Gambia

Interesting Facts About Gambia

• The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa, bounded by Senegal on all sides except for its Atlantic Ocean coast to the west.
• The Mandinka people are the most numerous ethnic group in The Gambia, followed by the Fula, Wolof, and several other groups, each preserving their own language and traditions.
• English is the official language, but Mandinka is spoken as a first language by 38% of the population, with Pulaar, Wolof, and several other indigenous languages also widely spoken.
• Indigenous forms of dress and celebration and the traditional emphasis on the extended family remain integral parts of everyday life despite modernisation and Western influences.
• The Gambia is home to the Krio people (locally known as Akus), one of the smallest ethnic minorities, who descend from Sierra Leone Creole people and have traditionally concentrated in the capital.
• The urbanisation rate was 57.3% as of 2011, with the gap between urban and rural populations narrowing as more areas are declared urban.

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