Portal:The Gambia

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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 2.30% 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. Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless 1994 coup. (Full article...)

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The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone, Senegàmbi in Wolof and Pulaar) is, in the narrow sense, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, named after the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south. However, there are also text sources which state that Senegambia is understood in a broader sense and equated with the term the Western region. This refers to the coastal areas between Senegal and Sierra Leone, where the inland border in the east was not further defined.

Geographically, the region lies within the tropical zone between the Sahel and the forests of Guinea, with Senegal and Gambian Rivers underpinning the region's geographical unity. The region encompasses the modern states of Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as portions of Mauritania, Mali, and Guinea. It should not be confused with the recent Senegambia Confederation, which was a loose confederation between The Gambia and Senegal from 1982 to 1989, set up just after The Gambia's 1981 coup d'état where the Senegalese government intervened to reinstate the democratically elected Gambian government. (Full article...)

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Image 1Fish being smoked in Tanji
Image 2Arch 22 in the Gambian capital city of Banjul
Image 3A donkey cart at a beach in The Gambia
Image 4A view of Janjanbureh, Gambia
Image 5Gambian postage stamps from 1953
Image 6A Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko Nature Reserve in The Gambia
Image 7Life in Serekunda
Image 8Banjul International Airport

Image 8Banjul International Airport
Image 9Traders at a fish market on the Gambian coast
Image 10Front and back view of the Gambian dalasi and coins from 5 bututs to 1 dalasi
Image 11Gunjur is a small coastal town in south-western Gambia.

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... that Elders Colonial Airways ceased flying to Bathurst in The Gambia after its Short Scion Senior sank in the city's harbour in August 1939?

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The Gambia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its eighth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included two athletes, Suwaibou Sanneh and Saruba Colley, the former had qualified by setting a qualifying time that fell within the required standard and the latter entered via a wildcard place. Sanneh was selected as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Sanneh became the first Gambian athlete to advance into the semi-finals of the men's 100 metres, while Colley was eliminated after the quarter-final stages of the Women's 100 metres. (Full article...)

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Gambia Regiment Gambia women's national football team Gilbert Thomas Carter Alexander Grant (British Army officer) The Gambia at the 2000 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Olympics The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics