THE GAMBIA
AT A GLANCE
The Gambia officially
the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa that is almost entirely
surrounded by Senegal with the
exception of its western coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the smallest country
within mainland Africa.[6]
The Gambia is situated on either side of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which
flows through the centre of The Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It
has an area of 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 sq mi) with a
population of 1,857,181 as of the April 2013 census. Banjul is the Gambian capital and the
largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African
nations in the slave trade, which
was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese, during which era it was known
as A Gâmbia. Later, on 25 May 1765,[7] The Gambia was made a part of
the British Empire when
the government formally assumed control, establishing the Province of
Senegambia. In 1965, The Gambia gained independence under the
leadership of Dawda Jawara, who
ruled until Yahya Jammeh seized
power in a bloodless 1994
coup. Adama Barrow became
The Gambia's third president in January 2017, after defeating Jammeh in December
2016 elections.[8] Jammeh initially accepted the
results, then refused to accept them, which triggered a constitutional
crisis and military
intervention by the Economic
Community of West African States, resulting in his exile.[9][10][11]
The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing and,
especially, tourism. In 2015, 48.6% of the population lived in poverty.[12] In rural areas poverty is even
more widespread with a higher proportion of the population being poor (almost
70%).[12]
he name "Gambia" is derived from the Mandinka term Kambra/Kambaa,
meaning Gambia river.
According to the CIA World Factbook,
the US Department of
State, the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World and
the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British
Official Use, The Gambia is one of only two countries whose
self-standing short name for official use should begin with the word
"The" (the other one being The Bahamas).[13][14] Upon independence in 1965, the
country used the name The Gambia. Following the proclamation of a
republic in 1970, the long-form name of the country became Republic of
The Gambia.[15] The administration of Yahya
Jammeh changed the long-form name to Islamic Republic of The Gambia in
December 2015.[16] On 29 January 2017 President
Adama Barrow changed the name back to Republic of The Gambia.[17][18]
Main article: History of the Gambia
Arab traders provided the first written
accounts of the Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the tenth
century, Muslim merchants and scholars established communities in several West
African commercial centres. Both groups established trans-Saharan trade routes,
leading to a large export trade of local people as slaves, also gold andivory,
as well as imports of manufactured goods.
Senegambian stone
circles (megaliths) which run from Senegal through the Gambia
and are described by UNESCO as "the
largest concentration of stone circles seen anywhere in the world".
By the 11th or 12th century, the rulers of kingdoms such
as Takrur, a monarchy centred on the Senegal River just to the north, ancient
Ghana and Gao had converted to Islam and had
appointed to their courts Muslims who were literate in the Arabic language.[19] At the beginning of the 14th
century, most of what is today called The Gambia was part of the Mali Empire. The Portuguese reached this area
by sea in the mid-15th century, and began to dominate overseas trade.
In 1588, the claimant to the Portuguese
throne, António, Prior of
Crato, sold exclusive trade rights on the Gambia River to English merchants. Letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I confirmed the grant. In
1618, King James I of England granted
a charter to an English company for trade with the Gambia and the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of the Gambia were under the rule of the Duchy of
Courland and Semigallia belonging to Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth—modern-day Latvia—and were bought by Prince Jacob Kettler[20].
During the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century,
the British Empire and
the French Empire struggled
continually for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the
Senegal River and the Gambia River. The British Empire occupied the Gambia when
an expedition led by Augustus
Keppel landed there following the Capture of Senegal in
1758. The 1783 First Treaty of
Versailles gave Great Britain possession of the Gambia River,
but the French retained a tiny enclave at Albreda on the river's north bank. This
was finally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1856.
