Gambia

The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. Its territory is on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) and a population of 2,769,075 people in 2024 which is a 47% population increase from 2013. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The largest city is Serekunda. Arab Muslim merchants traded with indigenous West Africans in The Gambia throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. In 1455, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter The Gambia, although they never established significant trade there. The British Empire established a colony in 1765. In 1965, 200 years later, The Gambia gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara. Jawara remained the president winning several elections until he was overthrown by Yahya Jammeh in a bloodless coup on July 22, 1994. Adama Barrow was elected as The Gambia's third president in December 2016; he defeated Yahya Jammeh with the help of a coalition of other opposition political parties. Jammeh initially accepted the results, but then refused to leave office claiming he was cheated, triggering a constitutional crisis. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conducted a military intervention and achieved Jammeh's removal two days after his term was initially scheduled to end. In a swearing-in ceremony at the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal, on January 19, 2017, Adama Barrow formally became president of The Gambia. The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and especially 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 ECOWAS. It rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations in 2018 after previously withdrawing in 2013. English is the country's sole official language; it became widely used during British rule.