The Gambia and Banjul in other languages: Gambija, regions and anthem
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is coded GM, GMB and 270 in ISO 3166-1. Its name appears here in 164 languages, from Gambija to Gâmbia, and Banjul in 53, with the five regions, the city of Banjul and the national anthem.
Official languagesEnglish
Checked
- alpha-2
- GM
- alpha-3
- GMB
- numeric
- 270
Republic of The Gambia
- English
- The GambiaRepublic of The Gambia
- Capital
- BanjulBanjul
ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026. Flag after the Wikimedia Commons drawing: red, blue and green bands divided by thin white stripes, proportion 2:3.
The Gambia in other languages: list of exonyms
| Languages | ISO 639 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English, Aragonese, Asturian, Breton, Welsh, Danish, Estonian, Basque, Faroese, Finnish, Kven, West Frisian, Galician, Hungarian, Igbo, Interlingua, Indonesian, Italian, Javanese, Latin, Limburgish, Ladin, Malagasy, Nahuatl, Dutch, Norwegian, Novial, Polish, Romansh, Romanian, Aromanian, Sicilian, Slovak, Spanish, Albanian, Saterland Frisian, Swahili, Swedish, Võro | eng / arg / ast / bre / cym / dan / est / eus / fao / fin / fkv / fry / glg / hun / ibo / ina / ind / ita / jav / lat / lim / lld / mlg / nah / nld / nor / nov / pol / roh / ron / rup / scn / slk / spa / sqi / stq / swa / swe / vor | Gambia | same as written |
| Lower Sorbian, Croatian, Upper Sorbian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovenian | dsb / hrv / hsb / lav / lit / slv | Gambija | same as written |
| Bambara, Cornish, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Rundi | bam / cor / kin / lin / run | Gambi | same as written |
| Czech, French, Franco-Provençal, Friulian, Jersey Norman French | ces / fra / frp / fur / jnf | Gambie | same as written |
| Catalan, Occitan, Sardinian | cat / oci / srd | Gàmbia | same as written |
| Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Karakalpak | crh / gag / kaa | Gambiya / Гамбия | Gambiya |
| German, Luxembourgish, Low German | deu / ltz / nds | Gambia | same as written |
| Hausa, Turkish, Zazaki | hau / tur / zza | Gambiya | same as written |
| Northern Sami, Tetum | sme / tet | Gámbia | same as written |
| Afrikaans | afr | Gambië, Gambia | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Qambiya / Гамбија | Qambiya |
| Bosnian | bos | Gambija / Гамбија / غامبٖىيا | Gambija |
| Esperanto | epo | Gambio | same as written |
| Scottish Gaelic | gla | A’ Ghaimbia | same as written |
| Irish | gle | An Ghaimbia / An Ġaimbia | same as written |
| Manx | glv | Yn Ghambia | same as written |
| Haitian Creole | hat | Ganbi | same as written |
| Icelandic | isl | Gambía | same as written |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | Gambiya | same as written |
| Maltese | mlt | Gambja | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | Gambia / Гамбия | Gambia |
| Malay | msa | Gambia / ݢامبيا | Gambia |
| Norman French | nrm | Gaumbie | same as written |
| Portuguese | por | Gâmbia | same as written |
| Quechua | que | Gambya | same as written |
| Kalderash Romani | rmy | Gambiya / गाम्बिया | Gambiya |
| Slovio | slo | Gambia / Гамбиа | Gambia |
| Samogitian | smg | Gambėjė | same as written |
| Samoan | smo | Kamepia | same as written |
| Somali | som | Gaambiya | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Gambiýa / Гамбия | Gambiýa |
| Uzbek | uzb | Gambiya / Гамбия / گەمبىيە | Gambiya |
| Vietnamese | vie | Găm-bi-a | same as written |
| Volapük | vol | Gambän | same as written |
| Walloon | wln | Gambeye | same as written |
| Wolof | wol | Gàmbi | same as written |
| Zulu | zul | iGambiya | same as written |
| Abaza, Altai, Avar, Bulgarian, Khakas, Komi, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Lezgi, Russian, Yakut, Tuvan, Udmurt, Kalmyk | abq / alt / ava / bul / kjh / kom / krc / kum / lez / rus / sah / tyv / udm / xal | Гамбия | Gambija |
| Chuvash, Mongolian, Ossetian | chv / mon / oss | Гамби | Gambi |
| Rusyn, Ukrainian | rue / ukr | Ґамбія | Gambija |
| Abkhaz | abk | Гамбиа | Gambia |
| Bashkir | bak | Гамбия / Gambiya | Gambiya |
| Belarusian | bel | Гамбія / Hambija | Hambija |
| Chechen | che | Гамби / Gambi | Gambi |
| Kazakh | kaz | Гамбия / گامبيا / Gambïya | Gambïya |
| Kabardian | kbd | Гамбиэ | Gambiă |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Гамбия / گامبىيا / Gambiya | Gambiya |
| Kurdish (Caucasus, Cyrillic) | kmr | Гамби / Gambî | Gambî |
| Meadow Mari | mhr | Гамбий | Gambij |
| Macedonian | mkd | Гамбија | Gambija |
| Serbian | srp | Гамбија / Gambija | Gambija |
| Tatar | tat | Гамбия / Gambiä / گامبىيە | Gambiä |
| Tajik | tgk | Гамбия / گمبیه / Gambija | Gambija |
| Arabic | ara | غامبيا, غمبيا, جامبيا, جمبيا | Ġāmbiyā, Ġambiyā, Gāmbiyā, Gambiyā |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | قامبییا / Qambiya | Qambiya |
| Sorani Kurdish | ckb | گامبیا / Gambiya | Gambiya |
| Persian | fas | گامبیا / Gâmbiyâ | Gâmbiyâ |
| Western Punjabi | pnb | گیمبیا | Gēmbiyā |
| Dari | prs | گامبیا | Gāmbiyā |
| Pashto | pus | ګامبيا, ګمبيا | Gāmbiyā, Gambiyā |
| Uyghur | uig | گامبىيە / Gambiye / Гамбия | Gambiye |
| Urdu | urd | گیمبیا, گمبیا | Gēmbiyā, Gambiyā |
| Dhivehi | div | ގެންބިއާ | Genbiā |
| Hebrew | heb | גמביה, גאמביה | Gambyah, Gāmbyah |
| Ladino | lad | גאמביה / Gambia | Gambia |
| Yiddish | yid | גאַמביע | Gambye |
| Amharic | amh | ጋምቢያ | Gambiya |
| Greek | ell | Γκάμπια | Gkámpia |
| Armenian | hye | Գամբիա | Gambia |
| Georgian, Mingrelian | kat / xmf | გამბია | Gambia |
| Laz | lzz | გამბია / Gambia | Gambia |
| Hindi | hin | गांबिया | Gāṃbiyā |
| Bengali | ben | গাম্বিয়া | Gāmbiyā |
| Gujarati | guj | ગામ્બિઆ | Gāmbiyā |
| Oriya | ori | ଗାମ୍ବିଆ | Gāmbiā |
| Punjabi | pan | ਗਾਂਬੀਆ | Gāṃbīā |
| Sinhala | sin | ගැම්බියාව | Gæmbiyāva |
| Kannada | kan | ಗ್ಯಾಂಬಿಯ | Gæṃbiya |
| Malayalam | mal | ഗാംബിയ | Gāṃbiya |
| Tamil | tam | கம்பியா, காம்பியா | Kampiyā, Kāmpiyā |
| Telugu | tel | గాంబియా | Gāṃbiyā |
| Chinese | zho | 岡比亞/冈比亚 | Gāngbǐyà |
| Japanese | jpn | ガンビア | Ganbia |
| Korean | kor | 감비아 | Gambia |
| Tibetan | bod | གེམ་བྷི་ཡ། | Gem.bī.ya |
| Burmese | mya | ဂမ်ဘီယာ | Gãbʰiya |
| Thai | tha | แกมเบีย | Kǣmbiya |
| Khmer | khm | ហ្គាំប៊ី, ហ្គែមបៀរ | Hkāṃbī, Hkæmbier |
Most languages drop the article that English keeps in The Gambia; Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx add one of their own.
A country named after its river
The Gambia is named after its river. The Mandinka called the river Kambra or Kambaa; Portuguese sailors of the 15th century adopted the name, and it became Gambia under British rule. The article is part of the official name. Before independence in 1965, Prime Minister Dawda Jawara asked the British committee on geographical names to keep it, in part to avoid confusion with Zambia. The long form, Republic of The Gambia, dates from 1970; it was briefly the Islamic Republic of the Gambia between December 2015 and January 2017.
In the table the article mostly disappears. Croatian, Latvian, Lithuanian and the Sorbian languages write Gambija, French Gambie, Portuguese Gâmbia, Turkish and Hausa Gambiya, Esperanto Gambio. The Celtic languages supply their own article: A’ Ghaimbia in Scottish Gaelic, An Ghaimbia in Irish, Yn Ghambia in Manx. Zulu adds its noun prefix in iGambiya.
Banjul was called Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, from its founding in 1816 until 24 April 1973; the island it stands on was renamed St Mary’s Island at the same time. The present name returns to the island’s earlier name, Banjul. Exonyms rarely change it beyond the spelling of j: Polish Bandżul, Latvian Bandžula, Russian Банжул or Банджул, Esperanto Banĵulo.