As many as three million people may have been taken as slaves from this general region during
the three centuries that the transatlantic
slave trade operated. It is not known how many people were
taken as slaves by intertribal wars or Muslim traders before the transatlantic
slave trade began. Most of those taken were sold by other Africans to
Europeans: some were prisoners of intertribal wars; some were victims sold
because of unpaid debts; and many others were simply victims of kidnapping.[21]
Traders initially sent people to Europe to work as servants
until the market for labour expanded in the West Indies and North America in the 18th
century. In 1807, the United Kingdom abolished the slave trade throughout its empire. It
also tried, unsuccessfully, to end the slave trade in the Gambia. Slave ships
intercepted by the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron in
the Atlantic were also returned to the Gambia, with people who had been slaves
released on MacCarthy Island far up the Gambia River where they were expected
to establish new lives.[22] The British established the
military post of Bathurst (now Banjul) in 1816.
Further
information: Gambia
Colony and Protectorate
In the ensuing years, Banjul was at times under the jurisdiction
of the British Governor-General in Sierra Leone. In 1888, The Gambia became a
separate colony.
An agreement with the French Republic in 1889 established the
present boundaries. The Gambia became a British Crown colony called British
Gambia, divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of
Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the
territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in
1901, and it gradually progressed toward self-government. Slavery was abolished
in 1906[citation needed] and
following a brief conflict between the British colonial forces and indigenous
Gambians, British colonial authority was firmly established.[23]
During World War II, some soldiers fought with the Allies of World War
II. Though these soldiers fought mostly in Burma, some died closer to home and a Commonwealth
War Graves Commission cemetery is in Fajara (close to Banjul).
Banjul contained an airstrip for
the US Army Air Forces and
a port of call for Allied naval convoys.
After World War II, the pace of constitutional reform increased.
Following general elections in 1962, the United Kingdom granted full internal
self-governance in the following year.
The Gambia achieved independence on
18 February 1965, as a constitutional
monarchy within the Commonwealth,
with Elizabeth
II as Queen of the Gambia,
represented by the Governor-General.
Shortly thereafter, the national government held a referendum proposing that
the country become a republic. This referendum
failed to receive the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution,
but the results won widespread attention abroad as testimony to The Gambia's
observance of secret balloting, honest elections, civil rights, and liberties.[citation needed]
On 24 April 1970, The Gambia became a republic within the
Commonwealth, following a second referendum. Prime Minister Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara assumed
the office of President,
an executive post,
combining the offices of head of state and head of government.
President Sir Dawda Jawara was re-elected five times. An
attempted coup on 29 July 1981 followed a weakening of the economy and
allegations of corruption against leading politicians.[24] The coup attempt occurred
while President Jawara was visiting London and was carried out by the
leftist National
Revolutionary Council, composed of Kukoi Samba Sanyang's
Socialist and Revolutionary Labour Party (SRLP) and elements of the Field
Force, a paramilitary force which constituted the bulk of the country's armed
forces.[24]
President Jawara requested military aid from Senegal, which deployed 400 troops to The
Gambia on 31 July. By 6 August, some 2,700 Senegalese troops had been deployed,
defeating the rebel force.[24] Between 500 and 800 people
were killed during the coup and the ensuing violence.[24] In 1982, in the aftermath of
the 1981 attempted coup, Senegal and The Gambia signed a treaty of
confederation. The Senegambia
Confederation aimed to combine the armed forces of the two
states and to unify their economies and currencies. After just seven years, The
Gambia permanently withdrew from the confederation in 1989.
In 1994, the Armed
Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) deposed the Jawara
government and banned opposition political activity.
Lieutenant Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh,
chairman of the AFPRC, became head of state. Jammeh was just 29 years old at
the time of the coup. The AFPRC announced a transition plan for return to
democratic civilian government. The Provisional Independent Electoral
Commission (PIEC) was established in 1996 to conduct national elections and
transformed into the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in 1997 and became
responsible for registration of voters and for the conduct of elections and
referendums.
In late 2001 and early 2002, The Gambia completed a full cycle
of presidential, legislative,
and local elections, which foreign observers[who?] deemed
free, fair, and transparent, albeit with some[which?] shortcomings.
President Yahya Jammeh, who was elected to continue in the position he had
assumed during the coup, took the oath of office again on 21 December 2001.
Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC)
maintained its strong majority in the National Assembly, particularly after the
main opposition United
Democratic Party (UDP) boycotted the legislative elections.[25] (It has participated in
elections since, however).
