1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 196,190 sq km land area: 192,000 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (December to April) has strong southeast winds; dry season (May to November) dominated by hot, dry harmattan wind
Coastline
531 km
Environment
current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing natural hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Marine Dumping
International disputes
short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite; boundary with Mauritania in dispute;
Irrigated land
1,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 2,640 km, The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km
Land use
arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 31% other: 12%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
Map references
Africa
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
fish, phosphates, iron ore
Note
The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal
Terrain
generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (female 2,004,514; male 2,021,251) 15-64 years: 52% (female 2,398,609; male 2,301,236) 65 years and over: 3% (female 140,128; male 141,342) (July 1995 est.)
Birth rate
42.87 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
11.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Wolof 36%, Fulani 17%, Serer 17%, Toucouleur 9%, Diola 9%, Mandingo 9%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 2%
Infant mortality rate
73.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners) by occupation: private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%
Languages
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 57.16 years male: 55.65 years female: 58.71 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1988) total population: 27% male: 37% female: 18%
Nationality
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural) adjective: Senegalese
Net migration rate
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
9,007,080 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
3.12% (1995 est.)
Religions
Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
Total fertility rate
6.03 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
Capital
Dakar
Constitution
3 March 1963, revised 1991
Digraph
SG
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540, 0541
Executive branch
chief of state: President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981); election last held 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA February 2000); results - Abdou DIOUF (PS) 58.4%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 32.03%, other 9.57% head of government: Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
FAX
[221] 22 29 91
Flag
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
Independence
20 August 1960 (from France; 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)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Legal system
based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court, which also audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral
Member of
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNOMUR, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal
National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
elections last held 9 May 1993 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - PS 70%, PDS 23%, other 7%; seats - (120 total) PS 84, PDS 27, LD-MPT 3, Let Us Unite Senegal 3, PIT 2, UDS-R 1
National holiday
Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Other political or pressure groups
students; teachers; labor; Muslim Brotherhoods
Political parties and leaders
Socialist Party (PS), President Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement (LD-MPT), Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY; Independent Labor Party (PIT), Amath DANSOKHO; Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal (UDS-R), Mamadou Puritain FALL; Let Us Unite Senegal (coalition of African Party for Democracy and Socialism and National Democratic Rally); other small uninfluential parties
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic under multiparty democratic rule
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark JOHNSON embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 23 42 96, 23 34 24
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 20% of GDP; major products - peanuts (cash crop), millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; estimated two-thirds self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 354,000 metric tons in 1990
Budget
revenues: $1.2 billion expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $269 million (1992 est.)
Currency
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $551 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.23 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $589 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $295 million
Electricity
capacity: 230,000 kW production: 720 million kWh consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1993)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: the official rate is pegged to the French franc, and beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Exports
$904 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: fish, ground nuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton partners: France, other EC countries, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali
External debt
$2.9 billion (1990)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America
Imports
$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum partners: France, other EC countries, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, China, Japan
Industrial production
growth rate 1.9% (1991); accounts for 15% of GDP
Industries
agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining, building materials
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
-1.8% (1991 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$1,450 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
-2% (1993 est.)
Overview
In 1994 Senegal embarked on its most concerted structural adjustment effort yet to exploit the 50% devaluation of the currencies of the 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January. After years of foot-dragging, the government finally passed a liberalized labor code which should significantly help lower the cost of labor and improve the manufacturing sector's competitiveness. Inroads also have been made in closing tax loopholes and eliminating monopoly power in several sectors. At the same time the government is holding the line on current fiscal expenditure under the watchful eyes of international organizations on which it depends for substantial support. A bumper peanut crop - Senegal's main source of foreign exchange - coincided with an improvement of international prices and probably resulted in a doubling of earnings in 1994 over 1993. The country's narrow resource base, environmental degradation, and untamed population growth will continue to hold back growth in living standards over the medium term.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Telephone system
NA telephones; above-average urban system local: NA intercity: microwave and cable international: 3 submarine cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Television
broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
Transportation
Airports
total: 24 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
Highways
total: 14,007 km paved: 3,777 km unpaved: crushed stone, improved earth 10,230 km
Inland waterways
897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal, 112 km on the Saloum
Merchant marine
total: 1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT
Ports
Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard-Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor
Railroads
total: 905 km narrow gauge: 905 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track)
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $134 million, 2.1% of GDP (1993) ________________________________________________________________________ SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO Note--Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been formally recognized as a state by the US; the US view is that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of the successor republics represents its continuation
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,021,019; males fit for military service 1,054,855; males reach military age (18) annually 96,589 (1995 est.)