Banjul in other languages
| Languages | ISO 639 | Name | Romanised |
|---|---|---|---|
| English, French | eng / fra | Banjul | same as written |
| German, Luxembourgish, Low German | deu / ltz / nds | Banjul | same as written |
| Azerbaijani | aze | Bancul / Банҹул | Bancul |
| Bosnian | bos | Banjul / Банџул / بانجۆل | Banjul |
| Esperanto | epo | Banĵulo | same as written |
| Irish | gle | Banjul | same as written |
| Kurmanji Kurdish | kur | Bancûl | same as written |
| Latvian | lav | Bandžula | same as written |
| Lithuanian | lit | Bandžulis | same as written |
| Moldovan | mol | Bandjul / Банжул | Bandjul |
| Malay | msa | Banjul / بانجول | Banjul |
| Polish | pol | Bandżul | same as written |
| Samogitian | smg | Bandžolis | same as written |
| Turkmen | tuk | Banjul / Банджул | Banjul |
| Uzbek | uzb | Banjul / Банджул / بەنجۇل | Banjul |
| Bulgarian, Ukrainian | bul / ukr | Банжул | Banžul |
| Bashkir | bak | Банжул / Banjul | Banjul |
| Belarusian | bel | Банжул / Banžuł | Banžuł |
| Kazakh | kaz | Банжул / بانجۋل / Banjwl | Banjwl |
| Kyrgyz | kir | Банжул / بانجۇل / Bancul | Bancul |
| Mongolian | mon | Банжул | Banǰul |
| Russian | rus | Банжул, Банджул | Banžul, Bandžul |
| Serbian | srp | Банџул / Bandžul | Bandžul |
| Tatar | tat | Банжул / Banjul / بانژۇل | Banjul |
| Tajik | tgk | Банжул / بنژول / Banƶul | Banƶul |
| Arabic | ara | بنجول, بانجول | Banǧūl, Bānǧūl |
| South Azerbaijani | azb | بانجول / Bancul | Bancul |
| Persian | fas | بانجول / Bânjul | Bânjul |
| Western Punjabi | pnb | بانجول | Banjūl |
| Pashto | pus | بنجول | Banjūl |
| Uyghur | uig | بانجۇل / Banjul / Банджул | Banjul |
| Urdu | urd | بانجول | Banjūl |
| Hebrew | heb | בנג׳ול, באנג׳ול | Banjūl, Bānjūl |
| Yiddish | yid | באַנזשול | Banžul |
| Amharic | amh | ባንጁል | Banjul |
| Greek | ell | Μπανζούλ, Μπαντζούλ | Mpanzoýl, Mpantzoýl |
| Armenian | hye | Բանջուլ | Banǰoul |
| Georgian | kat | ბანჯული | Banǰuli |
| Bengali | ben | বানজুল / বান্জুল, বাঞ্জুল | Bānjul, Bāñjul |
| Punjabi | pan | ਬਾਨਜੂਲ | Bānjūl |
| Kannada | kan | ಬಾಂಜುಲ್ | Bāṃjul |
| Malayalam | mal | ബാന്ജൂൾ, ബന്ജൂൽ | Bānjūḷ, Banjūl |
| Tamil | tam | பன்ஜுல் | Paṉjul |
| Telugu | tel | బాన్జుల్ | Bānjul |
| Chinese | zho | 斑珠爾/班珠尔 | Bānzhū'ěr |
| Japanese | jpn | バンジュール | Banjūru |
| Korean | kor | 반줄 | Banjul |
| Thai | tha | บันจูล | Bânčūn |
| Khmer | khm | បង់ហ្សុល, បានជូល | Băṅhsul, Bānčūl |
The five regions and the city of Banjul
The Gambia is divided into five regions along the river and the capital city of Banjul. ISO 3166-2 calls the regions divisions and uses short names; the local column gives the names in use in the country.
| ISO 3166-2 | Local name | English | Administrative centre | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City1 | ||||
| GM-B | Banjul City | Banjul | BanjulBanjul | |
| Regions5 | ||||
| GM-M | Central River Region | Central River | JanjanburehJanjanbureh | Note Code M after the former name MacCarthy Island |
| GM-L | Lower River Region | Lower River | Mansa KonkoMansa Konko | |
| GM-N | North Bank Region | North Bank | KerewanKerewan | |
| GM-U | Upper River Region | Upper River | BasseBasse | |
| GM-W | West Coast Region | Western | BrikamaBrikama | |
Codes and ISO names: ISO 3166-2:GM on the ISO Online Browsing Platform as tabulated by Wikipedia, checked 28 October 2026. No subdivision has changed in the standard; the entry was last updated on 18 December 2014 to align the country’s names with UNTERM.
For The Gambia Our Homeland
The national anthem in English.
- For The Gambia, our homeland / We strive and work and pray, / That all may live in unity, / Freedom and peace each day.
- Let justice guide our actions / Towards the common good, / And join our diverse peoples / To prove man’s brotherhood.
- We pledge our firm allegiance, / Our promise we renew / Keep us, great God of nations, / To The Gambia ever true.
Questions about the names of the Gambia
Why is it The Gambia with a capital T?
The article is part of the official name. It was kept at independence in 1965, partly so the country would not be confused with Zambia.
What was Banjul called before 1973?
Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst. The city took the name Banjul on 24 April 1973.
What are the ISO codes of the Gambia?
GM, GMB and 270 in ISO 3166-1. The regions and the city of Banjul are GM-B, GM-L, GM-M, GM-N, GM-U and GM-W in ISO 3166-2.