{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"text": "Senegal is one of the few countries in the world with evidence of continuous human life from the Paleolithic period to present. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Jolof Empire ruled most of Senegal. Starting in the 15th century, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain traded along the Senegalese coast. Senegal’s location on the western tip of Africa made it a favorable base for the European slave trade. European powers used the Senegalese island of Goree as a base to purchase slaves from the warring chiefdoms on the mainland, and at the height of the slave trade in Senegal, over one-third of the Senegalese population was enslaved. In 1815, France abolished slavery and began expanding inland. During the second half of the 19th century, France took possession of Senegal as a French colony. In 1959, the French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. In 1982, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union dissolved in 1989.
Since the 1980s, the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance -- a separatist movement based in southern Senegal -- has led a low-level insurgency. Several attempts at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement have failed. Since 2012, despite sporadic incidents of violence, an unofficial cease-fire has remained largely in effect. Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. The Socialist Party of Senegal ruled for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000 and re-elected in 2007. WADE amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition. In 2012, WADE’s decision to run for a third presidential term sparked public backlash that led to his loss to current President Macky SALL. A 2016 constitutional referendum limited future presidents to two consecutive five-year terms. President Bassirou Diomaye FAYE took office in April 2024."
}
},
"Geography": {
"Location": {
"text": "Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania"
},
"Geographic coordinates": {
"text": "14 00 N, 14 00 W"
},
"Map references": {
"text": "Africa"
},
"Area": {
"total ": {
"text": "196,722 sq km"
},
"land": {
"text": "192,530 sq km"
},
"water": {
"text": "4,192 sq km"
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly smaller than South Dakota; slightly larger than twice the size of Indiana"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
"text": "2,684 km"
},
"border countries": {
"text": "The Gambia 749 km; Guinea 363 km; Guinea-Bissau 341 km; Mali 489 km; Mauritania 742 km"
}
},
"Coastline": {
"text": "531 km"
},
"Maritime claims": {
"territorial sea": {
"text": "12 nm"
},
"contiguous zone": {
"text": "24 nm"
},
"exclusive economic zone": {
"text": "200 nm"
},
"continental shelf": {
"text": "200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin"
}
},
"Climate": {
"text": "tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind"
},
"Terrain": {
"text": "generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast"
},
"Elevation": {
"highest point": {
"text": "unnamed elevation 2.8 km southeast of Nepen Diaka 648 m"
},
"lowest point": {
"text": "Atlantic Ocean 0 m"
},
"mean elevation": {
"text": "69 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
"text": "fish, phosphates, iron ore"
},
"Land use": {
"agricultural land": {
"text": "49.4% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: arable land": {
"text": "arable land: 19.9% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent crops": {
"text": "permanent crops: 0.4% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent pasture": {
"text": "permanent pasture: 29.1% (2022 est.)"
},
"forest": {
"text": "41.5% (2022 est.)"
},
"other": {
"text": "9.1% (2022 est.)"
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "1,200 sq km (2012)"
},
"Major rivers (by length in km)": {
"text": "Senegal (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, and Mauritania [m] ) - 1,641 km; Gambie (Gambia) (shared with Guinea [s] and The Gambia [m]) - 1,094 km
note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
},
"Major watersheds (area sq km)": {
"text": "Atlantic Ocean drainage: Senegal (456,397 sq km)"
},
"Major aquifers": {
"text": "Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin"
},
"Population distribution": {
"text": "the population is concentrated in the west, with Dakar anchoring a well-defined core area; approximately 70% of the population is rural, as shown in this population distribution map"
},
"Natural hazards": {
"text": "lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts"
},
"Geography - note": {
"text": "westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal"
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"total": {
"text": "18,847,519 (2024 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "9,283,314"
},
"female": {
"text": "9,564,205"
}
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Senegalese (singular and plural)"
},
"adjective": {
"text": "Senegalese"
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Wolof 39.7%, Pulaar 27.5%, Sereer 16%, Mandinka 4.9%, Jola 4.2%, Soninke 2.4%, other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2019 est.)"
},
"Languages": {
"text": "French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka, Serer, Soninke"
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Muslim 97.2% (most adhere to one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods), Christian 2.7% (mostly Roman Catholic) (2019 est.)"
},
"Age structure": {
"0-14 years": {
"text": "40.7% (male 3,907,986/female 3,760,594)"
},
"15-64 years": {
"text": "55.9% (male 5,098,038/female 5,437,195)"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "3.4% (2024 est.) (male 277,290/female 366,416)"
}
},
"Dependency ratios": {
"total dependency ratio": {
"text": "78.9 (2024 est.)"
},
"youth dependency ratio": {
"text": "72.8 (2024 est.)"
},
"elderly dependency ratio": {
"text": "6.1 (2024 est.)"
},
"potential support ratio": {
"text": "16.4 (2024 est.)"
}
},
"Median age": {
"total": {
"text": "19.2 years (2024 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "18.4 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "20 years"
}
},
"Population growth rate": {
"text": "2.46% (2024 est.)"
