The Gambia is located in Western Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal. The total area is 10.689.28 sq. km. and most of the land stretches along  both sides of the river Gambia.

The fast growing population has reached more than 1.3 Million people. The growth rate is one of the highest on the continent and prognoses predict that the population will double in the next 18 years.

The capital of the Gambia is Banjul, situated on an island at the mouth of the river Gambia.

There are five main tribes in the Gambia. The Mandikas and the Fulas are the biggest ones. Other ethnic groups are the Wolof, especially in the Banjul area, the Jolas and the Serahuli.

The main religion which is Islam, covers about 90% of the population, while Christianity is about 9%.

The Gambian history before the arrival of the Europeans is speculative. The Mandinka and Wolof kingdoms, fully established by the 19th century, were still in the formative stages when the Portuguese explorer Alvise Ca'ote da Mosto arrived in 1455.

The 18th century witnessed a struggle for prestige in The Gambia between France and England, before a conference in Paris in 1889 obtained a French agreement of British control of the Gambia River and the drawing of the present day boundaries. The Gambia remained a British Protectorate until 1965, when finally independence within the Commonwealth was granted. The Gambia became a Republic on April 24th 1970.

The Gambian economy is based on peanuts, the main crop and the source of most governmental revenue. Over the years, tourism has also become an important source of income for the country.