Gambia
 |
Population: | 1,782,893 |
| Capital: | Banjul | |
| Language: | English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula and other indigenous vernaculars | |
| Literacy Rate: | 40.1% | |
| GDP/PP: | $1,300 | |
| Joined Commonwealth: | 18 February 1965 |
Media
Gambia's private media face severe restrictions, with radio stations and newspapers having to pay large licence fees.
A commission with wide-ranging powers, from issuing licences to jailing journalists, was set up under a 2002 media law. It was seen by critics as a threat to press freedom.
Further legislation introduced in late 2004 provided jail terms for journalists found guilty of libel or sedition. Deyda Hydara, one of the press law's leading critics and the editor of private newspaper The Point, was shot dead days after the law was passed.
"There is an absolute intolerance of any form of criticism," media rights organisation Reporters Without Borders said in its 2008 report.
State-run Radio Gambia broadcasts tightly-controlled news, which is also relayed by private radio stations. Radio France Internationale is available via an FM relay.
The government operates the only national television station.
Newspapers
The Gambia Echo - daily online paper
The Daily Observer - Banjul based private newspaper
The Point - independent daily
The Independent - private, bi-weekly
Foroyaa - private, bi-weekly
Television
Gambia Television - state-run, single-channel national service
Premium TV Network - private satellite channel
Radio
Radio Gambia - national broadcaster, programmes in English and vernacular languages
Radio 1 FM - private, music-based
West Coast Radio - private
City Limits Radio - private
Internet
Gambianow.com - private
