Portal:The Gambia

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 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 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 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 1994 coup. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Saidy Ndure at the 2011 European Team Championships (1st league)

Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (born 1 January 1984) is a Gambian-Norwegian sprinter. He is of Serer heritage of the noble Ndure family. In 2002, he went to Oslo, aged 18 and settled with his father who has lived in Norway since the 1970s. Having changed nationality from Gambia to Norway in 2006, he holds Norwegian records in the 100 and in the 200 metres, and is the seventh and fourth fastest European of all times on the two distances. He has a bronze medal from the African Championships and several top-three placings in IAAF Golden League meets and the IAAF World Athletics Final. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected image - show another

Image 1Traders at a fish market on the Gambian coast
Image 2Fish being smoked in Tanji
Image 3Front and back view of the Gambian dalasi and coins from 5 bututs to 1 dalasi
Image 4A Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko Nature Reserve in The Gambia
Image 5Gambian postage stamps from 1953
Image 6A view of Janjanbureh, Gambia
Image 7Arch 22 in the Gambian capital city of Banjul
Image 8Gunjur is a small coastal town in south-western Gambia.
Image 9Life in Serekunda
Image 10A donkey cart at a beach in The Gambia
Image 11Banjul International Airport

edit

Did you know - show another

... that the opening of the Senegambia bridge has eliminated the need for a 400-kilometre (250 mi) diversion to cross the Gambia River when the ferry is out of use?

More did you know...

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

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...)

List of Good articles
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