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Background:
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 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:
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Western Africa,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and
Mauritania |
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Geographic coordinates:
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14 00 N, 14 00 W |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total:
196,190 sq km
water: 4,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller
than South Dakota |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km,
Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
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Coastline:
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531 km |
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Climate:
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tropical; hot,
humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast
winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry,
harmattan wind |
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Terrain:
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generally low,
rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
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Natural resources:
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fish, phosphates,
iron ore |
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Land use:
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arable land:
11.58%
other: 88.23% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 0.19% |
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Irrigated land:
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710 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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lowlands
seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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wildlife
populations threatened by poaching; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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westernmost
country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an
enclave of Senegal |
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Population:
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10,852,147 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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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.) |
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Median age:
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total: 18
years
male: 17.4 years
female: 18.5 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.52% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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35.72
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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10.74
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0.2 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
56.53 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 52.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 60.25 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 56.56 years
male: 54.94 years
female: 58.23 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.5% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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27,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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2,500 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Wolof 43.3%,
Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke
1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 94%,
indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) |
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Languages:
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French
(official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.2%
male: 50%
female: 30.7% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal |
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Government type:
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republic under
multiparty democratic rule |
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Capital:
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Dakar |
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Administrative divisions:
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11 regions
(regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack,
Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies,
Ziguinchor |
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Independence:
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4 April 1960
(from France); complete independence was achieved upon
dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
4 April (1960) |
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Constitution:
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a new
constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Idrissa SECK (since
4 November 2002)
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% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members
are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the
spring of 2001, had 140 seats
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10
elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA
2006) |
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Judicial branch:
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Constitutional
Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de
Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was
reformed in 1992 |
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Political parties and leaders:
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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 |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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labor; Muslim
brotherhoods; students; teachers |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315
telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber,
Dakar
mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
telephone: [221] 823-4296
FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $16.93 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.5% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $1,600 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
18%
industry: 27%
services: 55% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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54% (2001 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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3% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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NA (2001 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 70% |
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Unemployment rate:
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48% (urban youth
40%) (2001 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$1.373 billion
expenditures: $1.373 billion, including capital
expenditures of $357 million (2002 est.) |
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Industries:
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agricultural and
fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production,
petroleum refining, construction materials |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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8.1% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.518 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.412 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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31,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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50 million cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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50 million cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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peanuts, millet,
corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables;
cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
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Exports:
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$1.23 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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fish, groundnuts
(peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
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Exports - partners:
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India 20.8%,
France 13%, Mali 8.9%, Greece 7.7%, Italy 4.4% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$1.753 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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foods and
beverages, capital goods, fuels |
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Imports - partners:
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France 25.6%,
Nigeria 8.7%, Thailand 7.2%, US 5.4%, Germany 5.4%, Italy 4.5%
(2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$3 billion (2003
est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$362.6 million
(2002 est.) |
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Currency:
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Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority
is the Central Bank of the West African States |
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Currency code:
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XOF |
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Exchange rates:
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Communaute
Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2
(2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7
(1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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224,600 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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553,400 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio
relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system
international: country code - 221; 4 submarine cables;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 8, FM 20,
shortwave 1 (2001) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.sn |
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Internet hosts:
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761 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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105,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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total: 906
km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km including 7 km of expressways
unpaved: 10,305 km (2000) |
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Waterways:
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897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the
Saloum river |
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Pipelines:
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gas 564 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Dakar, Kaolack,
Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor |
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Airports:
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20 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy, Air
Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 2,490,290 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 1,301,761 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
119,833 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$95.8 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.5% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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The Gambia and
Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem refugees, cross border raids,
arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist
movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
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Illicit drugs:
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transshipment
point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to
Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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