},
"Birth rate": {
"text": "30.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)"
},
"Death rate": {
"text": "4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)"
},
"Net migration rate": {
"text": "-0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)"
},
"Population distribution": {
"text": "the population is concentrated in the west, with Dakar anchoring a well-defined core area; approximately 70% of the population is rural, as shown in this population distribution map"
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
"text": "49.6% of total population (2023)"
},
"rate of urbanization": {
"text": "3.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)"
}
},
"Major urban areas - population": {
"text": "3.340 million DAKAR (capital) (2023)"
},
"Sex ratio": {
"at birth": {
"text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
},
"0-14 years": {
"text": "1.04 male(s)/female"
},
"15-64 years": {
"text": "0.94 male(s)/female"
},
"65 years and over": {
"text": "0.76 male(s)/female"
},
"total population": {
"text": "0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)"
}
},
"Mother's mean age at first birth": {
"text": "21.9 years (2019 est.)",
"note": "note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49"
},
"Maternal mortality ratio": {
"text": "261 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)"
},
"Infant mortality rate": {
"total": {
"text": "31.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "34.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
},
"female": {
"text": "27.6 deaths/1,000 live births"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth": {
"total population": {
"text": "70.6 years (2024 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "68.8 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "72.4 years"
}
},
"Total fertility rate": {
"text": "4.06 children born/woman (2024 est.)"
},
"Gross reproduction rate": {
"text": "1.98 (2024 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
"text": "26.9% (2019)"
},
"Drinking water source": {
"improved: urban": {
"text": "urban: 95.9% of population"
},
"improved: rural": {
"text": "rural: 79.3% of population"
},
"improved: total": {
"text": "total: 87.3% of population"
},
"unimproved: urban": {
"text": "urban: 4.1% of population"
},
"unimproved: rural": {
"text": "rural: 20.7% of population"
},
"unimproved: total": {
"text": "total: 12.7% of population (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Health expenditure": {
"Health expenditure (as % of GDP)": {
"text": "4.4% of GDP (2021)"
},
"Health expenditure (as % of national budget)": {
"text": "3.4% of national budget (2022 est.)"
}
},
"Physician density": {
"text": "0.11 physicians/1,000 population (2023)"
},
"Hospital bed density": {
"text": "0.7 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)"
},
"Sanitation facility access": {
"improved: urban": {
"text": "urban: 94.1% of population"
},
"improved: rural": {
"text": "rural: 55.5% of population"
},
"improved: total": {
"text": "total: 74.1% of population"
},
"unimproved: urban": {
"text": "urban: 5.9% of population"
},
"unimproved: rural": {
"text": "rural: 44.5% of population"
},
"unimproved: total": {
"text": "total: 25.9% of population (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
"text": "8.8% (2016)"
},
"Alcohol consumption per capita": {
"total": {
"text": "0.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)"
},
"beer": {
"text": "0.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)"
},
"wine": {
"text": "0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)"
},
"spirits": {
"text": "0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)"
},
"other alcohols": {
"text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)"
}
},
"Tobacco use": {
"total": {
"text": "5.4% (2025 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "10.5% (2025 est.)"
},
"female": {
"text": "0.5% (2025 est.)"
}
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
"text": "14.4% (2019)"
},
"Currently married women (ages 15-49)": {
"text": "65.3% (2023 est.)"
},
"Child marriage": {
"women married by age 15": {
"text": "8.8% (2019)"
},
"women married by age 18": {
"text": "30.5% (2019)"
},
"men married by age 18": {
"text": "0.7% (2019)"
}
},
"Education expenditure": {
"Education expenditure (% GDP)": {
"text": "6.2% of GDP (2023 est.)"
},
"Education expenditure (% national budget)": {
"text": "20.9% national budget (2025 est.)"
}
},
"Literacy": {
"total population": {
"text": "50.4% (2023 est.)"
},
"male": {
"text": "61.5% (2023 est.)"
},
"female": {
"text": "41.5% (2023 est.)"
}
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
"total": {
"text": "9 years"
},
"male": {
"text": "8 years"
},
"female": {
"text": "10 years (2021)"
}
}
},
"Environment": {
"Environment - current issues": {
"text": "deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; droughts; seasonal flooding; overfishing; weak environmental laws; poaching"
},
"Environment - international agreements": {
"party to": {
"text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified": {
"text": "none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate": {
"text": "tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind"
},
"Land use": {
"agricultural land": {
"text": "49.4% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: arable land": {
"text": "arable land: 19.9% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent crops": {
"text": "permanent crops: 0.4% (2022 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent pasture": {
"text": "permanent pasture: 29.1% (2022 est.)"
},
"forest": {
"text": "41.5% (2022 est.)"
},
"other": {
"text": "9.1% (2022 est.)"
