Portal:Africa/Countries/Selected country/21

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The Gambia, formally the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country on the African continent and is bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Its present boundaries were defined in 1889 by an agreement between the United Kingdom and France.

A variety of ethnic groups live in The Gambia with a minimum of intertribal friction, each preserving its own language and traditions. The Mandinka tribe is the largest, followed by the Fula, Wolof, Jola, and Serahule. Muslims constitute more than 90% of the population. Christians of different denominations account for most of the remainder.

The Gambia has a liberal, market-based economy characterized by traditional subsistence agriculture, a historic reliance on groundnuts (peanuts) for export earnings, a re-export trade built up around its ocean port, low import duties, minimal administrative procedures, a fluctuating exchange rate with no exchange controls, and a significant tourism industry. (Read more...)