Senegal
Senegal
Dakar Skyline. Source: Mohamed Ndaw/Wikipedia
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.
Location of Senegal. Source: Vardion/Wikipedia
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. 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 and has amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition, part of the President's increasingly autocratic governing style.
Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation.
Map of Senegal. Source:CIA World Factbook
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
See also:
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: 12,643,799 (July 2011 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 2,748,457/female 2,722,633)15-64 years: 53.9% (male 3,200,056/female 3,611,173)65 years and over: 2.9% (male 166,577/female 194,903) (2011 est.
Population Growth Rate: 2.557% (2011 est.)
Birth Rate: 36.73 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate: 9.26 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Urbanization: 42% of total population (2010) growing at a 3.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 59.78 years
Total Fertility Rate: 4.78 children born/woman (2011 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 | 1.88 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 1.384 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (2008 est.) | 0 kWh (2008 est.) | |
| Oil | 0 bbl/day (2008 est.) | 39,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) | 5,653 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 42,850 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 50 million cu m (2008 est.) | 50 million cu m (2008 est.) | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | NA cu m (1 January 2010 est.) |
| 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
Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance. The country's key export industries are phosphate mining, fertilizer production, and commercial fishing. The country is also working on iron ore and oil exploration projects. In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. 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 1995-2008. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the single digits. The country was adversely affected by the global economic downturn in 2009 and GDP growth fell below 2%. 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. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal 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 which was completed in 2010. Senegal received its first disbursement from the $540 million Millennium Challenge Account compact it signed in September 2009 for infrastructure and agriculture development. In 2010, the Senegalese people protested against frequent power cuts. The government pledged to expand capacity by 2012 and to promote renewable energy but until Senegal has more capacity, more protests are likely and economic activity will be hindered. During the year, bakers protested government price controls on bread. Foreign investment in Senegal is constrained by Senegal's business environment, which has slipped in recent years, and by perceptions of corruption.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $23.86 billion (2010 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $12.66 billion (2010 est.)
GDP- real growth rate: 3.9% (2010 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,900 (2010 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 14.9%
industry: 21.4%
services: 63.6% (2010 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 20.12%, India 9.84%, Gambia, 5.58%, France 5.02%, Italy 4.23% (2009)
Imports: food and beverages, capital goods, fuels
Import Partners: France 19.58%, UK 9.64%, China 8.08%, Netherlands 5.64%, Thailand 4.75%, US 3.97% (2009)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
Ports and Terminals: Dakar
Further Reading
Citation
Central Intelligence Agency (Lead Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Lakhdar Boukerrou (Topic Editor) "Senegal". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth June 2, 2009; Last revised Date December 31, 2011; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Senegal>
The Author
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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