This article is about the demographic

Demographics

Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 features of the population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of Gambia, including population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

, ethnicity

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

, education level, health of the populous, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

A wide variety of ethnic groups live in The Gambia

The Gambia

The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....

, each preserving its own language and traditions with minimal intertribal friction. The Mandinka

Mandinka people

The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....

 are the largest ethnic group with 40% of the population, followed by the Fula

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

, the Wolof

Wolof people

The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...

, the Jola

Jola people

The Jola are an ethnic group found in Senegal , The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. There are great numbers on the Atlantic coast between the southern banks of the Gambia River, the Casamance region of Senegal and the northern part of Guinea-Bissau...

, and the Serahuli. The Aku

Aku people

The Aku or Krio or Creole are a minority ethnic group of Gambia with roots among the Sierra Leone Creole. In Sierra Leone, Muslim Creoles are known as Akus or Marabouts, while in the Gambia, the term Aku refers to the entire Creole population...

 also live here although only constituting a small community. Approximately 25,000 non-Africans live in The Gambia, including about 20,000 Europeans and 2,500 people of Moroccan origin. Most Europeans are Britons

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 and most of them stepped out after independence.

Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s constitute more than 92% of the population. Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s of various denominations account for most of the remainder. Gambians officially observe the holidays of both religions and practice religious tolerance.

More than 80% of Gambians live in rural villages, although more and more young people come to the capital in search of work and education. While urban migration, development projects, and modernization are bringing more Gambians into contact with Western habits and values, the traditional emphasis on the extended family, as well as indigenous forms of dress and celebration, remain integral parts of everyday life.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

0-14 years: 43.6% (male 390,806; female 387,172)

15-64 years: 53.6% (male 473,478; female 481,315)

65 years and over: 2.8% (male 25,071; female 25,051) (2009 est.)

Birth rate

37.87 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 26

Death rate

11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 43

Net migration rate

0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 69

Urbanization

urbanization population: 57% of the total population (2008)

rate of urbanization: 4.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 67.33 deaths/1,000 live births

country comparison to the world: 29

male: 73.56 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 60.91 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
55.35 years

country comparison to the world: 193

male: 53.43 years

female: 57.34 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

• 4.96 children born/woman (2010 est.)
• 5.04 children born/woman (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 29

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.9% (2007 est.)

country comparison to the world: 111

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

8,2000 (2007 est.)

country comparison to the world: 111

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria

water contact diseases: schistomiasis

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

animal contact diseases: rabies (2009)

Ethnic groups

African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other

Other

The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...

 4%), non-African 1% (2003)

Languages

English (official), Mandinka

Mandinka language

The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by millions of Mandinka people in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau and Chad; it is the main language of The Gambia. It belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus fairly...

, Wolof

Wolof language

Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...

, Fula

Fula language

The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...

, other indigenous vernaculars

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 40.1%

male: 47.8%

female: 32.8% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy

School life expectancy

School Life Expectancy is a measure of how many years of education the average citizen of a country receives in their lifetime. It is used by statisticians and organisations to compare and assess the development of nations....

(primary to tertiary education)

total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2008)