Country Facts - Gambiathe

The People

Nationality

Gambian(s)

Ethnic Composition

African	99%
Various tribes are:
Mandinka	42%
Fula	18%
Wolof	16%
Jola	10%
Serahuli	9%
Other African	4%
Other non-African	1%

Religious Composition

Muslim	90%
Christian	9%
Indigenous beliefs	1%

Languages Spoken

English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, and other indigenous vernaculars

Education and Literacy

The current literacy rate is a low 47.5 percent nationwide.

Labor Force

Total: 400,000

By occupation:

Agriculture	75%
Industry	19%
Government	6%

Geography

Land Mass Total

4,362 sq mi (11,300 sq km)

Land

3,861 sq mi (10,000 sq km)

Water

501 sq mi (1,300 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 459 mi (740 km)
Border countries: Senegal 459 mi (740 km)

Coastline

49 mi (80 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: not specified
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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

Terrain

Flood plain of the Gambia river flanked by some low hills.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Atlantic Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: unnamed location 173 ft (53 m)

Natural Resources

Fish

Land use

Arable land	19%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	80%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent

Geography Note

Almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa

Demographics

Population

1,455,842 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	45.1%	Male: 329,530	Female: 326,627
15-64 years:	52.1%	Male: 377,357	Female: 383,548
65 years and over:	2.6%	Male: 20,237	Female: 18,543

Growth Rate

3.09% (2002)

Life Expectancy

53.98 years (2002)
Female: 56.01 years
Male: 52.02 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$1,770 (2001)

Infant Mortality

76.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	1.09 male(s)/female
Total population:	1 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

2.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural resources and has a limited agricultural base. About 75 percent of the population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and hides. Re-export trade normally constitutes a major segment of economic activity, but a 1999 government-imposed pre-shipment inspection plan, and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency) have drawn some of the re-export trade away from Banjul. The government's 1998 seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest purchaser of Gambian groundnuts; the following two marketing seasons have seen substantially lower prices and sales. A decline in tourism in 2000 has also held back growth. Unemployment and underemployment rates continue to run extremely high. Short-run economic progress remains highly dependent on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on responsible government economic management as forwarded by IMF technical help and advice, and on expected growth in the construction sector. Record crops under-girded sturdy growth in 2001. The government sharply increased its expenditures in 2002 and then increased it again by over 20 percent for the 2003 budget. GDP growth for 2003 is projected at a demanding 6 percent, while inflation will be held to 7 percent if government action proves correct.

Unemployment

Information not currently available

Inflation Rate

4% (2001)

Industries

Processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism; beverages; agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking; clothing

Exports

US$139.2 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

$200.3 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$2.5 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Benelux 26%, Japan 15%, UK 14%, Brazil 7% (2000)

Top Import Partners

China (including Hong Kong) 18%, UK 10%, Netherlands 8%, France 6%, Brazil 6% (2000)

Top Exports

Peanuts and peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels.

Top Imports

Foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Debt - external

$440 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid

$45.4 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year.

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	Monday through Thursday 8a.m. to 4p.m., and Friday 8a.m. to 12:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	Monday through Thursday 9a.m. to noon and 2p.m. to 5p.m., and Friday 9a.m. to 1p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to 1p.m.
Banks	Monday through Thursday 8a.m. to 1:30p.m., and Friday 8a.m. to 11a.m.	Closed
Government	Monday through Thursday 8a.m. to 4p.m., and Friday 8a.m. to 12:30p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Independence Day	February 18	February 18	February 18
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Good Friday	March 29	April 18	April 9
Easter²	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)³	May 14	May 2	April 21
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 15	August 15	August 15
Start of Ramadan*¹	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*²	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day*³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
³	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*¹	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*²	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
*³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press