Independent from France in 1960, Senegal was ruled by the Socialist Party for forty years until current President Abdoulaye WADE was elected in 2000. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. A southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982, but Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.

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

14 00 N, 14 00 W

total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km
water: 4,190 sq km

total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km

531 km

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

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

generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast

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

fish, phosphates, iron ore

arable land: 12.51%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 87.25% (2005)

1,200 sq km (2003)

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing

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

11,987,121 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 40.8% (male 2,467,021/female 2,422,385)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 3,346,756/female 3,378,518)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 174,399/female 198,042) (2006 est.)

total: 19.1 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.3 years (2006 est.)

2.34% (2006 est.)

32.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

9.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 52.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.49 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 59.25 years
male: 57.7 years
female: 60.85 years (2006 est.)

4.38 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.8% (2003 est.)

44,000 (2003 est.)

3,500 (2003 est.)

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift Valley fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese

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

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

French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.2%
male: 50%
female: 30.7% (2003 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal
local short form: Senegal
former: Senegambia (along with The Gambia); Mali Federation

republic under multiparty democratic rule

Dakar

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

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

Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

new constitution adopted 7 January 2001

based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

18 years of age; universal

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
elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held in February 2007) note - the National Assembly in December 2005 voted to postpone legislative elections originally scheduled for 2006, they will now coincide with presidential elections in 2007
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10

Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals

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 over 5% annually during 1995-2004. 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 and a more stable monetary policy. However, Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt.

$20.44 billion (2005 est.)

$8.012 billion (2005 est.)

5.2% (2005 est.)

$1,700 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 21.4%
services: 62.5% (2005 est.)

4.82 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 77%
industry and services: 23% (1990 est.)

48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 est.)

54% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995)

41.3 (1995)

1.7% (2005 est.)

22.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $1.657 billion
expenditures: $1.926 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2005 est.)

46.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish

agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair

2% (2005 est.)

1.332 billion kWh (2003)

1.239 billion kWh (2003)

31,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

50 million cu m (2003 est.)

50 million cu m (2003 est.)

-$638 million (2005 est.)

$1.526 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton

India 14.4%, Mali 13.1%, France 9.8%, Italy 7.3%, Spain 6.6%, Guinea-Bissau 5.6%, Gambia, The 4.8% (2004)

$2.405 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

food and beverages, capital goods, fuels

France 24.8%, Nigeria 11.9%, Thailand 6.1% (2004)

$1.324 billion (2005 est.)

$3.61 billion (2003 est.)

$449.6 million (2003 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

calendar year

244,900 (2004)

1,121,300 (2004)

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)

AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001)

1 (1997)

.sn

569 (2005)

482,000 (2005)

20 (2005)

total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2005)

total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

gas 564 km (2004)

total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000 meter gauge (2004)

total: 13,576 km
paved: 3,972 km (including 7 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,604 km (2003)

1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2005)

Dakar

Army, Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Air Force (2005)

The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem Senegalese citizens from the Casamance region fleeing separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling

refugees (country of origin): 19,778 (Mauritania)
IDPs: 17,000 (clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2005)

transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis