Map of Senegal | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Independent from France in 1960 Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.


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Location: Western Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania

Geographic coordinates: 14 00 N 14 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 196,190 km²
Land: 192,000 km²
Water: 4,190 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries
Total: 2,640 km
Border countries: (5) The Gambia 740 km; , Guinea 330 km; , Guinea-Bissau 338 km; , Mali 419 km; , Mauritania 813 km

Coastline: 531 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: tropical; hot humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot dry harmattan wind

Terrain: generally low rolling plains rising to foothills in southeast

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m

Natural resources: fish phosphates iron ore

Land use
Arable land: 12.78%
Permanent crops: 0.21%
Other: 87.01% (2001)

Irrigated land: 710 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

Geography
Note: westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal


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Population: 10,852,147 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 2.52% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Senegalese

Ethnic groups: Wolof 43.3% Pular 23.8% Serer 14.7% Jola 3.7% Mandinka 3% Soninke 1.1% European and Lebanese 1% other 9.4%

Languages: French (official) Wolof Pulaar Jola Mandinka

Religions: Muslim 94% indigenous beliefs 1% Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 43.2% (male 2,368,011; female 2,325,298)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,803,192; female 3,025,304)
65 years and over: 3% (male 158,881; female 171,461) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 18 years
Male: 17.4 years
Female: 18.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.52% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 35.72 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 10.74 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2004 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 56.53 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 60.25 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 52.71 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 56.56 years
Male: 54.94 years
Female: 58.23 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.84 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 44,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 3,500 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 40.2%
Male: 50%
Female: 30.7% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
Conventional short form: Senegal
Local long form: Republique du Senegal
Local short form: Senegal

Government type: republic under multiparty democratic rule

Capital: Dakar

Administrative divisions: 11 regions (regions singular - region); Dakar Diourbel Fatick Kaolack Kolda Louga Matam Saint-Louis Tambacounda Thies Ziguinchor

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960

National holiday: Independence Day 4 April (1960)

Constitution: a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001

Legal system: based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
Head of government: Prime Minister Macky SALL (since 21 April 2004)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51%

Legislative branch
Note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats
Elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992

Political parties and leaders: African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB AU ECOWAS FAO FZ G-15 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO (correspondent) ITU MIGA MONUC NAM OIC ONUB OPCW PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIK UNMIL UNMOVIC UNOCI UPU WADB (regional) WAEMU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Amadou Lamine BA
In the us chancery: 2,112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540
In the us fax: [1] (202) 332-6,315
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Alan ROTH
From the us embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar
From the us mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
From the us telephone: [221] 823-4,296
From the us fax: [221] 822-2,991

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) yellow and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In January 1994 Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency the CFA franc which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993 Senegal made an important turnaround thanks to the reform program with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2003. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996 creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment trade union militancy juvenile delinquency and drug addiction.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.5% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1600 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 16.8%
Industry: 27.2%
Services: 56% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: peanuts millet corn sorghum rice cotton tomatoes green vegetables; cattle poultry pigs; fish

Industries: agricultural and fish processing phosphate mining fertilizer production petroleum refining construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: 2.9% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 4.62 million NA (2003)
By occupation: agriculture 70%