The area around the Gambia River was ruled by several African kingdoms in the pre-colonial era, including the Malinke and Wolof. European powers gradually took control of the area in the 19th century, and the current borders of The Gambia were established by Anglo-French Convention of 1889. The Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965 under the leadership of Sir Dawda Jawara. The People’s Progressive Party (led by Jawara) dominated electoral politics in The Gambia until 1994, when Yahya Jammeh took power in a coup d’etat.

Jammeh’s brutal rule continued until 2017, when he was forced to accept the electoral victory of Adama Barrow. Jammeh’s regime infamously maintained power through repression, violations of human rights, and control over the government and media. One of the current challenges for democratic consolidation is providing redress for the victims of Jammeh’s regime and improving the country’s rule of law more broadly. In 2021 the final report of the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission encouraged the prosecution of former Jammeh officials, a process for which there is strong support among Gambians. The government accepted almost all the Commission’s recommendations in May 2022. Since then, Germany instigated a universal jurisdiction case against Bai L – an alleged paramilitary member accused of crimes against humanity.  In 2024, a Swiss court sentenced a former interior minister to 20 years’ imprisonment for crimes against humanity.

The Gambia does not have a history of ethnic or religious conflict (despite its high ethnolinguistic diversity), but there have recently been concerns of increasing ‘tribalism’ in political discourse and connections to ethnicity in party politics. As Gambia has considered a new constitution in recent years, the possibility of a commitment to secularism has also been controversial. Another point of unrest has been land conflicts, which are worsened by the lack of governmental measures to regulate land ownership.

Progress on gender equality has been mixed. Two of the Supreme Court’s five judges and the President of the Court of Appeal are female. However, men significantly outnumber women in literacy. The context is further marked by higher unemployment rates for women, early marriage, the prevalence of gender-based violence, and low rates of women in high-level government positions. The practice of female genital cutting is a pressing political question; the practice is widespread in the country despite a 2015 ban.

The Gambia’s democratic and human rights performance has improved since 2017. The change is partially illustrated by its adoption of the Access to Information Bill, which legally protects the media. Going forward, it will be important to watch how the government acts on the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which could impact Political Equality. Another concern is the effect of climate change, particularly coastal erosion and extreme weather events such as heavy rainstorms. The Gambia’s reliance on agriculture leaves its economy vulnerable to weather-related disruptions. Corruption is also a barriers the country’s development and debt service. Gambians increasingly perceive the state to be showing favouritism toward some ethnic groups and the political salience of ethnicity and religion should be watched. Importantly, the lack of regulations for land ownership risks future escalations in land disputes.

(Last updated August 2024)