Gambia Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

Gambia: population and cities

Population

Population

According to Countryaah website, Gambia has about 2.3 million residents. But the numbers fluctuate a bit – depending on which source you use.

Ethnic composition

The Gambia’s population consists of 99% African ethnic groups. Of these, about 42% are Mandinka, 18% Fulbe, 16% Wolof, 10% Jola and 9% Sarahuli.

Religious

affiliation Gambia’s residents are around 90% Muslim and around 8% Christian, the rest are among others traditional African religions.

National language

The official language of the country is English. About 20 African languages are used as colloquial languages, mainly Manding, Fula, Wolof, Jola and Serahule, as well as Arabic.

Capital and other cities

Banjul

The capital of Gambia, formerly called Bathurst, has about 32,000 residents. Due to its location on the sandbar island of St. Mary’s Island, further growth of the city is not possible. According to Abbreviation Finder, WAG stands for Gambia in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.

Banjul is bordered by mangrove swamps and is connected to the rapidly expanding Serrekunda via the Banjul-Serekunda Highway. The landmark of the Gambia, the 35 meter high Arch 22, is located in the capital, which is well worth seeing.

Brikama

Approximately 95,000 people live in Gambia’s second largest city, known for its wood carvings. The city is considered the center of the music of Gambia and can be proud of the Gambia College.

Serekunda

Serekunda is the largest and the economic capital of the country with approx. 380,000 residents. It is connected to the Gambia capital on an island via the Banjul-Serrekunda Highway.

Other cities are:

– Bakau with around 30,000 residents and

– Farafenni with around 21,000 residents.

Gambia: geography, map

Gambia is the smallest country in terms of area on the African continent. The country is located in West Africa in the middle of Senegal on the two banks of the Gambia River on the Atlantic Ocean. Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Gambia.

The country covers an area of 11,295 km² and a coast to the Atlantic Ocean with a length of around 80 km. Its area is structured as follows:

  • ForestAround 25% of the country is forested.
  • Meadow and pasture landAround 8% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
  • Arable land and fieldsAround 14% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing rice, millet and peanuts.
  • WaterAround 11.5% of the country’s area is water. The Gambia River, with its side arms and the estuary delta, has the majority of this.

The Gambia shares a border with Senegal that is around 740 km long.

Tidal range in Gambia

On the coast of Gambia the mean tidal range is around 3.70 m. For detailed explanations of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow.

Compare

The world’s highest tidal range can be found in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where it is up to 16 m, and at spring tide even over 20 m. The Bay of Fundy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax. On the German North Sea coast it varies between 1 m and 3 m. In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 m, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

The Gambia extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from around 13 ° to 13 ° 50 ‘north latitude Δλ = from around 013 ° 50′ to 016 ° 50 ‘west longitude

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Time

For Gambia, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time (without summer time). A minus sign means that it is earlier there and a plus sign that it is later than after CET:

Δt (CET) = – 1 h = GMT

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

Highest point of the sun in Banjul

Banjul lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 13.5 °. If the declination of the sun has the value of 13.5 N, and thus the image point of the sun is above the city, the sun is perpendicular there. This happens exactly twice a year, roughly 52 days after March 21st and 52 days before September 21st (for details see position of the sun).

Attention

If the image point of the sun and thus the declination δ is north of the latitude of Banjul, the sun is not in the south at noon, as in our latitudes, but in the north. In this case, the sun moves from east to north to west, where, like us, it sets.

Mountains, rivers, lakes

There are no mountains in the Gambia. The highest point in the country has no name of its own and is only 53 m high.

The longest river in the country is the Gambia with a length of 1,100 km. Other rivers are the Benifet, the Tanji and the Allahein.

There are no lakes to speak of in the Gambia.

Islands

At the mouth of the Gambia River there are several small islands, including James Island, Baboon Island with an area of 5.85 km² and Janjanbureh Island.

The Atlantic

The Gambia borders the Atlantic Ocean in the west of the country with a length of around 80 km.

Gambia Population