On 2 October 2013, the Gambian interior minister announced that
The Gambia would leave the Commonwealth with
immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The
Gambian government said it had "decided that The Gambia will never be a
member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any
institution that represents an extension of colonialism".[26]
Incumbent President Jammeh faced opposition leaders Adama Barrow
from the Independent Coalition of parties[27] and Mamma Kandeh from the
Gambia Democratic Congress party[28] in the December 2016
presidential elections. The Gambia sentenced main opposition leader and human
rights advocate Ousainou Darboe to
3 years in prison in July 2016,[29] disqualifying him from running
in the presidential election.
Following the 1
December 2016 elections, the elections commission declared Adama Barrow the winner of the
presidential election.[30] Jammeh, who had ruled for 22
years, first announced he would step down after losing the 2016 election before
declaring the results void and calling for a new vote, sparking a constitutional
crisis and leading to an invasion by
an ECOWAS coalition.[31] On 20 January 2017, Jammeh
announced that he had agreed to step down and would leave the country.[10]
On 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning
to its membership of the Commonwealth and formally presented its application to
re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018.[32][33] Boris Johnson, who became the first
British Foreign Secretary to visit The Gambia
since the country gained independence in 1965,[34] announced that the British
government welcomed The Gambia's return to the Commonwealth.[34] The Gambia officially rejoined
the Commonwealth on 8 February 2018.[35][36]
The Gambia is a very small and narrow country whose borders
mirror the meandering Gambia River. It
lies between latitudes 13 and 14°N, and
longitudes 13 and 17°W.
The Gambia is less than 50 kilometres (31 miles) wide at its
widest point, with a total area of 11,295 km2 (4,361 sq mi). About 1,300 square kilometres
(500 square miles) (11.5%) of The Gambia's area are covered by water. It is the
smallest country on the African mainland. In comparative terms, The Gambia has
a total area slightly less than that of the island of Jamaica.
Senegal surrounds The Gambia on three sides, with 80 km
(50 mi) of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean marking its western extremity.[37]
The present boundaries were defined in 1889 after an agreement
between the United Kingdom and France. During the negotiations between the
French and the British in Paris, the French initially gave the British around
200 miles (320 km) of the Gambia River to control. Starting with the
placement of boundary markers in 1891, it took nearly 15 years after the Paris
meetings to determine the final borders of The Gambia. The resulting series of
straight lines and arcs gave the British control of areas about 10 miles
(16 km) north and south of the Gambia River.[38]
The Gambia has a tropical climate. A hot and rainy season normally
lasts from June until November, but from then until May, cooler temperatures
predominate, with less precipitation.[37] The climate in The Gambia
closely resembles that of neighbouring Senegal, of southern Mali,
and of the northern part of Benin.[39]
)
The Arch 22 monument commemorating the 1994 coup which
saw the then 29-year-old Yahya Jammeh seize power in a bloodless
coup, ousting Dawda Jawara, who
had been President of the Gambia since 1970[40]
Main article: Politics of the
Gambia
The Gambia gained independence from
the United Kingdom on
18 February 1965. From 1965 to 1994, the country was ostensibly a
multi-party liberal democracy.
It was ruled by Dawda Jawara and
his People's
Progressive Party (PPP). However, the country never experienced
political turnover during this period and its commitment to succession by the
ballot box was never tested.[41] In 1994, a military coup propelled
a commission of military officers to power, known as the Armed
Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC). After two years of
direct rule, a new constitution was written and in 1996, the leader of the
AFPRC, Yahya Jammeh, was
elected as President. He ruled in an authoritarian style until the 2016
election, which was won by Adama Barrow, backed by a coalition of
opposition parties.
During the Jawara era, there were initially four political
parties, the PPP, the United Party (UP),
the Democratic Party (DP),
and the Muslim Congress Party (MCP).
