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Country Information > West Africa > Senegal Background [ Geography ] [ People ] [ Government ] [ Economy ] [ Communications ] [ Transportation ] [ Military ]
Background: Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania Geographic coordinates: 14 00 N, 14 00 W Area: Land boundaries: Coastline: 531 km Maritime claims: 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: Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore Land use: Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts Environment - current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing Environment
- international agreements: Geography - note: Westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal Population: 9,403,546 (July 1997 est.); 9,987,494 (July 2000 est.); 10,589,571 (July 2002 est.); 12,853,259 (July 2008 est.) Age structure: Population growth rate: 3.35% (1997 est.); 2.94% (2000 est.); 2.91% (2002 est.); 2.58% (2008 est.) Birth rate: 44.91 births/1,000 population (1997 est.); 37.94 births/1,000 population (2000 est.); 36.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.); 36.52 births/1,000 population (2008 est.) Death rate: 11.4 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.); 8.57 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.); 8.14 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.); 10.72 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) Sex ratio: Infant mortality rate: 62.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.); 58.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.); 55.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.); 58.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) Life expectancy
at birth: Total fertility rate: 6.24 children born/woman (1997 est.); 5.21 children born/woman (2000 est.); 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.); 4.86 children born/woman (2008 est.) Nationality: 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%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka Literacy: Country name: Government type: republic under multiparty democratic rule National capital: Dakar Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor note: there may be another region called Mata Independence: 4 April 1960 from France; complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 (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, revised 1991. A new constitution was 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; Senegal has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: Legislative
branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
(120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve
five-year terms) Judicial branch: under the terms of a reform of the judicial system implemented in 1992, the principal organs of the judiciary are as follows; Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cessation; Court of Appeals 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]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO 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: 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 was 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 over 5% annually during 1995-2007. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment, however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Senegal was also beset by an energy crisis that caused widespread blackouts in 2006 and 2007. The phosphate industry has struggled for two years to secure capital, and reduced output has directly impacted GDP. In 2007, Senegal signed agreements for major new mining concessions for iron, zircon, and gold with foreign companies. Firms from Dubai have agreed to manage and modernize Dakar's maritime port, and create a new special economic zone. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal has benefited from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt. In 2007, Senegal and the IMF agreed to a new, non-disbursing, Policy Support Initiative program. GDP: purchasing power parity - $15.6 billion (1996 est.); $16.6 billion (1999 est.); $16.2 billion (2001 est.); $20.61 billion (2007 est.) GDP - 5% (1996 est.); 5% (1999 est.); 5.7% (2001 est.); 4.8% (2007 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,700 (1996 est.); $1,650 (1999 est.); $1,580 (2001 est.); $1,700 (2007 est.) GDP - composition
by sector: Population below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.); 54% (2001 est.) Household
income or consumption by percentage share: Inflation rate - consumer prices: 7.8% (1995);, 2% (1999 est.); 3.3% (2001 est.); 5.8% (2007) Labor force: Unemployment rate: 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.); 48% (2007 est.) Budget: Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining, construction materials Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1994); 7% (1998 est.); 5.2% (2000 est.); 2.7% (2007 est.) Electricity - production: 1.027 billion kWh (1997 est.); 1.2 billion kWh (1998); 1.32 billion kWh (2000); 2.159 billion kWh (2006) Electricity - consumption: 1.116 billion kWh (1998); 1.228 billion kWh (2000); 1.859 billion kWh (2006) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2005) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2005) Agriculture - products: peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish Exports: Imports: Debt - external: $4.1 billion (1995 est.); $3.4 billion (1998 est.); $3.1 billion (2002 est.); $2.004 billion (31 December 2007) Economic
aid: Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine
francs (XOF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005),
528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) Fiscal year: calendar year Telephones: 82,000 (1995); 234,916 (2001); 282,600 (2006) Telephones - mobile cellular: 122 (1995); 373,965 (2001); 2.983 million (2006) Telephone
system: good system Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998);AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) Radios: 850,000 (1993 est.), 1.24 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 4 (2007) Televisions: 61,000 (1993 est.), 361,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4 (1999); 15 (2002) Railways: total: 906 km Highways: Waterways: 1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2005) Ports and harbors: Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard-Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor Airports: 20 (2007) Airports - with paved runways: Airports - with unpaved runways: Military branches: Army, Senegalese Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Senegalese Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Senegal) (2008) Military manpower
- availability: Military manpower - fit for
military service: Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (1996 est.); 1.4% (FY97); 1.4% (FY02); 1.4% (2005 est.)
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