Subdivisions of the Gambia: the five regions, Banjul and districts

Regions along the river

Four of the five regions are named after the river and its banks: North Bank, Lower River, Central River and Upper River. The fifth, the West Coast Region, is governed from Brikama, and Banjul, on an island at the river mouth, forms a city of its own. The seats are Kerewan, Mansa Konko, Janjanbureh and Basse along the river.

District names often come in sets that divide one older name into parts. Lower Niumi and Upper Niumi, Lower, Central and Upper Baddibu, Niamina East, West and Dankunku, Kombo North/Saint Mary, Kombo Central, East and South: each set shares its first word. ISO 3166-2:GM codes only the first level, so none of the districts has an ISO code.

Regions, local government areas and districts

Two administrative maps exist side by side. Besides the five regions and the city, the country is divided into eight local government areas: Banjul and the municipality of Kanifing form Greater Banjul, and the Central River Region is split into the LGAs of Janjanbureh in the east and Kuntaur in the west. The ISO code of Central River, GM-M, keeps the initial of its former name, MacCarthy Island. Kanifing appears in this list as a district of Banjul City.