The 1960 constitution had established a House
of Representatives, and in the 1960
election no party won a majority of seats. However, in 1961 the
British Governor chose UP leader Pierre Sarr N'Jie to
serve as the country's first head of government, in the form of a Chief
Minister. This was an unpopular decision, and the 1962
election was notable as parties were able to appeal to ethnic
and religious differences across The Gambia. The PPP won a majority, and formed
a coalition with the Democratic
Congress Alliance (DCA; a merger of the DP and MCP). They
invited the UP to the coalition in 1963, but it left in 1965.[42]
The UP was seen as the main opposition party, but it lost power
from 1965 to 1970. In 1975, the National
Convention Party (NCP) was formed by Sheriff Mustapha
Dibba, and became the new main opposition party to the PPP's
dominance.[42] Both the PPP and NCP were
ideologically similar, so in the 1980s a new opposition party emerged, in the
form of the radical socialist People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and
Socialism (PDOIS). However, between the 1966 and 1992
elections, the PPP was "overwhelmingly dominant", winning between 55%
and 70% of the vote in each election and a large majority of seats continually.[43]
In principle, competitive politics existed during the Jawara
era, however, it was stated that there was in reality a "one-party
monopoly of state power centred around the dominant personality of Dawda
Jawara." Civil society was limited post-independence, and opposition
parties were weak and at the risk of being declared subversive. The opposition
did not have equal access to resources, as the business class refused to
finance them. The government had control over when they could make public
announcements and press briefings, and there were also allegations of vote-buying and improprieties in the
preparation of the electoral register.
A 1991 court challenge by the PDOIS against irregularities on the electoral
register in Banjul was dismissed on a technicality.[44]
In July 1994, a bloodless military
coup d'état brought an end to the Jawara era. The Armed
Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), led by Yahya Jammeh, ruled dictatorially for two
years. The council suspended the constitution, banned all political parties,
and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the populace.[45] A transition back to democracy
occurred in 1996, and a new constitution was written, though the process was
manipulated to benefit Jammeh.[46] In a 1996 referendum, 70% of
voters approved the constitution, and in December 1996 Jammeh was elected as
President. All but PDOIS of the pre-coup parties were banned, and former
ministers were barred from public office.[47]
During Jammeh's rule, the opposition was again fragmented. An
example was the infighting between members of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD)
that was formed in 2005. Jammeh used the police forces to harass opposition
members and parties. Jammeh was also accused of human rights abuses, especially
towards human rights activists, civil society organisations, political
opponents, and the media. Their fates included being sent into exile,
harassment, arbitrary imprisonment, murder, and forced disappearance.
Particular examples include the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004, a student
massacre at a protest in 2000, public threats to kill human
rights defenders in 2009, public threats towards homosexuals in 2013.
Furthermore, Jammeh made threats to the religious freedom of non-Muslims, used
'mercenary judges' to weaken the judiciary, and faced numerous accusations of
election rigging.[48]
In the December
2016 presidential election, Jammeh was beaten by Adama Barrow, who was backed by a coalition of opposition parties. Jammeh's
initial agreement to step down followed by a change of mind induced a constitutional
crisis that culminated in a military
intervention by ECOWAS forces in January 2017. Barrow pledged
to serve at the head of a three-year transitional government.[49] The Nigerian Centre
for Democracy and Development describe the challenges facing
Barrow as needing to restore "citizen's trust and confidence in the public
sector". They describe a "fragile peace" with tensions in rural
areas between farmers and the larger communities. They also reported on
tensions between ethnic groups developing. An example is that in February 2017,
51 supporters of Jammeh were arrested for harassing supporters of Barrow.
Although his election was initially met with enthusiasm, the Centre notes that
this has been dampened by Barrow's initial constitutional faux pas with his
Vice President, the challenge of inclusion, and high expectations post-Jammeh.[48]
The Gambia has had a number of constitutions in its history. The
two most significant are the 1970 constitution, which established The Gambia as
a presidential republic, and the 1996 constitution, which served as a basis for
Jammeh's rule and was kept following Barrow's victory in 2016. Jammeh
manipulated the 1996 constitutional reform process to benefit himself. No
reference was made to term limits, indicating Jammeh's preference to stay in
power for an extended period of time.[46] According to the 1996
constitution, the President is the head of state, head of government, and
commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Jammeh and Barrow have also both taken
on the role of Minister of Defence.[50]
The president appoints the vice president and cabinet of
ministers and also chairs the cabinet. The office of Prime Minister was
abolished in 1970. Total executive power is vested in the president. They can
also appoint five members of the National Assembly, the judges of the superior
courts, regional governors, and district chiefs. In terms of the civil service,
they can appoint the Public Service Commission, the ombudsman, and the
Independent Electoral Commission. The president is directly elected for
five-year terms based on a simple majority of votes. There are no term limits.[50] The Constitution is under
review as of 2018 and a two-term limit and other changes required to enhance the
governance structures are expected.
