Senegal

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

agricultural land:

46.8%;

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

forest:

43.8%

other:

9.4% (2011 est.)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Senegalese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Senegalese

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.76 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2016)

total number:

657,216

percentage:

22% (2005 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

etymology:

• named for the Senegal River that forms the northern border of the country;
• many theories exist for the origin of the river name;
• perhaps the most widely cited derives the name from "Azenegue," the Portuguese appellation for the Berber Zenaga people who lived north of the river

name:

Dakar

geographic coordinates:

14 44 N, 17 38 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Senegal

dual citizenship recognized:

no, but Senegalese citizens do not automatically lose their citizenship if they acquire citizenship in another state

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Macky SALL (since 2 April 2012)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mohammed Abdallah Boun DIONNE (since 4 July 2014)

cabinet:

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

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term);
• election last held on 26 February 2012 with a runoff on 25 March 2012 (next to be held in 2019);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Macky SALL elected president; percent of vote in runoff - Macky SALL (Alliance for the Republic-Yakaar) 65.8%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 34.2%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; 90 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 60 directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

National Assembly - last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held in 2017)

election results:

• National Assembly results - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition 119, PDS 12, Bokk Gis Gis coalition 4, MCRN-Bes Du Nakk 4, PVD 2, MRSD 2, URD 1, AJ/PADS 1, other 5

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of the president and 12 judges and organized into civil and commercial, criminal, administrative, and social chambers);
• Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionelle (consists of 5 members including the court president, vice-president, and 3 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges' appointed by the president of the republic upon recommendation of the Higher Council of the Judiciary, a body chaired by the president;
• judge tenure NA;
• Constitutional Council members appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms with the renewal of 2 members every 2 years

subordinate courts:

• High Court of Justice (for crime of high treason by the president);
• Courts of Appeal;
• Court of Auditors;
• assize courts (4);
• regional and district Courts, Labor Court

• 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]

other:

• Catholic clergy;
• labor;
• religious groups;
• students;
• Sufi brotherhoods, including the Mourides and Tidjanes;
• teachers

chief of mission:

Ambassador Babacar DIAGNE (since 18 November 2014)

embassy:

2215 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-0540

FAX:

[1] (202) 629-2961

consulate(s) general:

Houston, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador James P. ZUMWALT (since 9 January 2015); note - also accredited to Guinea-Bissau

embassy:

Route des Almadies, Dakar

mailing address:

B.P. 49, Dakar

telephone:

[221] 33-879-4000

FAX:

[221] 33-822-2991

• 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

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the same as those of neighboring Mali and the reverse of those on the flag of neighboring Guinea

name:

"Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons" (Pluck Your Koras, Strike the Balafons)

lyrics/music:

Leopold Sedar SENGHOR/Herbert PEPPER

note: adopted 1960; lyrics written by Leopold Sedar SENGHOR, Senegal's first president; the anthem sometimes played incorporating the Koras (harp-like stringed instruments) and Balafons (types of xylophones) mentioned in the title

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

agriculture:

77.5%

industry and services:

22.5% (2007 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

31.1% (2011)

general assessment:

good system with microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system

domestic:

• above-average urban system with a fiber-optic network;
• about two-thirds of all fixed-line connections are in Dakar where a call-center industry is emerging;
• expansion of fixed-line services in rural areas needed;
• mobile-cellular service is expanding rapidly

international:

• country code - 221;
• the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic cable provides connectivity to Europe and Asia while Atlantis-2 provides connectivity to South America;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015)

• 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)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

115,355

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

3,095,523 mt-km (2015)

total:

906 km

narrow gauge:

906 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 91

total:

15,000 km

paved:

5,300 km (includes 7 km of expressways)

unpaved:

9,700 km (2015)

country comparison to the world: 125

total:

1

by type:

passenger/cargo 1 (2010)

country comparison to the world: 154

• 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)

refugees (country of origin):

13,687 (Mauritania) (2015)

IDPs:

24,000 (clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2015)