Senegal

republic under multiparty democratic ruleIndependence 20 August 1960 (from France

Senegal as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalDakar
LocationWestern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between
1994

Every edition of Senegal

Populationas each edition published it
8.73 million July 1994 est. · 7.71m in 1990
Population growth% a year
3.11% 1994 est. · 3.1% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 17.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 56.01 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
6.09 children per woman 1994 est. · 6.3 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
75.7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 87 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,400 1993 est. · $780 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
1.2% 1991 est. · 1.2% in 1993

Geography

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

25 fields
Land boundaries
2,640km
total · The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km
Irrigated land
1,800sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

196,190 sq km

land area

192,000 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than South Dakota

contiguous zone

24 nm

continental shelf

200 nm or the edge of continental margin

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

International disputes

  • short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite;
  • Senegal and Guinea-Bissau signed an agreement resolving their maritime boundary in 1993;
  • boundary with Mauritania

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

Natural resources

fish, phosphates, iron ore

arable land

27%

permanent crops

0%

meadows and pastures

30%

forest and woodland

31%

other

12%

current issues

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

natural hazards

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

international agreements

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

Note

The Gambia is almost an enclave

People

22 fields
Population
8,730,508
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 3.11% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
43.15Death
12.01Net migration
0

Ethnic divisions

Wolof 36%Fulani 17%Serer 17%Toucouleur 9%Diola 9%Mandingo 9%European and Lebanese 1%other 2%

Religions

Muslim 92%indigenous beliefs 6%Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
Labor force
2.509million
(77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners)
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

75.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

56.58 years

male

55.12 years

female

58.09 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.09 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Senegalese (singular and plural)

adjective

Senegalese

Languages

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

total population

38%

male

52%

female

25%

by occupation

private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%

note

52% of population of working age (1985)

Government

Republic under multiparty democratic rule

31 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

70%
PS 70%PDS 23%other 7%

Legislature, 120 seatsone dot, one seat

PS 84PDS 27LD-MPT 3Let Us Unite Senegal 3PIT 2UDS-R 1

conventional long form

Republic of Senegal

conventional short form

Senegal

local long form

Republique du Senegal

local short form

Senegal

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, last revised in 1991

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state

  • President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981);
  • election last held 21 February 1993 (next to be held February 2000);
  • results - Abdou DIOUF (PS) 58.4%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 32.03%, other 9.57%

head of government

Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991)

cabinet

Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president

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;
  • other small uninfluential parties

Other political or pressure groups

  • students;
  • teachers;
  • labor;
  • Muslim Brotherhoods

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMUR, UNTAC, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK

chancery

2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 234-0540 or 0541

chief of mission

Ambassador Mark JOHNSON

embassy

Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar

mailing address

B. P. 49, Dakar

telephone

[221] 23-42-96 or 23-34-24

FAX

[221] 22-29-91

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

After 14 years of mixed compliance with IMF and World Bank economic | reform programs, Senegal finds its economy remains hostage to negative | economic forces.

27 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,400
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
1.2%
(1991 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 1.9% (1991); accounts for 15% of GDP
External debt
$2.9billion
(1990)

Overview

After 14 years of mixed compliance with IMF and World Bank economic reform programs, Senegal finds its economy remains hostage to negative economic forces. Declining terms of trade, weather-related setbacks, and relentless growth in population have held back overall growth and left per capita incomes stagnant, if not diminished.

The economy continues to rely on exports of fish, peanuts, and phosphates for hard currency earnings. A 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994 is likely to lead to substantial increases in local currency prices for producers that may spur improved production. A sheltered import-substitution sector, comprising textiles, shoes, and other light manufacturing, will remain plagued, however, by high labor, transportation, and energy costs.

Public finances face a decade-long trend in declining tax revenues, making the government increasingly dependent on official development assistance from bilateral donors.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $11.8 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$1.2 billion

expenditures

$1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $269 million (1992 est.)

Exports

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

commodities

fish, ground nuts, petroleum products, phosphates, cotton

partners

France, other EC members, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali

Imports

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

commodities

foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum

partners

France, other EC, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, China, Japan

capacity

215,000 kW

production

760 million kWh

consumption per capita

100 kWh (1991)

Industries

agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining, building materials

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 Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America

recipient

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $551 million;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.23 billion;
  • OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $589 million;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $295 million

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05 (January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989)

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

Communications

14 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
1,034Inland waterways
897
Railroads: ; all single track except 70 km double track Dakar to Thies · Inland waterways: ; 785 km on the Senegal, 112 km on the Saloum

Railroads

1,034 km 1.000-meter gauge; all single track except 70 km double track Dakar to Thies

total

14,007 km

paved

3,777 km

unpaved

crushed stone, improved earth 10,230 km

Inland waterways

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

Ports

Dakar, Kaolack, Foundiougne, Ziguinchor

Merchant marine

1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT

total

26

usable

20

with permanent-surface runways

10

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

1

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

16

Telecommunications

  • above-average urban system, using microwave and cable;
  • broadcast stations - 8 AM, no FM, 1 TV;
  • 3 submarine cables;
  • 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police

4 fields

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 1,951,370;
  • fit for military service 1,018,802;
  • reach military age (18) annually 94,973 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 2% of GDP (1989 est.)

Note

  • Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been formally recognized as a state by the US;
  • the US view is that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of the successor republics represents its continuation

Central Intelligence Agency. “Senegal.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/senegal/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →