The French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff with Macky SALL, whose term runs until 2019. A 2016 constitutional referendum reduced the term to five years with a maximum of two consecutive terms for future presidents.

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

14 00 N, 14 00 W

Africa

slightly smaller than South Dakota

531 km

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

highest point: unnamed elevation southwest of Kedougou 581 m

fish, phosphates, iron ore

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

1,200 sq km (2012)

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

14,320,055 (July 2016 est.)

Wolof 38.7%, Pular 26.5%, Serer 15%, Mandinka 4.2%, Jola 4%, Soninke 2.3%, other 9.3% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2010-11 est.)

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

Muslim 95.4% (most adhere to one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods), Christian 4.2% (mostly Roman Catholic), animist 0.4% (2010-11 est.)

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.

2.42% (2016 est.)

34 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

DAKAR (capital) 3.52 million (2015)

21.4

315 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

4.36 children born/woman (2016 est.)

17.8% (2012/13)

4.7% of GDP (2014)

0.06 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.3 beds/1,000 population (2008)

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.)

0.52% (2015 est.)

45,800 (2015 est.)

2,200 (2015 est.)

8.3% (2014)

12.8% (2014)

5.6% of GDP (2010)

presidential republic

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

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

Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

previous 1959 (preindependence), 1963; latest adopted by referendum 7 January 2001, promulgated 22 January 2001; amended many times, last in 2016 (2016)

civil law system based on French law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Alliance for the Republic-Yakaar or APR-Yakaar [Macky SALL]

Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]

And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS [Mamadou DIOP]

And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS-A [Landing SAVANE]

Bokk Gis Gis coalition [Pape DIOP]

Citizen Movement for National Reform or MCRN-Bes Du Nakk

Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Mamadou NDOYE]

Front for Socialism and Democracy/Benno Jubel or FSD/BJ [Cheikh Abdoulaye Bamba DIEYE]

Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]

Grand Party or GP [Malick GACKOU]

Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Magatte THIAM]

Jef-Jel [Talla SYLLA]

National Democratic Rally or RND [Madior DIOUF]

Party for Truth and Development or PVD [Cheikh Ahmadou Kara MBAKE]

People's Labor Party or PTP [El Hadji DIOUF]

Reform Party or PR [Abdourahim AGNE]

Republican Movement for Socialism and Democracy or MRSD

Rewmi Party [Idrissa SECK]

Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]

Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]

Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]

ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, CPLP (associate), ECOWAS, EITI (candidate country), FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; green represents Islam, progress, and hope; yellow signifies natural wealth and progress; red symbolizes sacrifice and determination; the star denotes unity and hope

lion; national colors: green, yellow, red

Senegal’s economy is driven by mining, construction, tourism, fisheries and agriculture, which is the primary source 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 twelve years, Senegal reached a growth rate of 6.5% in 2015 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 from 2015-2017 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 1,000 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.

$36.69 billion (2015 est.)

$34.45 billion (2014 est.)

$33.02 billion (2013 est.)

$13.67 billion (2015 est.)

6.5% (2015 est.)

4.3% (2014 est.)

3.6% (2013 est.)

$2,500 (2015 est.)

$2,400 (2014 est.)

$2,300 (2013 est.)

19.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

16.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

17.7% of GDP (2013 est.)

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

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

7.7% (2015 est.)

6.521 million (2015 est.)

48% (2007 est.)

46.7% (2011 est.)

40.3 (2011)

25.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

-4.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

54.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

53.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

calendar year

0.1% (2015 est.)

-1.1% (2014 est.)

0.25% (31 December 2010)

4.25% (31 December 2009)

14.3% (31 December 2015 est.)

14.5% (31 December 2014 est.)

$4.264 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$3.931 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.351 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.446 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$4.868 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.882 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$NA

-$1.033 billion (2015 est.)

-$1.373 billion (2014 est.)

$2.31 billion (2015 est.)

$2.498 billion (2014 est.)

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

Mali 12.8%, Switzerland 9.7%, India 5.9%, Cote dIvoire 5.3%, China 5.1%, UAE 4.1%, France 4.1% (2015)

$4.918 billion (2015 est.)

$5.696 billion (2014 est.)

food and beverages, capital goods, fuels

France 17.9%, China 10%, Nigeria 8.7%, India 5.6%, Spain 4.9%, Netherlands 4.5% (2015)

$2.012 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$2.038 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$5.735 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$5.655 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

591.45 (2015 est.)

494.42 (2014 est.)

494.42 (2013 est.)

510.53 (2012 est.)

471.87 (2011 est.)

3.5 billion kWh (2014 est.)

3 billion kWh (2014 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

1 million kW (2014 est.)

99.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

17,240 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

16,120 bbl/day (2013 est.)

41,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

3,743 bbl/day (2013 est.)

26,560 bbl/day (2013 est.)

46 million cu m (2014 est.)

46 million cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

9.911 billion cu m (1 January 2012 es)

7.3 million Mt (2013 est.)

state-run Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise (RTS) operates 2 TV stations; a few private TV subscription channels rebroadcast foreign channels without providing any local news or programs; RTS operates a national radio network and a number of regional FM stations; many community and private-broadcast radio stations are available; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible on FM in Dakar (2007)

.sn

6V (2016)

20 (2013)

gas 43 km; refined products 8 km (2013)

1,000 km (primarily on the Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance Rivers) (2012)

Senegalese Armed Forces: Army, Senegalese National Navy (Marine Senegalaise, MNS), Senegalese Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Senegal) (2013)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 20 years of age for selective conscript service; 2-year service obligation; women have been accepted into military service since 2008 (2013)

The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into their countries from southern Senegal's Casamance region

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