Portal:The Gambia

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The Gambia Portal

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 on the Atlantic Ocean. It 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 2,468,569 people in 2024. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country; the second- and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

Arab Muslim merchants traded with native 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 region was made a part of the British Empire by establishment of a colony in 1765, and exactly 200 years later, in 1965, The Gambia gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara. Jawara ruled until Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless 1994 coup, with Jammeh ruling until 2017. Adama Barrow became The Gambia's third president in January 2017, after defeating Jammeh in the December 2016 elections. Jammeh initially accepted the results, but then refused to leave office, triggering a constitutional crisis and military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States that resulted in his removal two days after his term was initially scheduled to end.

The Gambia has been a member of the Economic Community of West African States since its conception in 1975 and is a member of the Commonwealth, with English being the country's sole official language, both legacies of its British colonial past. The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and especially tourism. In 2015, 48.6% of the population lived in poverty. In rural areas, poverty was even more widespread, at almost 70%. (Full article...)

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Bao Bolong (also Baobolong, Bao Bolon or Baobolon) Wetland Reserve is a protected area in The Gambia. Established in 1996, it covers 296.5 square kilometres.

The Wetland Reserve is located on the north bank of the River Gambia, approximately 100 km (52 nautical miles) from the river mouth. The name is derived from the Bao Bolon tributary that rises in Senegal and enters the River Gambia. It extends from the River Gambia north to the Senegalese border along the Baobolon tributary. (Full article...)

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Image 1A view of Janjanbureh, Gambia
Image 2Traders at a fish market on the Gambian coast
Image 3Gunjur is a small coastal town in south-western Gambia.
Image 4Gambian postage stamps from 1953
Image 5A donkey cart at a beach in The Gambia
Image 6Arch 22 in the Gambian capital city of Banjul
Image 7Banjul International Airport

Image 7Banjul International Airport
Image 8A Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko Nature Reserve in The Gambia
Image 9Life in Serekunda
Image 10Fish being smoked in Tanji
Image 11Front and back view of the Gambian dalasi and coins from 5 bututs to 1 dalasi

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... that Paschal Eze resigned as editor-in-chief of The Daily Observer, a newspaper in The Gambia, after being pressured by management not to publish stories about a certain politician?

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Portrait of Sir Gilbert by Alexander Bassano, 1893

Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter (also Gilbert-Carter) KCMG (14 January 1848 – 18 January 1927) was an administrative officer in the Royal Navy and a colonial official for the British Empire.

Starting as a Collector of Customs for the Gold Coast, he then became a Treasurer of the Gold Coast and the Gambia. Moving on to colonial administration, he started as the Administrator for the Gambia, where he dealt with the aggression of the native king of Gambia. (Full article...)

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Gambia Regiment Gambia women's national football team Alexander Grant (British Army officer) The Gambia at the 2000 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2012 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics