General information: Having achieved independence in 1960 (until 1960 – a colony of France), in 1982 Senegal united with the Gambia in the nominal Senegambia confederation. However, the planned integration of the two countries did not take place, and in 1989 their union broke up. Despite ongoing peace talks, since 1982, a group of southern separatists have occasionally clashed with the government. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping forces.
Geography
Location: West Africa, on the Atlantic coast, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania.
Geographic coordinates: 14° 00′ N. latitude, 14° 00′ W
Reference map: Africa.
Area: total: 196,190 square kilometers; land surface area: 192,000 km2; water surface area: 4,190 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the state of South Dakota.
Land borders: total length: 2,640 km; with neighboring states: with the Gambia 740 km, with Guinea 330 km, with Guinea-Bissau 338 km, with Mali 419 km, with Mauritania 813 km.
Coastline: 531 km.
Maritime claims: neutral waters: 24 nautical miles; continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to the outer limits of the continent; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; during the rainy season (from May to November) strong southeasterly winds blow; during the dry season (December to April) the hot, dry “harmattan” wind blows mostly.
Terrain: mostly low-lying, rolling plains, fading into foothills in the southeast.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point: unnamed hill near Nepen Diac 581 m.
Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore.
Land use: arable land: 12%; cultivated land: 0%; pastures: 16%; forests and plantations: 54%; others: 18% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 710 km2 (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: seasonal flooding in low-lying areas; periodic droughts.
Current environmental issues: poaching that threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; uncontrolled fishing.
International agreements on environmental protection: member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Waste, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed but not ratified: Marine Pollution.
Geography Note: The Gambia is practically an enclave of Senegal.
Population
Population: 10,284,929 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 44.07% (male 2,279,996; female 2,252,255); 15 to 64 years old: 52.88% (male 2,603,829; female 2,834,328); over 65: 3.05% (male 155,877; female 158,644) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 2.93% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 37.46 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 8.35 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: 0.21 people / 1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male/female; under 15: 1.01 male/female; from 15 to 64 years old: 0.92 male/female; over 65: 0.98 male/female; for the general population: 0.96 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 56.75 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 62.56 years; men: 60.94 years; women: 64.22 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 5.12 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 1.77% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 79,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 7,800 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Senegalese; adjective: Senegalese.
Ethnic groups: Wolof 43.3%, Fulbe 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Yola 3.7%, Mandinke 3%, Soninke 1.1%, Europeans and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4%.
Believers: Muslims 92%, adherents of local beliefs 6%, Christians 2% (mostly Catholics).
Language(s): French (official), Wolof, Fulbe, Yola, Mandinke.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 33.1%; men: 43%; women: 23.2% (1995 est.).
Politics
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal;
conventional short form: Senegal; local long form: Republique du Senegal; local short form: Senegal
State structure: a republic with a multi-party democratic government. See politicsezine.com to know more about Senegal Political System.
Capital: Dakar.
Administrative division: 10 regions: Dakar, Diourbel, Ziguinchor, Kaolak, Kolda, Luga, Saint-Louis, Tambacunda, Thiez, Fatick.
Independence: from April 4, 1960 (until 1960 – a colony of France); full independence was achieved with the dissolution of the Federation of Mali on August 20, 1960.
National holiday: Independence Day, April 4 (since 1960).
Constitution: adopted March 3, 1963, revised 1991
Legal system: based on the French civil law system; revision of legislative acts in the Constitutional Court is possible; The State Council checks the execution of the budget; does not accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 18 years old; universal.
chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Madior BOYE (since 3 March 2001);
government: a council of ministers appointed by the prime minister after consultation with the president; elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; elections last held on 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held on 27 February 2007); the prime minister is appointed by the president; election results: Abdoulaye Wade elected president; percentage of votes in the second round of voting – Abdoulayi WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51%.
Legislature: unicameral National Assembly (120 members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term); note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 members; elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held in 2006); election results: distribution of votes by parties – no data; distribution of seats among parties – SOPI 89, AFP 11, PS 10, others 10.
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, Council of State; Court of Cassation; Court of Appeal; note – the judiciary was reformed in 1992.
Political parties and leaders: African Party for Democracy and Socialism (And Jef) (also known as PADS/AJ) (Landing SAVANE, General Secretary); African Independence Party (Majhemout DIOP); Alliance of Progressive Forces (AFP) (Mustapha NIAS-SE); Democratic and Patriotic Convention (CDP) (also known as Garab-Gi) (Dr. Iba Der THIAM); Democratic League-Workers’ Party Movement (LD-MPT) (Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY); Front for Socialism and Democracy (FSD) (Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE); Geindi Centrist Bloc (BGC) (Jean-Paul DIAS); Independence and Labor Party (PIT) (Amath DANSOKHO); Rally National Democratic (RND) (Madier DIOUF); Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS) (Abdoulaye WADE); Democratic Party of Senegal-Renewal (PDS-R) (Serigne Lamine DIOP, General Secretary); Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal (UDS-R) (Mamadou Puri-tain FALL); Socialist Party (PS) (Abdou DYUF, president); SOPI Coalition (coalition of forty parties led by PDS) (Abdoulaye WADE); Union for Democratic Renewal (URD) (Djibo Leyti KA); other small parties. Union for Democratic Renewal (URD) (Djibo Leyti KA); other small parties. Union for Democratic Renewal (URD) (Djibo Leyti KA); other small parties.
Political influence groups and their leaders: workers; students; teachers; “Muslim Brotherhood”.
Participation in international organizations: ACCT, ACP, AGOV, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IQM, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET , UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
US Diplomatic Mission: Head of Mission: Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK; office: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: [1] (202) 234-0540.
US Diplomatic Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS; embassy: Avenue Jean XXII/Avenue Kleber, Dakar; mailing address: W. R. 49, Dakar; phone: [221] 823-4296, 823-7384; fax: [221] 822-2991.
Description of the flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow and red with a small green five-pointed star in the center of the yellow band; The colors of the Ethiopian flag, which are popular throughout Africa, are used.
