Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

The Gambia (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

The Gambia

REGION: West Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Banjul
POPULATION: 1,478,000
LAND AREA: The size of Connecticut

It was in The Gambia, in the 18th century, that young Kunta Kinte was captured by slave traders and shipped to the New World — beginning the 200-year saga of Roots, the groundbreaking book by Alex Haley, published in 1976. One of the smallest countries in Africa, The Gambia is almost entirely surrounded by Senegal. The two nations joined in a federation, Senegambia, from 1982 to 1989; since then, they have remained separate countries. By and large, The Gambia has been politically stable since independence in 1965. Despite that stability, the Gambian people face challenges of poverty and widespread ill health. About 75 percent of the population depends on crops and livestock for its livelihood. They also engage in small-scale manufacturing activities, such as the processing of peanuts, fish and hides.
           

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 58.8 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 137/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [1.2 - 4.1]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 11 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 29% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 82% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 42.5%* (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $1,921 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $304 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 59.3% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP: asterisk* means approximate value.)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)