← THE SECTION CUT · AFRICA

Gambia

13.5N 16.6W · 25 EVENTS · 9 DOMAINS
INDEPENDENCE FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM · 18 FEBRUARY 1965
▼ PULL DOWN TO EXTRACT THE CORE
1994 – present · The Jammeh era and the 2017 transition
5 EVENTS
1 December 2016 · Barrow defeats Jammeh 3 REFS
19–21 January 2017 · ECOWAS intervention and transfer of power 3 REFS
1965 – 1994 · Independence, republic and the Jawara years
5 EVENTS
18 February 1965 · Independence from the United Kingdom 3 REFS
1981 · Coup attempt and Senegalese intervention 3 REFS
1816 – 1965 · The British colony and the river enclave
4 EVENTS
1902 · Colony and Protectorate established 3 REFS
1962 · Jawara leads toward self-rule 3 REFS
1455 – 1807 · The river, European trade and the Atlantic slave trade
5 EVENTS
1455–1456 · Portuguese ships enter the Gambia 3 REFS
17th–18th centuries · The Atlantic slave trade on the river 3 REFS
c. 1200 – 1600 · The Mali Empire and the Mandinka kingdoms
3 EVENTS
13th century · Mali's reach extends to the Gambia 3 REFS
c. 13th–14th centuries · Mandinka kingdoms of the river 3 REFS
c. 300 BCE – 1200 CE · Stone circles and the peoples of the river
3 EVENTS
c. 3rd century BCE · Megalith-building begins along the river 3 REFS
c. 10th–14th centuries CE · A sacred landscape of more than a thousand monuments 3 REFS
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EVERY ERA, EVENT AND REFERENCE ON ONE PAGE
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Quick facts · atlas reference
Capital
Banjul
Population
2.1 m
Area
10,689 km²
Region
Western Africa
Languages
English
Currency
dalasi (D)
Demonym
Gambian
UN member
Yes
Dossier · press a specimen — it turns over

Economy

GDP
$2.6 B’25 WB-WDI
GDP per capita
$919’25 WB-WDI
GDP growth
5.9%’25 WB-WDI
Inflation
11.6%’24 WB-WDI
Trade openness
62.2%’25 WB-WDI

Society

Population
2.8 m’25 WB-WDI
Life expectancy
66.1 yrs’24 WB-WDI
Urban population
65.0%’25 WB-WDI
Fertility rate
3.9’24 WB-WDI
Literacy rate
51.6%’21 WB-WDI

Governance

Voice & accountability
53.7’24 WB-WGI
Political stability
65.6’24 WB-WGI
Government effectiveness
40.9’24 WB-WGI
Regulatory quality
44.4’24 WB-WGI
Rule of law
50.2’24 WB-WGI
Control of corruption
41.1’24 WB-WGI

Health

Health spending
2.9%’23 WB-WHO
Physicians
0.09’23 WB-WHO
Under-5 mortality
42.4’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO
Measles immunisation
83.0%’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO
Safe drinking water
48.2%’24 WB-WHO

Education

Adult literacy
51.6%’21 WB-UNESCO
Education spending
2.8%’23 WB-UNESCO
Primary enrolment
100.4%’25 WB-UNESCO
Secondary enrolment
107.0%’21 WB-UNESCO
Tertiary enrolment
13.5%’24 WB-UNESCO

Technology

R&D spending
0.1%’18 WB-UNESCO
Researchers (per million)
51’18 WB-UNESCO
Internet users
49.5%’24 WB-ITU
Mobile subscriptions
126’24 WB-ITU
High-tech exports
3.3%’24 WB-WDI

Geography

Land area
10,120 km²’23 WB-WDI
Forest area
22.3%’23 WB-WDI
Agricultural land
62.6%’23 WB-WDI
CO₂ per capita (t)
0.2’24 WB-WDI
Renewable energy
47.7%’22 WB-WDI

Resources

Resource rents
2.9%’21 WB-WDI
Oil rents
0.0%’21 WB-WDI
Mineral rents
0.0%’21 WB-WDI
Forest rents
2.9%’21 WB-WDI
Electricity access
69.0%’24 WB-WDI

Military

Military burden
0.6%’24 WB-SIPRI
Defense spending
$14 M’24 WB-SIPRI
Armed forces
4,000’20 WB-SIPRI

A hatched gap has no underside — there is nothing to turn over. Absence is stated, never zeroed.

The record · what changed here
EVERY CLAIM SOURCED
ABSENCE ≠ ZERO
NO SIDES