Senegal (Source of information on this page credited to the CIA's - The World Factbook

Background:

Senegal

Geography

Location:

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

Geographic coordinates:

14 00 N, 14 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

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

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries:

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

Coastline:

531 km

Maritime claims:

contiguous zone:  24 NM continental shelf:  200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone:  200 NM territorial sea:  12 NM

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 highest point:  unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m

Natural resources:

fish, phosphates, iron ore

Land use:

arable land:  12% permanent crops:  0% permanent pastures:  16% forests and woodland:  54% other:  18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

710 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

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

Environment - international agreements:

party to:  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified:  Marine Dumping

Geography - note:

The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal

Senegal

People

Population:

10,284,929 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years:  44.07% (male 2,279,996; female 2,252,255) 15-64 years:  52.88% (male 2,603,829; female 2,834,328) 65 years and over:  3.05% (male 155,877; female 158,644) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.93% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:

37.46 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:

8.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:

0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth:  1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years:  1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years:  0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over:  0.98 male(s)/female total population:  0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

56.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population:  62.56 years male:  60.94 years female:  64.22 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:

5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.77% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

79,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

7,800 (1999 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%

Religions:

Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)

Languages:

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

Literacy:

definition:  age 15 and over can read and write total population:  33.1% male:  43% female:  23.2% (1995 est.)

Senegal

Government

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:

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

Independence:

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

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 Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state:  President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000) head of government:  Prime Minister Madior BOYE (since 3 March 2001) cabinet:  Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections:  president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2007); 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:

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 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]; Senegalese Democratic Party-Renewal or PDS-R [Serigne Lamine DIOP, secretary general]; Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal or UDS-R [Mamadou Puritain FALL]; Socialist Party or PS [President Abdou DIOUF]; SOPI Coalition (a 40-party coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers

International organization participation:

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, IOM, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK chancery:  2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:  [1] (202) 234-0540

Diplomatic representation from the US:

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, 823-7384 FAX:  [221] 822-2991

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

Senegal

Economy

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 is 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 in 1995-99. Annual inflation has been pushed down to 2%, and the fiscal deficit has been cut to less than 1.5% of GDP. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), 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, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. Real GDP growth is expected to rise above 6%, while inflation is likely to hold at 2% in 2001-02.

GDP:	purchasing power parity - $16 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.7% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  19% industry:  20% services:  61% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  1.4% highest 10%:  42.8% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

1.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

NA

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 60%

Unemployment rate:

NA%; urban youth 40%

Budget:

revenues:  $885 million expenditures:  $885 million, including capital expenditures of $125 million (1996 est.)

Industries:

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

Industrial production growth rate:

7% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production:

1.27 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel:  100% hydro:  0% nuclear:  0% other:  0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:

1.181 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:

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

Exports:

$959 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:

fish, ground nuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton

Exports - partners:

France 17%, India 17%, Italy 12%, Spain 6%, Mali 6%, Cote d'Ivoire 4% (1999)

Imports:

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:

foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum products

Imports - partners:

France 30%, Nigeria 7%, Italy 6%, Thailand 5%, Germany 4%, US 4% (1999)

Debt - external:

$4.1 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$647.5 million (1995)

Currency:

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

Currency code:

XOF

Exchange rates:

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1966); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Senegal

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:

116,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1,149 (1996)

Telephone system:

general assessment:  good system domestic:  above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international:  4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:

1.24 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (1997)

Televisions:

361,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.sn

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

30,000 (2000)

Senegal

Transportation

Railways:

total:  906 km narrow gauge:  906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track)

Highways:

total:  14,576 km paved:  4,271 km unpaved:  10,305 km (1996)

Waterways:

897 km note:  785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river

Ports and harbors:

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

Airports:

20 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

total:  10 over 3,047 m:  1 1,524 to 2,437 m:  7 914 to 1,523 m:  2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total:  10 1,524 to 2,437 m:  5 914 to 1,523 m:  4 under 914 m:  1 (2000 est.)

Senegal

Military

Military branches:

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

Military manpower - military age:

18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:

males age 15-49:  2,311,063 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:

males age 15-49:  1,207,360 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:

males:  114,189 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:

$68 million (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

1.4% (FY97)

Senegal

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:

none

Illicit drugs:

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