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
Geography - note
westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal
Population
12,521,851 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
42% (male 2,656,122/female 2,608,423)
15-64 years
55% (male 3,426,504/female 3,454,372)
65 years and over
3% (male 176,877/female 199,553) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
18.7 years
male
18.5 years
female
18.9 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.645% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
37.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
10.96 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.018 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.992 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.886 male(s)/female
total population
1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
60.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male
64.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female
56.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
56.69 years
male
55.34 years
female
58.09 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
5 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.8% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
44,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
3,500 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk
very high
food or waterborne diseases
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases
dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift Valley fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease
schistosomiasis
respiratory disease
meningococcal meningitis (2007)
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 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
39.3%
male
51.1%
female
29.2% (2002 est.)
Country name
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
Government type
republic
Capital
name
Dakar
geographic coordinates
14 40 N, 17 26 W
time difference
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
National holiday
Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Constitution
adopted 7 January 2001
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government
Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou SOUMARE (since 19 June 2007)
cabinet
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
elections
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) under new constitution; election last held on 25 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president
election results
Abdoulaye WADE reelected president in the first round of voting; percent of vote - Abdoulaye WADE 55.9%, Idrissa SECK 14.9%, Ousmane Tanor DIENG 13.6%, Moustapha NIASSE 5.9%, other 9.7%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; 90 members elected by direct popular vote with the remaining members elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 June 2007 (next to be held 2012); note - the National Assembly in December 2005 voted to postpone legislative elections originally scheduled for 2006; legislative elections were first rescheduled to coincide with the 25 February 2007 presidential elections and later rescheduled for 3 June 2007; the June election was marred by the boycott of 12 opposition parties, including the former ruling Socialist Party, that resulted in a drop in voter turnout to a record low 35 percent
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 131, other 19
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders
African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS) [Landing SAVANE]; 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 Bamba DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; Jef-Jel [Talla SYLLA]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madior DIOUF]; People's Labor Party or PTP [Elhadji DIOUF]; Reform Party or PR [Abdourahim AGNE]; Rewmi [Idrissa SECK]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition [Abdoulaye WADE] (a coalition led by the PDS); Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]
Political pressure groups and leaders
labor; Sufi and Mouride brotherhoods; students; teachers
Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar
mailing address
B. P. 49, Dakar
telephone
[221] 823-4296
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
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$21.54 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$8.331 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,800 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
18.3%
industry
19.2%
services
62.5% (2006 est.)
Labor force
4.749 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
77%
industry and services
23% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate
48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line
54% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
2.6%
highest 10%
33.5% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
41.3 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
41% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$2.023 billion
expenditures
$2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2006 est.)
Public debt
17.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair
Mali 18.5%, India 14.3%, France 6.9%, Italy 5.1%, Gambia, The 5% (2006)
Imports
$2.98 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
food and beverages, capital goods, fuels
Imports - partners
France 21.3%, Nigeria 10.6%, UK 8.9%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.8%, Brazil 4.1% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.18 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$1.628 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$449.6 million (2003 est.)
Currency (code)
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 - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
266,600 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
1.73 million (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
good system
domestic
above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system
international
country code - 221; 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001)
Radios
1.24 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
1 (1997)
Televisions
361,000 (1997)
Internet country code
.sn
Internet hosts
412 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2002)
Internet users
540,000 (2005)
Airports
20 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
9
over 3,047 m
1
1,524 to 2,437 m
6
914 to 1,523 m
2 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
11
1,524 to 2,437 m
6
914 to 1,523 m
4
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 43 km (2006)
Railways
total
906 km
narrow gauge
906 km 1.000 meter gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
13,576 km
paved
3,972 km (includes 7 km of expressways)
unpaved
9,604 km (2003)
Waterways
1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2005)
Ports and terminals
Dakar
Military branches
Army, Senegalese Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Senegalese Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Senegal) (2007)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
2,443,840
females age 18-49
2,461,939 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
1,558,175
females age 18-49
1,642,533 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
129,331
females age 18-49
129,398 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.4% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into their countries from Senegal's Casamance region, and in 2006, respectively accepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing the conflict; 2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents fled into Senegal in 2006 to escape armed confrontations along the border
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin)
19,712 (Mauritania)
IDPs
22,400 (approximately 65% of the IDP population returned in 2005, but new displacement is occurring due to clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2006)
Illicit drugs
transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis
