Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 30%
forest and woodland: 31%
other: 12%
Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching;
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification;
overfishing
natural hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Dumping
Geographic note: The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal
People ———
Population: 9,092,749 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 2,188,338; female 2,197,015)
15-64 years: 49% (male 2,111,330; female 2,336,987)
65 years and over: 3% (male 128,939; female 130,140) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.37% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 45.46 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)