Gambia-Matt



=Gambia = Matt

**__Population__**
1,735,464 (July 2008)


 * Crude Birth Rate- 38.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)**
 * Crude Death Rate- 11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)**
 * Rate of Natural Increase- 26.62 per 1,000 population**
 * Infant Mortality Rate- total: 68.72 deaths/1,000 live births**
 * male: 75.07 deaths/1,000 live births**
 * female: 62.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)**
 * Life Expectancy- total population: 54.95 years**
 * male: 53.06 years**
 * female: 56.9 years (2008 est.)**
 * GNI PPP per capita- $1,970 (2005 est)**
 * Stage of Demographic Transition** - Stage 2

http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbpyrs.pl?cty=GA&out=s&ymax=250&submit=Submit

=__**Migration**__=

Gambia is a poor country in Africa. However, 20,000–30,000 migrants from Senegal, Mali, and Guinea migrate to the Gambia each year. They come to harvest the groundnut crop. In 2000 there were 185,000 migrants living in The Gambia, including 12,000 refugees. This number makes up 14% of the population. Part of the reason for the Gambia's population growth has been because of migration. Migration to the Gambia helps both the natives and migrants prosper; it has allowed for higher income and access to goods otherwise unavailable. It is difficult to find extensive information about the Gambia, but it appears as though migration is not a huge issue because there are only .94 migrants/1,000 population.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/imm_net_mig_rat-immigration-net-migration-rate http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?id=2140 http://www.popline.org/docs/0011/017204.html
 * 1) 54- The Gambia .94 migrant(s)/1,000 population

=__**FOLK CULTURE**__= http://www.accessgambia.com/information/bob-marley-day.html This link describes a special day in the Gambia- Bob Marley Day. http://www.accessgambia.com/information/wrestling.html = = This link describes wrestling, a popular tradition in the Gambia.


 * [[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/2/3769650_e24f173cc2.jpg?v=0 width="299" height="225" caption="DSC00163-1 by Neil Rickards."]] ||

The photo is of Gambian villagers dancing and was taken by Neil Rickards. http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilrickards/3769650/

=__ **Language** __=

The official language in the Gambia is English. Other tribal languages such as Mandinka and Wolof are popular, leading most Gambian people to be at least bilingual. Each ethnic group usually speaks its own tribal language in addition to English. It is difficult to find sources discussing the diffusion of languages through the Gambia, but I believe English spread through the colonization of Africa by English-speaking countries in the 18th or 19th century. I got most of my information from the following websites:

http://www.gambia.co.uk/Docs/About-The-Gambia/What-To-Expect/Language-And-Culture.aspx http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=gambia - This website shows statistics

I found a great video of a lady speaking Wolof, a tribal language in the Gambia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGr7Ic1yvMA&NR=1

=__**Religion**__= - Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1% - Around 700 BC: Berber Arab traders brought Islam to the Gambia - Attractive because Islam was the religion of wealthy traders - 15th Century: Portuguese traders brought Christianity to the Gambia -Christians and Muslims get along well; intermarriage common -Soninke-Marabout Wars- War between Marabouts who were Muslims and Soninkes who adhered to local religions

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/religion.html

= = =__ **Ethnicity** __=
 * African 99% || Non-African 1% ||
 * [|Fula] 18%, || [|Serahule] 9%, ||
 * [|Jola] 10%, || [|Wolof] 16%, ||
 * [|Mandinka] 42%, || [|Other] 4% ||

There are 8 main ethnic groups, the largest of them the Mandinka. The other groups include the Wolof, Akus, Jola, Fulanis, Serahules, Serer, and Tukulor. The prescence of so many groups has not let to great conflict, and each tribe tries to preserve their own language, culture, and music. It is increasingly difficult to classify Gambians by ethnicity due to inter-marriage and inter-tribal relations. There is no part of Gambia inhabited by only one ethnicity. Englsih is spoken by members of each ethnicity and Gambia is considered the melting pot of Western Africa ethnicities.

http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Gambia.html http://www.accessgambia.com/information/people-tribes.html

=__**Development**__= The Gambia is an LDC; it is ranked 155 out of 177 countries in the United National Human Development Index. Citizens in the Gambia are very poor, with most people living off of less than $1 per day. Once again, it is very difficult to find enough information but I managed to find the necessary and important facts.