The Gambia followed a formal policy of non-alignment throughout
most of former President Jawara's tenure. It maintained close relations with
the United Kingdom, Senegal, and other African countries. The July 1994 coup strained
the Gambia's relationship with Western powers, particularly the United States,
which until 2002 suspended most nonhumanitarian assistance in accordance with
Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance
Act. After 1995 President Jammeh established diplomatic relations
with several additional countries, including Libya (suspended
in 2010), and Cuba.[51] The People's
Republic of China cut ties with the Gambia in 1995 - after the
latter established diplomatic links with Taiwan - and re-established them in 2016.[52]
The Gambia plays an active role in international affairs,
especially West African and Islamic affairs, although its representation abroad
is limited. As a member of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Gambia has
played an active role in that organisation's efforts to resolve the civil wars
in Liberia and Sierra Leone and contributed
troops to the community's ceasefire monitoring group (ECOMOG) in
1990 and (ECOMIL) in 2003.[51]
The Gambia has also sought to mediate disputes in nearby Guinea-Bissau and the neighbouring Casamance region of Senegal. The
government of the Gambia believed Senegal was complicit in the March 2006
failed coup attempt. This put increasing strains on relations between the
Gambia and its neighbour. The subsequent worsening of the human rights
situation placed increasing strains on US–Gambian relations.[51]
The Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth of
Nations on 3 October 2013, with the government stating it had
"decided that the Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial
institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an
extension of colonialism".[53] Under the new president, The
Gambia has begun the process of returning to its status as a Commonwealth republic with
the support of the British government, formally presenting its application to
re-join the Commonwealth of Nations to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on
22 January 2018.[32][33]
The Gambia returned to its status as a Commonwealth republic on
8 February 2018.
See also: Human rights in
the Gambia
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 78.3%
of Gambian girls and women have suffered female genital
mutilation.[54] LGBT activity is
illegal, and punishable with life imprisonment.[55] Efforts to promote education
on the topic include work by Adriana Kaplan
Marcusán and others.
The Daily Observer reporter Ebrima Manneh is believed by human rights
organizations to have been arrested in July 2006 and secretly held in custody
since then.[56]Manneh was reportedly arrested by
Gambia’s National
Intelligence Agency after attempting to republish a BBC report criticizing President Yahya Jammeh.[56] Amnesty International
considers him to be a prisoner of
conscience and named him a 2011 "priority case".[57]
·
Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Further
information: Gambia Armed Forces
The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) was created in 1985 as a
stipulation of the Senegambia
Confederation, a political union between The Gambia and Senegal. It originally consisted of the Gambia
National Army (GNA), trained by the British, and Gambia National Gendarmerie
(GNG), trained by the Senegalese. The GNG was merged into the police in 1992,
and in 1997 Jammeh created a Gambia Navy (GN). Attempts to create a Gambia Air Force in the mid 2000s
ultimately fell through. In 2008, Jammeh created a National Republican Guard,
composed of special forces units. The GNA has a strength of roughly 900, in two
infantry battalions and an engineering company. It makes use of Ferret and M8 Greyhound armoured cars. The GN is
equipped with patrol vessels, and Taiwan donated a number of new vessels to
the force in 2013.
