The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia and which is commonly known as Gambia by its residents, is a country in Western Africa. The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, with a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.

Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's center and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its size is almost 10,500 km² with an estimated population of 1,700,000. On 18 February 1965, The Gambia was granted independence from the United Kingdom and joined The Commonwealth. Gambia began issuing its own postage stamps in 1869.