Crude Birth Rate- 38.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.) Rate of Natural Increase- 26.62 per 1,000 population Infant Mortality Rate- total: 68.72 deaths/1,000 live births Life Expectancy- total population: 54.95 years Total Population of approximately 1.7 million with an annual percentage growth rate of 2.7% Literacy Rate: 40.1% Gross National Income of the country in terms of current US $ in 2004 has reached at 402.6 millions with a per capita GNI of 270.0 in current US $.
 * Social and Demographic Indicators:**
 * Economic Indicators:**

GDP in million constant 1995 US dollars 483 GDP PPP (million current international dollars) {a} 2,149 Gross National Income (PPP, in million current international dollars), 2000 {a} 2,116 GDP per capita, 2000 in 1995 US dollars 371 ; iin current international dollars 1,649 Average annual growth in GDP, 1991-2000 Total 3% Per capita 0% Percent of GDP earned by: Agriculture, 2000 38% Industry, 2000 13% Services, 2000 49%

www.earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/eco_cou_270.pdf http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/gambia/

=**Agriculture**=

The main cash crop in the Gambia is groundnuts (peanuts). 80% of the population depends on agriculture, either for income or food. Farming is the only way for poor citizens to earn money in much of the country. Agriculture contributes to 32% of the GDP, and it accounts for 70% of the country's foreign exchange earnings. 54% of the land area in The Gambia is good quality arable land, out of which about 39% is currently farmed by the farmers in The Gambia. 810 sq. km. (81,000 hectares) are irrigable, all in the (CRD) Central River Division (56%) and (URD) Upper River Division (44%). Almost 2,300 hectares of this potential area are currently under irrigation. Cash crops such as cotton and groundnuts are grown in the up-land areas and rice in lowland, riverine areas (rain-fed swamps or under irrigation) for both subsistence and cash. Other principal subsistence cereal crops grown are maize, sorghum and millet. 51% of the farmers are women.

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/farming-agriculture.html

=**Industry**=

Industries in the Gambia include groundnut processing, clothing manufacturing, village handicrafts, and building and repair of river crafts. There are various factories, such as candle, drinking, shoe, and soap factories. The Gambia has little natural resources and industry in general is not very widespread. This is due to Gambia being a very poor LDC.

Industry (including manufacturing, construction, mining, and power) in the Gambia is quite limited. It contributed an estimated 14 percent of GDP in 1998 and about 10 percent of the total labor force was employed in the industry at the 1993 census. Manufacturing is a significant sub-sector of industry. It contributed an estimated 6 percent of GDP in 1998 and employed about 6 percent of the labor force at the 1993 census. It is dominated by agro-industrial activities, most importantly the processing of groundnuts and fish.

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/The-Gambia-INDUSTRY.html

=Services=

The service sector accounts for 64% of the GDP in the Gambia. Professional servics, such as government expenditure, government employees, trade (including re-export), banking and finance, the tourism industry, telecom, transports, etc. are to be found within this sector. 25% of Gambians are employed in the service sector, so it is an important part of what little economic growth or vibrancy the Gambia has. Tourism, an industry with a large threshold and high range, accounts for only about 10% of the GNP but is responsible for most foreign investments in the Gambia. A military take-over of the government in 1994 hurt the tourism industry severely. Industry is lagging behind almost all other countries; there is little development and industry is limited to small-scale local trading. On the other hand, agriculture is the dominant service; 75% of the labor force is involved in agriculture.

http://www.afrol.com/Countries/Gambia/backgr_economy_sectors.htm http://www.afrst.uiuc.edu/outreach/business/countries/gambia.html http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:Qq_56EUvVmwJ:www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/Documents_English/gampub.en.doc+the+gambia+service+and+sectors+center&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

=**Urbanization**=

31% of people in the Gambia live in an urban area. 67% of people live in either urban areas or the slums. Because the Gambia is a third world country, the conditions are poor and there is little urban vibrancy. There is a 5% increase annually in both the urban and slum population. 80% of people in urban areas have access to clean water and 41% have proper sanitation. In terms of urban patterns and urbanization, the Gambia has little going for itself: it ranks 171st among 204 countries in its urban percentage. In the future, hopefully projects by the UN and other organizations will be funded and completed to help the Gambia prosper.

http://www.unchs.org/categories.asp?catid=197

=**Ecological Footprint**= =Gambia= Associated Graph Associated Graph

[|Christianity]