SENEGAL
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
SENEGAL
@Senegal:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
Map references: Africa
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SENEGAL - MAJOR CITIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAKAR 1,382,000 14.38N, 17.27W 221- GMT
Thies 156,000 14.49N, 16.52W 221- GMT
Kaolack 132,000 14.09N, 16.08W 221- GMT
Zinguinchor 107,000 12.35N, 16.20W 221- GMT
Saint-Louis 97,000 16.01N, 16.30W 221- GMT
Diourbel 55,000 14.39N, 16.12W 221- GMT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area:
total area: 196,190 sq km
land area: 192,000 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Land boundaries: total 2,640 km, The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km,
Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km
Coastline: 531 km
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
International disputes: short section of the boundary with The Gambia
is indefinite; boundary with Mauritania in dispute;
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (December to April) has
strong southeast winds; dry season (May to November) dominated by hot,
dry harmattan wind
Terrain: generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in
southeast
Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 30%
forest and woodland: 31%
other: 12%
Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note: The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal
@Senegal:People
Population: 9,007,080 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate: 3.12% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.87 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 73.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 57.16 years
male: 55.65 years
female: 58.71 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.03 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese
Ethnic divisions: Wolof 36%, Fulani 17%, Serer 17%, Toucouleur 9%,
Diola 9%, Mandingo 9%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 2%
Religions: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly
Roman Catholic)
Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988)
total population: 27%
male: 37%
female: 18%
Labor force: 2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming;
175,000 wage earners)
by occupation: private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%
@Senegal:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal
local short form: Senegal
Digraph: SG
Type: republic under multiparty democratic rule
Capital: Dakar
Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region);
Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis,
Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
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)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Constitution: 3 March 1963, revised 1991
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
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
Legislative branch: unicameral
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
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
Other political or pressure groups: students; teachers; labor; Muslim
Brotherhoods
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
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
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
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
Economy
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.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1993
est.)
National product real growth rate: -2% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $1,450 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -1.8% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $1.2 billion
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $269
million (1992 est.)
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
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
External debt: $2.9 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1991); accounts for 15% of
GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 230,000 kW
production: 720 million kWh
consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1993)
Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining,
petroleum refining, building materials
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
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian
heroin moving to Europe and North America
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
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
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
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Senegal:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 905 km
narrow gauge: 905 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track)
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
Ports: Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard-Toll, Saint-Louis,
Ziguinchor
Merchant marine:
total: 1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT
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
@Senegal:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; above-average urban system
local: NA
intercity: microwave and cable
international: 3 submarine cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth
station
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA
@Senegal:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police
(Surete Nationale)
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.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $134 million, 2.1% of
GDP (1993)
________________________________________________________________________