

unicameral National Assembly (58 seats; 53 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 5 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 6 April 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - UDP 37.5%, GDC 17.4%, APRC 16%, PDOIS 9%, NRP 6.3%, PPP 2.5%, independent 9.6%;
• seats by party - UDP 31, APRC 5, GDC 5, NRP 5, PDOIS 4, PPP 2, independent 1

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of The Gambia (consists of the chief justice and 6 justices; court sessions held with 5 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• justices appointed by the president after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission, a 6-member independent body of high-level judicial officials, a presidential appointee, and a National Assembly appointee;
• justices appointed for life or until mandatory retirement age

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal;
• High Court;
• Special Criminal Court;
• Khadis or Muslim courts;
• district tribunals;
• magistrates courts

• Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC [Fabakary JATTA]
• Coalition 2016 [collective leadership] (electoral coalition including UDP, PDOIS, NRP, GMC, GDC, PPP, GPDP)
• Gambia Democratic Congress or GDC [Mama KANDEH]
• Gambia Moral Congress or GMC [Mai FATTY]
• Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress or GPDP [Henry GOMEZ]
• National Reconciliation Party or NRP [Samba JALLOW]
• National Convention Party or NCP [Ebrima Janko SANYANG]
• People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]
• People's Progressive Party or PPP [Yaya CEESAY)]
• United Democratic Party or UDP [Ousainou DARBOE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Manneh HAMBA (since 3 May 2017)

chancery:

2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Georgetown Plaza, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 785-1379, 1399, 1425

FAX:

[1] (202) 342-0240

chief of mission:

Ambassador C. Patricia ALSUP (since 11 January 2016)

embassy:

Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul

mailing address:

P.M.B. 19, Banjul

telephone:

[220] 439-2856

FAX:

[220] 439-2475

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green;
• red stands for the sun and the savannah, blue represents the Gambia River, and green symbolizes forests and agriculture;
• the white stripes denote unity and peace

name:

"For The Gambia, Our Homeland"

lyrics/music:

Virginia Julie HOWE/adapted by Jeremy Frederick HOWE

note: adopted 1965; the music is an adaptation of the traditional Mandinka song "Foday Kaba Dumbuya"

agriculture:

75%

industry:

19%

services:

6% (1996)

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

36.9% (2003)

general assessment:

adequate microwave radio relay and open-wire network; state-owned Gambia Telecommunications partially privatized in 2007

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity, aided by multiple mobile-cellular providers, is over 140 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 220;
• microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau;
• a landing station for the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) undersea fiber-optic cable completed in 2011 and launched in 2012;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

• state-owned, single-channel TV service;
• state-owned radio station and 15 privately owned radio stations;
• 6 community radio stations;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available, some via shortwave radio;
• cable and satellite TV subscription services are obtainable in some parts of the country (2015)

total:

3,740 km

paved:

711 km

unpaved:

3,029 km (2011)

country comparison to the world: 159

• 18 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• service obligation 6 months (2012)

current situation:

• The Gambia is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Gambian women, girls, and, to a lesser extent, boys are exploited for prostitution and domestic servitude;
• women, girls, and boys from West African countries are trafficked to The Gambia for commercial sexual exploitation, particularly by European sex tourists;
• boys in some Koranic schools are forced into street vending or begging;
• some Gambian children have been identified as victims of forced labor in neighboring West African countries

tier rating:

• Tier 3 – The Gambia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the government demonstrated minimal anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, investigating one trafficking case but not prosecuting or convicting any offenders in 2014;
• authorities did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any government employees complicit in trafficking, although corruption was a serious problem;
• the government identified and repatriated 19 Gambian girls subjected to domestic servitude in Lebanon but did not identify or provide protective services to any trafficking victims in The Gambia;
• a government program continued to provide resources and financial support to 12 Koranic schools on the condition that their students were not forced to beg (2015)