Since the GAF was formed in 1985, it has been active in UN
and African Union peacekeeping
missions. It has been classed as a Tier 2 peacekeeping contributor[60]and was described by the Center
on International Cooperation as a regional leader in peackeeping.[61] It dispatched soldiers
to Liberia as part of ECOMOG from 1990 to 1991, during which
two Gambian soldiers were killed. It has since contributed troops to ECOMIL, UNMIL,
and UNAMID.
Responsibility for the military has rested directly with the President since
Jammeh seized power at the head of a bloodless military
coup in 1994. Jammeh also created the role of Chief
of the Defence Staff, who is the senior military officer responsible
for the day-to-day operations of the Gambia Armed Forces. Between 1958 and
1985, the Gambia did not have a military, but the Gambia Field Force existed as
a paramilitary wing of the police. The military tradition of the Gambia can be
traced to the Gambia Regiment of
the British Army, that
existed from 1901 to 1958 and fought in World War I and World War II.
The Gambia Armed Forces is and has been the recipient of a
number of equipment and training agreements with other countries. In 1992, a
contingent of Nigerian soldiers helped lead the GNA. Between 1991 and 2005, the
Turkish armed forces helped train Gambian soldiers. It has also hosted British
and United States training teams from the Royal Gibraltar
Regiment and US AFRICOM.
The Gambia is divided into eight local government areas, including the national
capital, Banjul, which is classified as a city. The Divisions of the Gambia
were created by the Independent Electoral Commission in accordance to Article
192 of the National Constitution.[37]
|
Name
|
Area (km2)
|
Population Census 2003
|
Population Census 2013
(provisional) |
Capital
|
Number
of Districts |
|
12.2
|
35,061
|
31,301
|
Banjul
|
3
|
|
|
75.6
|
322,735
|
382,096
|
1
|
||
|
1,764.3
|
389,594
|
699,704
|
9
|
||
|
1,628.0
|
72,167
|
82,381
|
6
|
||
|
2,255.5
|
172,835
|
221,054
|
7
|
||
|
1,466.5
|
78,491
|
99,108
|
Kuntaur
|
5
|
|
|
1,427.8
|
107,212
|
126,910
|
5
|
||
|
2,069.5
|
182,586
|
239,916
|
7
|
||
|
Total Gambia
|
10,689
|
1,360,681
|
1,882,450
|
Banjul
|
43
|
The local government areas are further subdivided (2013) into 43 districts. Of these, Kanifing and Kombo Saint Mary
(which shares Brikama as a capital with the Brikama Local Government
Area) are effectively part of the Greater Banjul area.[62]
Gambia Exports by Product (2014) from Harvard Atlas of Economic Complexity
Main article: Economy of the Gambia
Tourists in Gambia, 2014
The Gambia has a liberal, market-based economy characterised by
traditional subsistence agriculture, a historic reliance on groundnuts
(peanuts) for export earnings, a re-export trade built up around its ocean
port, low import duties, minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating
exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a significant tourism industry.[51]
The World Bank pegged Gambian GDP for 2011 at US$898M; the
International Monetary Fund put it at US$977M for 2011.
From 2006 to 2012, the Gambian economy grew annually at a pace
of 5–6% of GDP.[63]
Agriculture accounts for roughly 30% of gross domestic product
(GDP) and employs about 70% of the labour force. Within agriculture, peanut
production accounts for 6.9% of GDP, other crops 8.3%, livestock 5.3%, fishing
1.8%, and forestry 0.5%. Industry accounts for about 8% of GDP and services
around 58%. The limited amount of manufacturing is primarily agricultural-based
(e.g., peanut processing, bakeries, a brewery, and a tannery). Other
manufacturing activities include soap, soft drinks, and clothing.[51]
Previously, the United Kingdom and other EU countries
constituted the major Gambian export markets. However, in recent years Senegal,
the United States, and Japan have become significant trade partners of the
Gambia. In Africa, Senegal represented the biggest trade partner of the Gambia in
2007, which is a defining contrast to previous years that had Guinea-Bissau and
Ghana as equally important trade partners. Globally, Denmark, the United
States, and China have become important source countries for Gambian imports.
