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. Jawara remained the president winning several elections until he was overthrown by Yahya Jammeh in a bloodless 1994 coup. (Full article...)

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The city centre and Serekunda Market

Serekunda (or Serrekunda; Wolof pronunciation: [sɛːɾɛkuⁿd̺ɐ]) is a city and the largest urban centre in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area known as the Kombos, with about half of the population of the Gambia.

Serekunda was named for Sayerr Jobe, who founded it in the 19th century. It merged with several villages into a larger urban area. Banjul's growth has been restricted due to being a small island, leading to Serekunda growing in population and businesses moving there from Banjul. Serekunda has been the site of political protests, and candidates from several parties have won seats. Since the 1980s, Serekunda has been a regional centre of the Tablighi Jamaat religious movement. (Full article...)

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

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...that sprinter Jaysuma Saidy Ndure holds both the Gambian and Norwegian records in both the 100 and 200 metres?

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Sir Alexander Grant (1775 – 29 September 1827) was a British Army officer who served as the first Commandant of St Mary's Island from 1816 to 1826.

An officer with the newly-founded Royal African Corps, Grant negotiated the purchase of St Mary's Island in the Gambia River from the King of Kombo in 1816, following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The island was the first settlement in what would later become the Gambia Colony and Protectorate. During his time as commandant, Grant founded the town of Bathurst on the island, which later became Banjul and the capital city of The Gambia as an independent country. Grant also purchased MacCarthy Island, further down the Gambia River, and founded on it Georgetown - now Janjanbureh - as a settlement for freed slaves. (Full article...)

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Gambia Regiment Gambia women's national football team Gilbert Thomas Carter 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