Gambia

The Gambia officially the Islamic Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa mostly surrounded by Senegal with a short strip of its coastline on the Atlantic Ocean at its western end. It is the smallest country in mainland Africa.

The Gambia is situated on either side of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of The Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 sq mi) with a population of 1,882,450 at the April 2013 census (provisional). Banjul is the Gambian capital, and the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese, during which era it was known as A Gâmbia. Later, on 25 May 1765, The Gambia was made a part of the British colony when the government formally assumed control, establishing the Province of Senegambia. On 18 February 1965, The Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom. Since then, the Gambia has had two leaders: Dawda Jawara, who ruled from 1970 until 1994, and Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a coup that year as a young army officer.

Following the 1 December 2016 elections, the elections commission declared Adama Barrow the winner of the presidential election. Barrow won with 45.5% of the vote, to incumbent Yahya Jammeh's 36.7%. A third party candidate, Mama Kandeh, won 17.8%. Barrow won the presidential nomination in to lead an opposition coalition of 7 parties – the largest of its kind since independence, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported. Jammeh, who had ruled for 22 years after taking power in 1994 in a bloodless coup, first announced he would step down after losing a 2016 election before declaring the results void and calling for a new vote.

The Gambia's economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and especially tourism. In 2008, about a third of the population lived below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.