Gambia, The, country, Africa, Gambian Political Geography

Related Category: Gambian Political Geography

Despite attempts at diversification, The Gambia's economy remains overwhelmingly dependent on the export of peanuts and their byproducts and the re-exporting of imported foreign goods to the other African nations. About three quarters of the population is employed in agriculture. Millet, sorghum, rice, corn, cassava, and beans are grown for subsistence, and cattle, sheep, and goats are raised. Some dried and smoked fish (fishing follows agriculture as the chief occupation), palm kernels, cotton lint, and hides and skins are also exported. The main industrial activities center around the processing of agricultural products. Tourism, which suffered following the 1994 military takeover, rebounded in the late 1990s. The European Union countries, China, Japan, and Senegal are the country's leading trading partners. The Gambia is one of the world's poorest nations and relies heavily on foreign aid.