The name of Western region has been changed to West Coast region. Source [5] says, "Lamin Sanneh, the governor of the region confirmed this to the Daily Observer Tuesday. He explained that the name change was effected to depict the region's actual location in the country."
I've been asked if it's true that the status of the primary subdivisions of Gambia has been changed from division to region. There are a few pages that confirm this. According to source [3], the change occurred in 2007. Most websites, including the ones that report the change, continue to speak of them as divisions.
FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2006-03-23. It changes the name of MacCarthy Island to Central River.
Short name | GAMBIA |
ISO code | GM |
FIPS code | GA |
Language | English (en) |
Time zone | +0 |
Capital | Banjul |
The Gambia was a British colony until its independence on 1965-02-18. With Senegal, it formed a federation called Senegambia from 1982-02-01 to 1989-09-21. In text, the country name is often given as The Gambia; on maps, it usually appears as just Gambia. The country's stamps were inscribed Gambia until 1966, when The Gambia came into use. In alphabetized lists, the country invariably appears under G.
from Gambia River, corruption of native name Ba-Dimma: river
Gambia is divided into five regions and one independent city.
Region | HASC | Abv | ISO | FIPS | Population | Area(km.²) | Area(mi.²) | Capital |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banjul | GM.BJ |
|
B |
GA01 |
357,238 | 88 | 34 | Banjul |
Lower River | GM.LR |
LRR |
L |
GA02 |
72,546 | 1,618 | 625 | Mansa Konko |
Central River | GM.MC |
CRR |
M |
GA03 |
185,897 | 2,895 | 1,118 | Janjanbureh |
North Bank | GM.NB |
NBR |
N |
GA07 |
172,806 | 2,256 | 871 | Kerewan |
Upper River | GM.UR |
URR |
U |
GA04 |
183,033 | 2,070 | 799 | Basse (Santa Su) |
West Coast | GM.WE |
WCR |
W |
GA05 |
392,987 | 1,764 | 681 | Brikama |
6 regions | 1,364,507 | 10,691 | 4,128 | |||||
|
See the Districts of Gambia page.
The country is subdivided into 37 districts.
In addition to regions, Gambia is divided into local government areas (LGAs). Four regions are equivalent to LGAs; the other two are divided into two LGAs each. Apparently, the LGAs and the regions have both existed since independence (1965). Reference works almost unanimously list the regions, and maps show them, which is why I have chosen them as the primary subdivisions of Gambia. Here are the LGAs.
LGA | Cd | Div | 1963-04-17 | 1973-04-21 | 1983-04-15 | 1993-04-15 | 2003-04-15 | Area(km.²) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banjul | L |
BJ |
27,809 | 39,179 | 44,188 | 42,326 | 34,828 | 12 |
Basse | E |
UR |
58,049 | 86,167 | 111,388 | 155,059 | 183,033 | 2,069 |
Brikama | A |
WE |
55,393 | 91,013 | 137,245 | 234,917 | 392,987 | 1,764 |
Janjanbureh | H |
MC |
35,752 | 54,232 | 68,410 | 88,247 | 106,799 | 2,894 |
Kanifing | G |
BJ |
12,208 | 39,404 | 101,504 | 228,214 | 322,410 | 76 |
Kerewan | N |
NB |
63,045 | 93,388 | 112,225 | 156,462 | 172,806 | 2,256 |
Kuntaur | R |
MC |
29,003 | 47,669 | 57,594 | 67,774 | 79,098 | (1) |
Mansakonko | O |
LR |
34,227 | 42,447 | 55,263 | 65,146 | 72,546 | 1,618 |
8 LGAs | 315,486 | 493,499 | 687,817 | 1,038,145 | 1,364,507 | 10,689 | ||
|
Banjul: native bangjulo: rope mats (informants thought they were being asked, what are you making?)
Bathurst: after Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, British colonial secretary in 1816.
MacCarthy Island: after Sir Charles MacCarthy, governor of Gambia from 1814 to 1824.
Division | Population | Area(km.²) | Capital |
---|---|---|---|
Banjul | 42,326 | 12 | Banjul |
Kombo Saint Mary | 228,214 | 76 | Brikama |
Lower River | 65,146 | 1,618 | Mansa Konko |
MacCarthy Island | 156,021 | 2,894 | Georgetown |
North Bank | 156,462 | 2,256 | Kerewan |
Upper River | 155,059 | 2,069 | Basse Santa Su |
Western | 234,917 | 1,764 | Brikama |
7 subdivisions | 1,038,145 | 10,689 | |
|
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