The Gambia - Working conditions

The labor force was estimated to comprise of some 500,000 people in 1997, of which 45 percent were female and 36 percent aged between 10 and 14 years (an improvement compared with 1980, when 44 percent were estimated to be in this category). The labor force was estimated to have grown at an annual average rate of 3.6 percent in the period 1980-97. Agriculture is significant to the Gambian economy; about 75 percent of the people work on small farms for a livelihood, with a relatively small number employed in the manufacturing, tourism, and fishing industries. In agriculture, incomes are very low, and there is no regulation of working conditions.