Senegal

Senegal 

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 2,640 km, The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km

Coastline

531 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite; boundary with Mauritania in dispute;

Climate

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

Terrain

Generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the Futa Jaldon foothills 581 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

1,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal

PEOPLE

Population

9,092,749 (July 1996 est.)
9,007,080 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

48% (male 2,188,338; female 2,197,015) (July 1996 est.)
45% (male 2,021,251; female 2,004,514) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

49% (male 2,111,330; female 2,336,987) (July 1996 est.)
52% (male 2,301,236; female 2,398,609) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

3% (male 128,939; female 130,140) (July 1996 est.)
3% (male 141,342; female 140,128) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

3.37% (1996 est.)
3.12% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

45.46 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
42.87 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

11.76 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

64 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
73.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

6.31 children born/woman (1996 est.)
6.03 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

SG

Type

Republic under multiparty democratic rule

Capital

Dakar

Administrative Divisions

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

Independence

20 August 1960 (from France; The Gambia and Senegal signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 that called for the creation of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

Constitution

3 March 1963, revised 1991

Legal System

Based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court, which also audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Elections last held 9 May 1993 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - PS 70%, PDS 23%, other 7%; seats - (120 total) PS 84, PDS 27, LD-MPT 3, Let Us Unite Senegal 3, PIT 2, UDS-R 1

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political Parties and Leaders

Socialist Party (PS), President Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement (LD-MPT), Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY; Independent Labor Party (PIT), Amath DANSOKHO; Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal (UDS-R), Mamadou Puritain FALL; Let Us Unite Senegal (coalition of African Party for Democracy and Socialism and National Democratic Rally); other small uninfluential parties

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Students; teachers; labor; Muslim Brotherhoods

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

National Anthem

Flag

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

ECONOMY

Overview

In 1994 Senegal embarked on its most concerted structural adjustment effort yet to exploit the 50% devaluation of the currencies of the 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January of that year. After years of foot-dragging, the government has passed a liberalized labor code which should lower the cost of labor and improve the manufacturing sector's competitiveness. Inroads also have been made in closing tax loopholes, eliminating monopoly power in several sectors, and privatizing state owned firms. At the same time, the government is holding the line on current fiscal expenditure under the watchful eyes of international organizations on which it depends for substantial support. The IMF, in mid-1995, announced that the government met most economic targets as called for in its Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility agreement and released the second $50 million tranche. The country's narrow resource base, environmental degradation, and untamed population growth will continue to hold back improvement in living standards over the medium term.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $14.5 billion (1995 est.); $12.3 billion (1993 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

4.5% (1995 est.)
-2% (1993 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$1,600 (1995 est.)
$1,450 (1993 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

6.1% (1995)
-1.8% (1991 est.)

Unemployment Rate

NA

Budget

Exports

$940 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
$904 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$3.8 billion (1993)
$2.9 billion (1990)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 1.9% (1991); accounts for 15% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 20% of GDP; major products - peanuts (cash crop), millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; estimated two-thirds self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 354,000 metric tons in 1990

Illicit Drugs

Transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America

Economic Aid

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange Rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January 1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990)

Note: The official rate is pegged to the French franc, and beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal, 112 km on the Saloum

Ports

Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard-Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

55,000 telephones; above-average urban system

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,864,239; males fit for military service 973,170; males reach military age (18) annually 96,154 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $82 million, 2.1% of GDP (1996 est.); $134 million, 2.1% of GDP (1993)

History
World Atlas