Gambia The Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

deforestation due to slash-and-burn agriculture; desertification; water pollution; water-borne diseases

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Climate

tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)

Land use

agricultural land: 56.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 41% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 43.9% (2018 est.)

other: 0% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 64.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

2.47% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 32.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.53 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 1.96 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 193,441 tons (2002 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Gambia river mouth (shared with Senegal and Guinea [s]) - 1,094 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major aquifers

Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Gambia The on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Gambia The 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Gambia The 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.