West Coast Division (Gambia) births. The poverty gap ratio was 22.4 per cent and literacy rate was 69.7 per cent as of 2003. The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and the width of the strip-like structure never exceeds . It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and otherwise surrounded by Senegal. The Gambia River flows throughout the country and is the principal source of water and a transport route. The banks of the river have swampy beaches, while it has alluvial soil in all other parts, which is conducive for the growth of rice. Peanuts are the major cash
History of the Gambia the following years, ordinances were passed to bring these places under the control of the Protectorate. Finally, a Protectorate Ordinance passed in 1902 brought the whole of the Gambia besides St Mary's Island under the Protectorate system. the Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. Also in 1901, the Gambia Company, the first colonial military unit of the Gambia, was founded. It was formed as part of the Sierra Leone Battalion of the new West African Frontier Force (late Royal West African Frontier Force). A 1906 ordinance abolished slavery. During World War