Current Environmental Issues: deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent

Geography

Source: CIA

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal

Geographic Coordinates: 13 28 N, 16 34 W

Area:

total: 11,300 sq km
land: 10,000 sq km
water: 1,300 sq km

Land Boundaries"

total: 740 km
border countries: Senegal 740 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime Claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: extent not specified

Natural Hazards: drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

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

Climate

Tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)

Government

Government Type: Republic

Capital: Banjul

Independence Date: 18 February 1965 (from UK)

Legal System: based on a composite of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People and Society

Population: 1,735,464 (July 2008 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 43.9% (male 382,385/female 378,853)
15-64 years: 53.4% (male 459,315/female 466,689)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 24,303/female 23,919) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.724% (2008 est.)

Birthrate: 38.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: 0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 54.95 years
male: 53.06 years
female: 56.9 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 5.13 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Languages: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 47.8%
female: 32.8% (2003 est.)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resource: 8 cu km (1982)

Freshwater Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):

total: 0.03 cu km/yr (23%/12%/65%)
per capita: 20 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats

Irrigated Land: 20 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand, clay, petroleum

Land Use:

arable land: 27.88%
permanent crops: 0.44%
other: 71.68% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence Rate of HIV/AIDS in Adults: 1.2% (2003 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and yellow fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African states

Refugees and Internally Displaces Persons: refugees (country of origin): 5,955 (Sierra Leone) (2007)

Trafficking in Persons:

current situation: The Gambia is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; women and girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are trafficked for sexual exploitation - in particular to meet the demand for European sex tourism - and for domestic servitude; boys are trafficked within the country for forced begging and street vending; Gambian women and children may be trafficked to Europe through trafficking schemes disguised as migrant smuggling
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, The Gambia is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking; The Gambia failed to report any trafficking arrests, prosecutions, or convictions in 2007, and the government demonstrated weak victim protection efforts during the reporting period (2008)

Economy

The Gambia has no confirmed mineral or natural resource deposits 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 The Gambia. The Gambia's natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of the larger markets for tourism in West Africa. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts. Despite an announced program to begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans have been made public that would indicate that the government intends to follow through on its promises. Unemployment and underemployment rates remain extremely high; short-run economic progress depends on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management, on continued technical assistance from the IMF and bilateral donors, and on expected growth in the construction sector.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $2.106 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $653 million (2007 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 7% (2007 est.)

GDP-per capita (PPP): $1,300 (2007 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:

agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 8.7%
services: 58.5% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: NA%

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 37% (1998)

Industries:processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism, beverages, agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking, clothing

Exports: peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports

Export Partners: India 36.5%, China 15%, UK 9%, Indonesia 7.8%, France 4.9%, Belgium 4% (2006)

Imports: foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Import Partners: China 24.3%, Senegal 11.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.3%, Brazil 6.7%, Netherlands 5.2% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $58.15 million (2005)

Currency: dalasi (GMD)

Communications

Telephones-main line in use: 52,900 (2006)

Telephones- mobile/cellular: 795,900 (2007)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (government-owned) (1997)

Internet Hosts: 6 (2007)

Internet Users: 58,000 (2005)

Transportation

Airports: 1 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 3,742 km
paved: 723 km
unpaved: 3,019 km (2004)

Ports and Terminals: Banjul