Music of the Gambia for an international competition to produce an anthem (and flag) before independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, is an independent coastal state along the River Gambia. It gained its separate identity as a colony of the United Kingdom while Senegal was a colony of France, but the two countries' traditional music are very much intertwined. Among Gambia's people, who together number some 1.728 million (2010), 42% are Mandinka, 18% Fula, 16% Wolof\Serer, 10% Jola and 9% Soninke, the remainder being 4% other African and 1% non-African (2003). 63% of Gambians live
The Gambia (1965–1970) government) from 1965, became the first President of the Gambia. Queen Elizabeth II did not visit the Gambia between 1965 and 1970. She visited in 1961 (3–5 December). The Gambia (1965–1970) Between 1965 and 1970, The Gambia was an independent sovereign state that shared its head of state with the United Kingdom and other states headed by Queen Elizabeth II. It was a predecessor to the modern-day republic of The Gambia. Gambia was given independence from Britain in 1965 under the Gambia Independence Act 1964, which unified the British Crown Colony and Protectorate of the Gambia into an independent sovereign