The Gambia

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

• 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 due to slash-and-burn agriculture;
• desertification;
• water pollution;
• water-borne diseases

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

0-14 years:

36.97% (male 388,615 /female 385,172)

15-24 years:

20.31% (male 210,217 /female 214,807)

25-54 years:

34.9% (male 357,934 /female 372,428)

55-64 years:

4.26% (male 42,655 /female 46,591)

65 years and over:

3.55% (male 34,328 /female 39,984) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

92.3 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

87.8 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

4.5 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

22.3 (2015 est.)

total:

21.3 years (2018 est.)

male:

20.9 years

female:

21.6 years

• 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:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

58.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

63.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

52.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

65.4 years (2018 est.)

male:

63 years

female:

67.8 years

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever (2016)

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

respiratory diseases:

meningococcal meningitis (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)

etymology:

• Banjul is located on Saint Mary's Island at the mouth of the Gambia River;
• the Mandinka used to gather fibrous plants on the island for the manufacture of ropes;
• "bang julo" is Mandinka for "rope fiber";
• mispronunciation over time caused the term became the word Banjul

history:

• previous 1965 (Independence Act), 1970;
• latest adopted 8 April 1996, approved by referendum 8 August 1996, effective 16 January 1997;
• note - referendum on new constitution planned over the next 2 years

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 only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017);
• Vice President Isatou TOURAY (since 15 March 2019);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017); Vice President Isatou TOURAY (since 15 March 2019)

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 1 December 2016 (next to be held in 2021);
• 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%, other 1.7%, independent 9.6%;
• seats by party - UDP 31, APRC 5, GDC 5, NRP 5, PDOIS 4, PPP 2, independent 1;
• composition - men 52, women 6, percent of women 10.3%

highest courts:

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 at age 75

subordinate courts:

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

• Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC [Fabakary JATTA]
• Coalition 2016 [collective leadership] (electoral coalition includes UDP, PDOIS, NRP, GMC, GDC, PPP, and GPDP)
• Gambia Democratic Congress or GDC [Mama KANDEH]
• Gambia Moral Congress or GMC [Mai FATTY]
• Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress or GPDP [Sarja JARJOU]
• National Convention Party or NCP [Yaya SANYANG and Majanko SAMUSA (both claiming leadership)]
• National Democratic Action Movement or NDAM [Lamin Yaa JUARA]
• National Reconciliation Party or NRP [Hamat BAH]
• 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 Richard "Carl" PASCHALL (since 9 April 2019)

telephone:

[220] 439-2856

embassy:

Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, P.M.B.19, Banjul

mailing address:

P.M.B. 19, Banjul

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 est.)

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

36.9% (2003)

general assessment:

• adequate microwave radio relay and open-wire network;
• state-owned Gambia Telecommunications partially privatized but still retaining a monopoly;
• multiple mobile networks offering effective competition;
• three licensed ISPs which serve local area without much competion (2018)

domestic:

fixed-line stands at 2 per 100 subscriptions with one dominant company and mobile-cellular teledensity, aided by multiple mobile-cellular providers, is over 138 per 100 persons (2018)

international:

• country code - 220;
• landing points for the ACE submarine cable to West Africa and Europe;
• microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

• 1 state-run TV-channel;
• one privately-owned TV-station;
• 1 Online TV-station;
• three state-owned radio station and 31 privately owned radio stations;
• eight 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 (2019)

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

total:

2,977 km (2011)

paved:

518 km (2011)

unpaved:

2,459 km (2011)

total:

9

by type:

other 9 (2018)

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)