Republic of The Gambia (in)
Gambia (en)
( Flag of The Gambia )
National motto : Progress, Peace, Prosperity
Official language	English
Capital	Banjul 13 28 'N 16 36' W
Largest city	Serrekunda
Form of State	Republic
- President	Yahya Jammeh
Area - Total - Water (%)	Ranked 158th 11 300 km 2 11,5
Population - Total ( 2008 ) - Density	Ranked 145 th 1,735,464 inhab. 145 inhabitants / km 2
Independence - Date	the United Kingdom 18 February 1965
Demonym	Gambian
Currency	Dalasi ( GMD )
Time Zone	UTC 0
National anthem	For The Gambia Our Homeland
Internet domain	. Gm
Indicative Telephone	+220

Gambia, in the long form Republic of Gambia in English or and is an English speaking country of West Africa. The Gambia is part of the ECOWAS.

Summary 1 History 2 Policy 3 Subdivisions 4 Geography 4.1 Environment 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous 9 Codes 10 External Links

/ / History

At its peak in the ^fourteenth century , the Mali Empire reached as far as Gambia.

In 1455, the Portuguese install kiosks along the River Gambia from which they organize the slave trade. In 1723, the British Society of African purchases of land in the Gambia.

From 1816 , the British occupied this small enclave in Senegal and the French will be unable to dislodge them. After 1889 and an agreement with France, the country became in 1894 a protectorate British.

The Gambia gained its independence in 1965 and Dawda Jawara became its first president. The Gambia is united in Senegal in 1982 to 1989 in a confederation: the Confederation of Senegambia.

On 22 July 1994 a group of officers led by Captain Yahya Jammeh , overthrew the government. In 1996 , pressed by the international community, donors have suspended all aid since the coup of 1994 , President Jammeh agrees to initiate a democratization process that also refer to power in elections in 1996 of 18 October 2001 and 22 September 2006.

Politics

The Gambia is a republic with multiparty presidential regime, where the President has both the burden of head of state and head of government. Executive power rests with the government while legislative power is shared between the government and parliament. The current constitution was approved in 1996.

The parliament consists of 53 seats of which 48 are filled by elections dummy riding.

President Yahya Jammeh has ruled since the coup of July 23, 1994. He was then elected by universal suffrage September 27, 1996 and re-elected Oct. 18, 2001 and September 22, 2006. The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction is the de facto single party Gambia.

Subdivisions

The Gambia is divided into six regions:

• Greater Banjul Division, around the capital Banjul ;
• Lower River;
• Central River;
• North Bank;
• Upper River;
• Western.

Geography

The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal , it extends from both sides of the river Gambia , a width of 20-50 km on each side, up to 320 km upstream from the mouth. The topography of the country is flat and never rises beyond 55 meters above sea level

The rainy season runs from June to September, with precipitation of 900 to 1400 mm (increasing from east to west).

Environment

• riparian zone
• West Sudanian savanna

Economy

Demographics

The Gambia is densely populated (124 inhabitants per square kilometer on average in 2001, for a total of 1,411,205). Over 63% of the population is rural. Population growth is high (respectively 3.77% and 8% for the capital, Banjul ), and the rate of urbanization ^Culture

Miscellaneous

Population: 1,411,205 inhabitants (2001). 0-14 years: 45.22% 15-64 years: 52.13% + 65 years: 2.65%
Area: 11,300 sq km
Density: 124 inhabitants / km
Land borders: 740 km ( Senegal 740 km)
Coastline: 80 km
Elevation Extremes: 0 m> m + 53
Male life expectancy: 52 years (in 2001 )
Life expectancy for women: 56 years (in 2001)
Rate of population growth: 3.14% (in 2001)
Birth rate: 41.76 (2001)
Death rate: 12.92 (2001)
Infant mortality rate: 77.84 (2001)
Fertility rate: 5.7 children born / woman (2001)
Migration rate: 2.59 (in 2001)
Independence: 18 February 1965 (former British colony )
Telephone lines: 76,400 (in 2007 ) or 54 per 1000 inhabitants
Mobile Phones: 5624 (in 2000) is 4 per 1000 inhabitants
Radios: 196,000 (in 1997 ) is 139 per 1000 inhabitants
Televisions: 5,000 (in 2000) is 4 per 1000 inhabitants
Internet users: 100,200 (in 2007) or 71 per 1000 inhabitants
Number of ISPs: 2 (2001)
Roads: 3742 km (723 km tarred) (in 2004 )
Railways: 0 km
Waterways: 400 km
Number of airports: 1 (Banjul International Yundum)

Codes

The Gambia has codes:

• C5 , according to the list of prefixes ICAO aircraft registration ,
• GB , according to the list of prefixes ICAO airport codes ,
• GA , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , alpha-2 code,
• GAM , according to a list of country codes IOC ,
• GM , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-2
• GMB , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-3,
• GMB , as the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3,
• WAG , according to the list of international codes of plates ,

External Links

• Category Gambia directory dmoz
• Official website of Government of the Gambia