Gambia records 94.5% total-population male circumcision prevalence (Morris 2016). With ~95-96% of the population Muslim and all major ethnic groups predominantly Muslim, circumcision is near-universal. The distinctive Gambian angle is the Kankurang — the masked figure of Mandinka male initiation, UNESCO-inscribed in 2005 as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Kankurang accompanies and protects boys during the circumcision ceremony and supervises their post-circumcision education in the rules of adult conduct, making it one of the most formally documented cultural circumcision traditions in West Africa.
Gambia records 94.5% total-population male circumcision prevalence (Morris 2016, PMC4772313). With approximately 95-96% of the population Muslim and all major ethnic groups — Mandinka (~34%), Fula (~22%), Wolof (~15%), Jola (~10%), Serahule (~8%) — predominantly Muslim, circumcision (khitan) is near-universal across the country. The figure is model-derived (Pew religious-demographic data, near-universal Muslim circumcision assumption) rather than from a direct national survey; the small non-Muslim minority (~4%) accounts for the departure from 100%.
The distinctive Gambian angle is the Kankurang — the masked figure of Mandinka male initiation, inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List in 2005 and extended in 2008. The UNESCO registry states verbatim that the Kankurang "is associated with circumcision ceremonies and initiatory rites" and that the ceremony provides "the occasion for young circumcised boys to learn the rules of behaviour." The past-participle framing ("circumcised boys") places circumcision before or concurrent with the Kankurang's educational phase. The masked figure accompanies and protects initiates during the circumcision ceremony and supervises their post-circumcision transition to adult status, serving as a guardian of social order during this vulnerable liminal period. Mandinka initiation typically occurs between ages 8 and 13; most Gambian boys are circumcised by age 15 regardless of ethnicity. Note: the claim that the Kankurang's primary function is warding off evil spirits was adversarially refuted (0-3); the verified function is protection and supervision of initiates. The claim that the Kankurang is practised across four West African nations was also refuted (0-3); restrict to the Mandinka/Manding people in Gambia.
No Gambian statute specifically governs non-therapeutic male circumcision. The practice is unregulated in the absence-of-prohibition sense. Female genital mutilation is an entirely separate matter: Gambia enacted the Women's Amendment Act 2015 banning FGM, which was subsequently repealed by parliament in 2023 (FGM Repeal Act 2023). This repeal concerns female cutting exclusively and has no legal bearing on male circumcision; the two must not be conflated. The legal asymmetry — male circumcision unregulated, female cutting subject to contested legislation — is notable but separate.
Gambia has an HIV prevalence of approximately 1.7% (UNAIDS). Gambia is not a WHO VMMC priority country; VMMC is recommended only for 15 Eastern and Southern African countries with generalised HIV epidemics. No Gambia-specific circumcision complication or mortality series was identified in indexed literature; the nearest regional harm proxy is Hedjazi et al. 2012 (Iran). Traditional initiation circumcision in low-resource settings carries inherent risk, but case-attributed data for Gambia is not available.