The UK, Germany, Ivory Coast, and the
Netherlands also provide a fair share of Gambian imports. The Gambian trade
deficit for 2007 was $331 million.[51]
In May 2009, 12 commercial banks existed in the Gambia,
including one Islamic bank. The oldest of these, Standard Chartered
Bank, dates its presence back to the entry in 1894 of what shortly
thereafter became Bank of British
West Africa. In 2005, the Swiss-based banking group International
Commercial Bank established a subsidiary and now has four branches in the
country. In 2007, Nigeria's Access Bank established a subsidiary that
now has four branches in the country, in addition to its head office; the bank
has pledged to open four more.
In May 2009, the Lebanese Canadian Bank opened a subsidiary
called Prime Bank.[64]
The urbanisation rate in 2011 was 57.3%.[37] Provisional figures from the
2003 census show that the gap between the urban and rural populations is
narrowing as more areas are declared urban. While urban migration, development
projects, and modernisation are bringing more Gambians into contact with
Western habits and values, indigenous forms of dress and celebration and the
traditional emphasis on the extended family remain integral parts of everyday life.[51]
The UNDP's Human Development Report for 2010 ranks the Gambia
151st out of 169 countries on its Human Development Index, putting it in the
'Low Human Development' category. This index compares life expectancy, years of
schooling, gross national income (GNI) per capita and some other factors.
The total fertility rate (TFR) was estimated at 3.98
children/woman in 2013.[66]
A variety of ethnic groups live in the Gambia, each
preserving its own language and traditions. The Mandinka ethnicity is the largest,
followed by the Fula, Wolof, Jola/Karoninka, Serahule / Jahanka, Serers, Manjago, Bambara, Aku Marabou,
Bainunka and others.[1] The Krio people, locally known
as Akus, constitute one of the smallest ethnic
minorities in the Gambia. They are descendants of the Sierra Leone
Creole people and have been traditionally concentrated in the
capital.
The roughly 3,500 non-African residents include Europeans and
families of Lebanese origin
(0.23% of the total population).[51] Most of the European minority
is British, although
many of the British left after independence.
Main article: Languages of the
Gambia
English is the official language of the Gambia. Other languages
are Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Serer, Krio, Jola and other indigenous vernaculars.[37] Owing to the country's
geographical setting, knowledge of French (an official language in much of
West Africa) is relatively widespread.
Education
Main article: Education in the
Gambia
The constitution mandates free and compulsory primary education
in the Gambia. Lack of resources and educational infrastructure has made
implementation of this difficult.[67] In 1995, the gross primary
enrolment rate was 77.1% and the net primary enrolment rate was 64.7%[67] School fees long prevented
many children from attending school, but in February 1998, President Jammeh
ordered the termination of fees for the first six years of schooling.[67] Girls make up about 52% of
primary school pupils. The figure may be lower for girls in rural areas, where
cultural factors and poverty prevent parents from sending girls to school.[67] Approximately 20% of
school-age children attend Quranic schools.[67]
Main article: Health in the Gambia
Religion
Article 25 of the constitution protects
the rights of citizens to practice any religion that they choose.[69] In December 2015, Reuters
reported that the Gambia was declared to be an Islamic state by the country's
president, Yahya Jammeh. Islam is practised by 95% of the country's population.[68] The majority of the Muslims in
the Gambia adhere to Sunni laws and
traditions,[70] while large concentrations
follow the Ahmadiyya tradition.[71]
Virtually all commercial life in the Gambia comes to a
standstill during major Muslim holidays, including Eid al-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr.[72] Most Muslims in the Gambia
follow the Maliki school of jurisprudence.[73] Also, a Shiite Muslim
community exists in the Gambia, mainly from Lebanese and other Arab immigrants to the region.[74]
The Christian community represents about 4% of the population.[68] Residing in the western and
the southern parts of the Gambia, most of the Christian community identifies
themselves as Roman Catholic.
