什么是甘比亚

正式名称甘比亚共和国（Republic of the Gambia）

非洲西部共和国。是塞内加尔境内的一块飞地，国土从大西洋沿着甘比亚河往内陆延伸达475公里。面积10,689平方公里。人口约1,411,000（2001）。首都︰班珠尔。约有2/5的人口是马林克人，其次是富拉尼人（约占1/5）、沃洛夫人（约占1/7）和其他民族。语言：英语（官方语）。宗教：伊斯兰教。货币：达拉西（D）。甘比亚境内普遍多丘陵，属亚热带气候。高地为稀树草原，低洼地区为沼泽。甘比亚属开发中的市场经济，主要以花生种植和出口为基础。然而全国的可耕地面积仅约1/6。甘比亚河是主要的运输动脉。旅游业也是重要的岁收来源。政府形式是共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。

约西元13世纪初，沃洛夫、马林克和富拉尼人即开始在今甘比亚各地定居，并在该地区建立村落，後来又建立王国。从1455年葡萄牙人发现甘比亚河时起。欧洲人便开始在此地区探险。17世纪英国和法国在该地区设居民点，英国并在距甘比亚河口32公里处的岛上建立英属詹姆斯堡，为奴隶买卖的重要集聚点。1783年「凡尔赛和约」把甘比亚河划归英国。1807年英国废除奴隶制度後，在甘比亚河口建立一座城堡，对继续进行的奴隶贩卖实行封锁。1889年英、法两国画定了甘比亚现在的疆界。1894年英国宣布该区为其保护地。1965年甘比亚宣布独立。1970年成为国协内的一个共和国。1982年与塞内加尔结为有限的联邦，联邦於1989年解散。1990年代，政府处在动乱当中。

Gambia, The

Republic, western Africa. Constituting an enclave in Senegal, it lies along the Gambia River stretching inland 295 mi (475 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Area: 4,127 sq mi (10,689 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 1,248,000. Capital: Banjul. About two-fifths of the population is Malinke, followed by Fulani (about one-fifth), Wolof (about one-seventh), and other groups. Language: English (official). Religion: Islam. Monetary unit: dalasi. Gambia is generally hilly and the climate subtropical, with savanna in the uplands and swamps in low-lying areas. It has a developing market economy based largely on the production and export of peanuts, though only about one-sixth of the country is arable. The river serves as a major transportation artery. Tourism is an important source of revenue. It is a republic with one legislative body; its head of state and government is the president. Beginning around the 13th century AD, the Wolof, Malinke, and Fulani peoples settled in different parts of what is now Gambia and established villages and then kingdoms in the region. European exploration began when the Portuguese sighted the Gambia River in 1455. In the 17th century, when Britain and France both settled in the area, the British Fort James, on an island about 20 mi (32 km) from the river's mouth, was an important collection point for the slave trade. In 1783 the Treaty of Versailles reserved the Gambia River for Britain. After the British abolished slavery in 1807, they built a fort at the mouth of the river to block the continuing slave trade. In 1889 Gambia's boundaries were agreed upon by Britain and France; the British declared a protectorate over the area in 1894. Independence was proclaimed in 1965, and Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1970. It formed a limited confederation with Senegal in 1982, which was dissolved in 1989. During the 1990s, the government was in turmoil.