Senegal
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Senegal is a nation in western-Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Guinea to the south and Mauritania to the north. The nation of Gambia is a coast enclave with Senegal. Senegal is generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast. It represents the western edge of the Sahel. About 45% of Senegal is forest or woodland.
Senegal's major environmental issues include: wildlife populations being threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; and overfishing. It is susceptible to having its lowlands seasonally flooded; and to periodic droughts.
The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) 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. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye Wade was elected in 2000. He was reelected in February 2007, but complaints of fraud led opposition parties to boycott June 2007 legislative polls. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
Geographic Coordinates: 14 00 N, 14 00 W
Area: 196,190 km2 (192,000 km2 land and 4,190 km2 water)
arable land: 12.51%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 87.25% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 2,640 km. Border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km
Coastline: 531 km
Maritime Claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Natural Hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts
Terrain: Generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast. Its lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 metres) and its highest point is an unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha (581 metres)
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind
Government
Government Type: Republic
Capital: Dakar
Independence Date: 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
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
International Environmental Agreements
Senegal is party to international agreements on: 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, and Whaling
People and Society
Population: 12,853,259 (July 2008 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 41.9% (male 2,717,257/female 2,668,602)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 3,524,683/female 3,552,643)
65 years and over: 3% (male 183,188/female 206,886) (2008 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.58% (2008 est.)
Birth Rate: 36.52 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 10.72 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 57.08 years (2008 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 4.86 children born/woman (2008 est.)
Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Literacy (2002 est.): 39.3% (male: 51.1% - female: 29.2%)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 39.4 cu km (1987)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 2.22 cu km/yr (4% domestic, 3% industrial, 93% agricultural). Per capita: 190 cu m/yr (2002)
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish
Irrigated Land: 1,200 sq km (2003)
Resources
Natural Resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore.
Energy
| Energy in Senegal | |||||
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 2.159 billion kWh (2006) | 1.859 billion kWh (2006) | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | |
| Oil | 0 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 35,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 3,889 bbl/day (2004) | 37,180 bbl/day (2004) | 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 2 billion cu m (2006 est.) | 2 billion cu m (2006 est.) | NA cu m | NA cu m | NA cu m |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Health
Major Infectious Diseases: degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, dengue fever, malaria, Rift Valley fever, and yellow fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2008)
Conflict
International Disputes: 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): 19,630 (Mauritania). Internally Displaced Persons: 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) (2007)
Economy
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): $20.6 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $11.12 billion (2007)
GDP- real growth rate: 5% (2007 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,700 (2007 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 16.7%
industry: 18.9%
services: 64.4% (2007 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 54% (2001 est.)
Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining; iron ore, zircon, and gold mining, construction materials, ship construction and repair
Exports: fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton
Export Partners: Mali 18.4%, France 8.9%, Italy 5.8%, India 5.6%, Gambia, The 5.1% (2006)
Imports: food and beverages, capital goods, fuels
Import Partners: France 22.8%, Netherlands 9.9%, China 7.4%, Thailand 5.3%, Belgium 4.5%, UK 4.2% (2006)
Economic Aid Recipient: $477 million (2007 est.)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
Ports and Terminals: Dakar
Further Reading