arable land: 17.4%
permanent crops: 0.3%
permanent pasture: 29.1%

Senegal has a large and growing youth population but has not been successful in developing its potential human capital. Senegal’s high total fertility rate of almost 4.5 children per woman continues to bolster the country’s large youth cohort – more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Fertility remains high because of the continued desire for large families the low use of family planning and early childbearing. Because of the country’s high illiteracy rate (more than 40%) high unemployment (even among university graduates) and widespread poverty Senegalese youths face dim prospects; women are especially disadvantaged.
Senegal historically was a destination country for economic migrants but in recent years West African migrants more often use Senegal as a transit point to North Africa – and sometimes illegally onward to Europe. The country also has been host to several thousand black Mauritanian refugees since they were expelled from their homeland during its 1989 border conflict with Senegal. The country’s economic crisis in the 1970s stimulated emigration; departures accelerated in the 1990s. Destinations shifted from neighboring countries which were experiencing economic decline civil wars and increasing xenophobia to Libya and Mauritania because of their booming oil industries and to developed countries (most notably former colonial ruler France as well as Italy and Spain). The latter became attractive in the 1990s because of job opportunities and their periodic regularization programs (legalizing the status of illegal migrants).
Additionally about 16,000 Senegalese refugees still remain in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau as a result of more than 30 years of fighting between government forces and rebel separatists in southern Senegal’s Casamance region.

urban: 92.9% of population
rural: 67.3% of population
total: 78.5% of population
urban: 7.1% of population
rural: 32.7% of population
total: 21.5% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 65.4% of population
rural: 33.8% of population
total: 47.6% of population
urban: 34.6% of population
rural: 66.2% of population
total: 52.4% of population (2015 est.)

Patriotic Convergence Kaddu Askan Wi or CP-Kaddu Askan Wi [Abdoulaye BALDE]
Reform Party or PR [Abdourahim AGNE]
Rewmi Party [Idrissa SECK]
Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]
Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]
Tekki Movement [Mamadou Lamine DIALLO]
Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]
Winning Coalition Wattu Senegal or CGWS [Abdoulaye WADE] (includes AJ/PADS AJ/PADS-A Bokk Gis Gis PDS Tekki Movement)

Senegal’s economy is driven by mining construction tourism fisheries and agriculture which are the primary sources of employment in rural areas. The country's key export industries include phosphate mining fertilizer production agricultural products and commercial fishing and it is also working on oil exploration projects. Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance remittances and foreign direct investment. For the first time in the past 12 years Senegal reached a growth rate of 6.5% in 2015 and surpassed 6.6% in 2016 due in part to a buoyant performance in agriculture because of higher rainfall and productivity in the sector.
President Macky SALL who was elected in March 2012 under a reformist policy agenda inherited an economy with high energy costs a challenging business environment and a culture of overspending. President SALL unveiled an ambitious economic plan the Emerging Senegal Plan (ESP) which aims to implement priority economic reforms and investment projects to increase economic growth while preserving macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. Bureaucratic bottlenecks and a challenging business climate are among the perennial challenges that may slow the implementation of this plan.
Senegal is receiving technical support from the IMF during 2015-17 under a Policy Support Instrument (PSI) to assist with implementation of the ESP. The PSI implementation continues to be satisfactory as concluded by the IMF’s second review mission in March 2016. Investors have signaled confidence in the country through Senegal’s successful Eurobond issuances in recent years including in 2014.
The government will focus on 19 projects under the ESP for the 2016 budget to continue the structural transformation of the economy. These 19 projects include the Thies-Touba Highway including the new airport- Mbour-Thies Highway. Senegal will increase the national family allowances program and the community development emergency program in 2016. Electricity supply is a chief constraint for Senegal’s development. Electricity prices in Senegal are among the highest in the world. Power Africa a program led by USAID and OPIC plans to increase the current 500 MW of generating capacity to over 1000 mW in the next three to five years. Recent gas discoveries on the Senegal-Mauritanian border as well as just south of Dakar will help alleviate some of the energy shortages.

$39.64 billion (2016 est.)
$36.67 billion (2015 est.)
$34.07 billion (2014 est.)

6.7% (2016 est.)
6.5% (2015 est.)
4.1% (2014 est.)

$2,500 (2016 est.)
$2,500 (2015 est.)
$2,400 (2014 est.)

21.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
17.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
15.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

58.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
58.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

0.9% (2016 est.)
0.1% (2015 est.)

0.25% (31 December 2010)
4.25% (31 December 2009)

16.4% (31 December 2016 est.)
16.41% (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.736 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$4.264 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$7.244 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$6.549 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$5.15 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$4.867 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$-783 million (2016 est.)
$-1.216 billion (2015 est.)

$2.498 billion (2016 est.)
$2.31 billion (2015 est.)

$4.993 billion (2016 est.)
$4.918 billion (2015 est.)

$116.9 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$153.6 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.327 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$5.893 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -
593.01 (2016 est.)
593.01 (2015 est.)
591.45 (2014 est.)
494.42 (2013 est.)
510.53 (2012 est.)

1.89% of GDP (2017 est.)
1.73% of GDP (2016)
1.58% of GDP (2015)
1.57% of GDP (2014)
1.6% of GDP (2013)