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The Gambia is a small independent republic on the bulge of Africa and forms part of the West African Region. It consists of a narrow strip of land on either side of the Gambia River and is almost surrounded by Senegal. The capital city is Banjul. Other major towns are Bwiam and Kuntaur.
The official language is English but Wolof, Fulani and Mandinka are widely spoken. The local currency is the Dalasi (Da). (US$ / Da - current exchange rate).
The international time zone for the Gambia is GMT and the international dialling code is +220. The airlines which fly to the Gambia are British Airways, Nigerian Airways and Ghana Airways and the national carrier, Gambia Airways. As at January 1996 visas are required by all visitors to the Gambia except nationals of Commonwealth, Scandinavian and some West European countries.
Malaria, cholera, hepatitis A, meningitis, typhoid fever, yellow fever and schistosomiasis may be contracted while travelling in The Gambia. Contraction risk is based on a number of factors including location, individual's state of health, current immunisation status, and the local disease situation.
Important gains have been made in Gambia in terms of implementing economic and structural reforms. However, budgetary slippages have lead to a sizeable increase in the overall budget deficit.
A number of reforms were implemented to strengthen budgetary performance, including the closing of public accounts for 1991/92-1999; developing an accounting framework to monitor expenditure on poverty reduction, including expenditure funded from the enhanced HIPC Initiative debt relief; developing a framework to facilitate timely reconciliation of treasury cash books with the accounts of central bank; and bringing a number of below-the-line accounts under budgetary control and reporting procedures.
The National Assembly enacted key legislation to encourage private sector activities, including the Privatization, Regulatory and Procurement Acts. To complement these efforts, Cabinet approved a fast-track privatization program for a number of public enterprises that do not require regulation.
The strong performance of agriculture, tourism, and the construction sectors make them vital to the country’s economy. Although the country's economy remains vulnerable to adverse external and domestic shocks, it is beginning to diversify its narrow economic base, which has been traditionally dependent on groundnuts exports.
GDP in 2002 amounted toUS$388.3 million, made up of agriculture 40.5%, industry 15% and services 44.6%. Gambia is rated 151st on the Human Development Index in 2003
