Senegal

SENEGAL: The “missing middle” – tackling youth unemployment

Ibra Niang, 22, was recently one of the estimated 100,000 young people who enter Senegal’s stark job market each year. After seeing many of his...

WEST AFRICA: Meningitis emergency vaccine stock tapped early

The UN World Health Organization’s meningitis vaccine stockpile programme has already tapped into its inventory, weeks before the worst of the...

Synchronized polio campaign kicks off across eight countries in West Africa

Fifty-three million children under five are expected to be reached across eight West African countries in a coordinated polio immunization campaign...

SENEGAL: Squeezing more out of sesame

The Senegalese government has invested millions of dollars in the past decade to revive sesame production, but the sector has been slow to develop....

WEST AFRICA: Can organic cotton save the industry?

Fuel and fertiliser price hikes, insect infestations and chemical damage to soil have led some cotton farmers in West Africa to produce organic...

SENEGAL: Coastal erosion research goes unfunded

Environmental officials are calling for funds to document the deterioration of Senegal’s coast and take action to save coastal communities. “We need...

National name: République du Sénegal

Geography

Capital: Dakar
Major Towns: Dakar, St.Louis, Thies, Tambakunda, Kaolak, Ziguinchor,
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): Dakar: 14°40'N, 17°25'W
Time Zone: UTC
Size (Land and Sea:) 196,723 km², Water: 2.1%
Borders with the Atlantic Ocean, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Gambia lies almost entirely within Senegal, surrounded on the north, east and south; from its western coast, Gambia's territory follows the Gambia River more than 300 kilometers (186 mi) inland.
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m, highest point: unnamed location in the Futa Jaldon Hills: 581m

Politics

Head of State: President: Abdoulaye Wade, Prime Minister: Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré
Form of Government: Semi-presidential Republic
Independancy (from France): June 20, 1960
Currency: CFA Franc

Industry
Main industries (income) food processing, mining, cement, artificial fertilizer, chemicals, textiles, refining imported petroleum, and tourism. Exports include fish, chemicals, groundnuts, and calcium phosphate
Other Industries: Agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair.
Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore
Agriculture: peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish

Population and People

Population: 12,521,851 (2007 est.); 11,658,000 (2005 est.)
Population density per sq mi: 169
Growth rate: 2.6% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: 37.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 60.2/1000
Religion: Islam: 95%, Christianity: 4%, Animism: 1%
Languages: French, Wolof, Mandinka, Jola, Fula
Ethnic groups / Tribes: Wolof: 43%, Peuls and Toucouleur (also known as Halpulaar, Fulbe or Fula) (24%),others: Serer (15%), Lebou (10%), Jola (4%), Mandinka (3%), Maures or Naarkajors, Soninke, Bassari and many smaller communities (9%). About 50,000 Europeans (1%) (mostly French) as well as smaller numbers of Mauritanians and Lebanese reside in Senegal
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.)
Life expectancy: 56.7
Literacy: Total population: 39.1%, male: 51.1%, female: 28.9% (2001 est)

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