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The World Factbook 2002
| Gambia, The |

Introduction | Gambia, The

Background:

The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965; it formed a short-lived federation of Senegambia with Senegal between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty. A military coup in 1994 overthrew the president and banned political activity, but a new 1996 constitution and presidential elections, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a nominal return to civilian rule. The country undertook another round of presidential and legislative elections in late 2001 and early 2002.

Geography | Gambia, The

Location: | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal
Geographic coordinates: | 13 28 N, 16 34 W
Map references: | Africa
Area: | total: 11,300 sq km land: 10,000 sq km water: 1,300 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly less than twice the size of Delaware
Land boundaries: | total: 740 km border countries: Senegal 740 km
Coastline: | 80 km
Maritime claims: | contiguous zone: 18 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
Climate: | tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)
Terrain: | flood plain of the Gambia river flanked by some low hills
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 53 m
Natural resources: | fish
Land use: | arable land: 19% permanent crops: 1% other: 80% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)
Environment - current issues: | deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa

People | Gambia, The

Population: | 1,455,842 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 45.1% (male 329,530; female 326,627) 15-64 years: 52.3% (male 377,357; female 383,548) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 20,237; female 18,543) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.09% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 41.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 12.63 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | 2.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 76.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 53.98 years female: 56.01 years (2002 est.) male: 52.02 years
Total fertility rate: | 5.61 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.95% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 13,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 1,400 (1999 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Gambian(s) adjective: Gambian
Ethnic groups: | African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-African 1%
Religions: | Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: | English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 47.5% male: 58.4% female: 37.1% (2001 est.)

Government | Gambia, The

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia conventional short form: The Gambia
Government type: | republic under multiparty democratic rule
Capital: | Banjul
Administrative divisions: | 5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Central River, Lower River, North Bank, Upper River, Western
Independence: | 18 February 1965 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 18 February (1965)
Constitution: | 24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and approved by national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished in January 1997
Legal system: | based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996; note - from 1994 to 1996 was Chairman of the Junta); Vice President Isatou Njie SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October 1996; note - from 1994 to 1996 was Chairman of the Junta); Vice President Isatou Njie SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the number of terms is not restricted; election last held 18 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2006)
election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 52.9%, Ousainou DARBOE 32.7%

Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 elected by popular vote, five appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 17 January 2002 (next to be held NA January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - APRC 45, PDOIS 2, NRP 1,
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC [Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH]; Gambian People's Party-Progressive People's Party-United Democratic Party or GPP-PPP-UDP Coalition [Ousainou DARBOE]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sheriff DIBBA]; National Reconciliation Party or NRP [Hamat N. K. BAH]; People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]
note: in August 2001, an independent electoral commission allowed the reregistration of the GPP, NCP, and PPP, three parties banned since 1996

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador John P. BOJANG chancery: Suite 1000, 1155 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1399
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Jackson McDONALD embassy: Fajara, Kairaba Avenue, Banjul mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul telephone: [220] 392856, 392858, 391970, 391971 FAX: [220] 392475
Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green

Economy | Gambia, The

Economy - overview:

The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural resources 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 Banjul. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts; the following two marketing seasons have seen substantially lower prices and sales. A decline in tourism in 2000 has also held back growth. Unemployment and underemployment rates are extremely high. Shortrun economic progress remains highly dependent on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management as forwarded by IMF technical help and advice, and on expected growth in the construction sector. Record crops undergirded sturdy growth in 2001.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 5.7% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,770 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 21% industry: 12% services: 67% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 400,000
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 75%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 6%
Unemployment rate: | NA%
Budget: | revenues: $90.5 million expenditures: $80.9 million, including capital expenditures of $4.1 million (2001 est.)
Industries: | processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism; beverages; agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking; clothing
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%
Electricity - production: | 75 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 69.75 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats; forest and fishery resources not fully exploited
Exports: | $139.2 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: | peanuts and peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels
Exports - partners: | Benelux 26%, Japan 15%, UK 14%, Brazil 7% (2000)
Imports: | $200.3 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: | foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment
Imports - partners: | China (including Hong Kong) 18%, UK 10%, Netherlands 8%, France 6%, Brazil 6% (2000)
Debt - external: | $440 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $45.4 million (1995)
Currency: | dalasi (GMD)
Currency code: | GMD
Exchange rates: | dalasi per US dollar - 15.000 (January 2001), 12.788 (2000), 11.395 (1999), 10.643 (1998), 10.200 (1997)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Gambia, The

Telephones - main lines in use: | 31,900 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 5,624 (2000)
Telephone system: | general assessment: adequate; a packet switched data network is available domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open wire international: microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios: | 196,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (government-owned) (1997)
Televisions: | 5,000 (2000)
Internet country code: | .gm
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2001)
Internet users: | 5,000 (2001)

Transportation | Gambia, The

Railways: | 0 km
Highways: | total: 2,700 km paved: 956 km unpaved: 1,744 km (1996)
Waterways: | 400 km
Ports and harbors: | Banjul
Merchant marine: | none (2002 est.)
Airports: | 1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)

Military | Gambia, The

Military branches: | Gambian National Army (GNA) (includes marine unit), National Police, Presidential Guard
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 327,677 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 165,249 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $1.2 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 0.3% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Gambia, The

Disputes - international: | none

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002