However, smaller Christian groups are present, such as Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, Seventh-day
Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses,
and small evangelical denominations.[70]
It is unclear to what extent indigenous beliefs,
such as the Serer religion,
continue to be practiced. Serer religion encompasses cosmology and a belief in
a supreme deity called Roog. Some of its religious
festivals include the Xoy, Mbosseh, and Randou
Rande. Each year, adherents to Serer religion make the annual pilgrimage to Sine in Senegal for the Xoy divination
ceremony.[75] Serer religion also has a
rather significant imprint on Senegambian Muslim society in that all Senegambian Muslim festivals such as
"Tobaski", "Gamo", "Koriteh" and "Weri
Kor" are loanwords from the
Serer religion as they were ancient Serer festivals.[76]
Like the Serers, the Jola people also have their own religious
customs. One of the major religious ceremonies of the Jolas is the Boukout.
Owing to a small number of immigrants from South Asia, Hindus and followers of the Bahá'í Faith are
also present.[70] However, the vast majority of
South Asian immigrants are Muslim.[70]
Although the Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa,
its culture is the product of very diverse influences. The national borders
outline a narrow strip on either side of the River Gambia, a body of water that
has played a vital part in the nation's destiny and is known locally simply as
"the River". Without natural barriers, the Gambia has become home to
most of the ethnic groups that are present throughout western Africa,
especially those in Senegal.
Europeans also figure prominently in Gambian history because the
River Gambia is navigable deep into the continent, a geographic feature that
made this area one of the most profitable sites for the slave trade from the
15th through the 17th centuries. (It also made it strategic to the halt of this
trade once it was outlawed in the 19th century.) Some of this history was
popularised in the Alex Haley book
and TV series Roots which
was set in the Gambia.
Further information: Music of the Gambia
The music of the Gambia is closely linked musically with that of its neighbour, Senegal, which
surrounds its inland frontiers completely. It fuses popular Western music and
dance, with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance
music of the Wolof and Serer people.
Main article: Gambian cuisine
The cuisine of the Gambia includes peanuts, rice, fish, meat,
onions, tomatoes, cassava, chili peppers and oysters from the River Gambia that
are harvested by women. In particular, yassa and domoda curries[77] are popular with locals and
tourists.
Critics have accused the government of restricting free speech.
A law passed in 2002 created a commission with the power to issue licenses and
imprison journalists; in 2004, additional legislation allowed prison sentences
for libel and slander and cancelled all print and broadcasting licenses,
forcing media groups to re-register at five times the original cost.[78][79]
Three Gambian journalists have been arrested since the coup
attempt. It has been suggested that they were imprisoned for criticising the
government's economic policy, or for stating that a former interior minister
and security chief was among the plotters.[80] Newspaper editor Deyda Hydara was shot to death under
unexplained circumstances, days after the 2004 legislation took effect.
Licensing fees are high for newspapers and radio stations, and
the only nationwide stations are tightly controlled by the government.[78]
Reporters Without
Borders has accused "President Yahya Jammeh's police
state" of using murder, arson, unlawful arrest and death threats against
journalists.[81]
In December 2010 Musa Saidykhan, former editor of The
Independent newspaper, was awarded US$200,000 by the ECOWAS Court in
Abuja, Nigeria. The court found the Government of the Gambia guilty of torture
while he was detained without trial at the National Intelligence Agency.
Apparently he was suspected of knowing about the 2006 failed coup.[citation needed]
As in neighbouring Senegal, the national and most popular sport
in Gambia is wrestling.[82] Association football and
basketball are also popular. Football in the Gambia is administered by the Gambia Football
Federation, who are affiliated to both FIFA and CAF.
The GFA runs league football in the Gambia, including top division GFA League First
Division, as well as the Gambia
national football team. Nicknamed "The Scorpions", the
national side have never qualified for either the FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations finals
at senior levels. They play at Independence
Stadium. The Gambia won two CAF U-17 championships one in 2005 when
the country hosted, and 2009 in Algeria automatically qualifying for FIFA U-17
World Cup in Peru (2005) and Nigeria (2009) respectively. The U-20 also
qualified for FIFA U-20 2007 in Canada. The female U-17 also competed in FIFA
U-17 World Cup 2012 in Azerbaijan
CULLED FROM WIKIPAEDIA ,ONLINE LIBRARY.
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