}
},
"Urbanization": {
"urban population": {
"text": "49.6% of total population (2023)"
},
"rate of urbanization": {
"text": "3.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)"
}
},
"Air pollutants": {
"particulate matter emissions": {
"text": "38.21 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions": {
"text": "10.9 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions": {
"text": "11.74 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Waste and recycling": {
"municipal solid waste generated annually": {
"text": "2,454,059 tons (2016 est.)"
}
},
"Major rivers (by length in km)": {
"text": "Senegal (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, and Mauritania [m] ) - 1,641 km; Gambie (Gambia) (shared with Guinea [s] and The Gambia [m]) - 1,094 km
note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
},
"Major watersheds (area sq km)": {
"text": "Atlantic Ocean drainage: Senegal (456,397 sq km)"
},
"Major aquifers": {
"text": "Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin"
},
"Total water withdrawal": {
"municipal": {
"text": "260 million cubic meters (2020 est.)"
},
"industrial": {
"text": "58 million cubic meters (2017 est.)"
},
"agricultural": {
"text": "2.76 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Total renewable water resources": {
"text": "38.97 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Government": {
"Country name": {
"conventional long form": {
"text": "Republic of Senegal"
},
"conventional short form": {
"text": "Senegal"
},
"local long form": {
"text": "République du Sénégal"
},
"local short form": {
"text": "Sénégal"
},
"former": {
"text": "Senegambia (along with The Gambia), Mali Federation"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "named for the Senegal River that forms the northern border of the country; the river's name may derive from \"Azenegue,\" the Portuguese name for the Berber Zenaga people who lived north of the river, or it could come from a local word meaning \"navigable\""
}
},
"Government type": {
"text": "presidential republic"
},
"Capital": {
"name": {
"text": "Dakar"
},
"geographic coordinates": {
"text": "14 44 N, 17 38 W"
},
"time difference": {
"text": "UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, D.C., during Standard Time)"
},
"etymology": {
"text": "the name comes from the Wolof word n'dakar, meaning \"tamarind tree\""
}
},
"Administrative divisions": {
"text": "14 regions (régions, singular - région); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kéedougou, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor"
},
"Legal system": {
"text": "civil law system based on French law; Constitutional Council reviews legislative acts"
},
"Constitution": {
"history": {
"text": "previous 1959 (pre-independence), 1963; latest adopted by referendum 7 January 2001, promulgated 22 January 2001"
},
"amendment process": {
"text": "proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; passage requires Assembly approval and approval in a referendum; the president can bypass a referendum and submit an amendment directly to the Assembly, which requires at least three-fifths majority vote; the republican form of government is not amendable"
}
},
"International law organization participation": {
"text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship": {
"citizenship by birth": {
"text": "no"
},
"citizenship by descent only": {
"text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Senegal"
},
"dual citizenship recognized": {
"text": "no, but Senegalese citizens do not automatically lose their citizenship if they acquire citizenship in another state"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization": {
"text": "5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage": {
"text": "18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch": {
"chief of state": {
"text": "President Bassirou Diomaye FAYE (since 2 April 2024)"
},
"head of government": {
"text": "Prime Minister Ousmane SONKO (since 2 April 2024)"
},
"cabinet": {
"text": "Council of Ministers appointed by the president"
},
"election/appointment process": {
"text": "president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a single, renewable 5-year term"
},
"most recent election date": {
"text": "24 March 2024"
},
"election results": {
"text": "
2024: Bassirou Diomaye FAYE elected president in first round; percent of vote - Bassirou Diomaye FAYE (PASTEF) 54%, Amadou BA (APR) 36%, other 10%
2019: Macky SALL reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Macky SALL (APR) 58.3%, Idrissa SECK (Rewmi) 20.5%, Ousmane SONKO (PASTEF) 15.7%, other 5.5%
" }, "expected date of next election": { "text": "March 2029" } }, "Legislative branch": { "legislature name": { "text": "National Assembly (Assemblée nationale)" }, "legislative structure": { "text": "unicameral" }, "number of seats": { "text": "165 (all directly elected)" }, "electoral system": { "text": "mixed system" }, "scope of elections": { "text": "full renewal" }, "term in office": { "text": "5 years" }, "most recent election date": { "text": "11/17/2024" }, "parties elected and seats per party": { "text": "Pastef Party (130); Coalition Takku Wallu Sénégal (16); Other (19)" }, "percentage of women in chamber": { "text": "41.2%" }, "expected date of next election": { "text": "November 2029" } }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { "text": "Supreme Court or Cour Suprême (consists of the court president and 12 judges and organized into civil and commercial, criminal, administrative, and social chambers); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (consists of 7 members, including the court president, vice president, and 5 judges)" }, "judge selection and term of office": { "text": "Supreme Court judges appointed by the president of the republic upon recommendation of the Superior Council of the Magistrates, a body chaired by the president and minister of justice; judge tenure varies, with mandatory retirement either at 65 or 68 years; Constitutional Council members are appointed, 5 by the president and 2 by the National Assembly speaker; judges serve 6-year terms, with renewal of 2 members every 2 years" }, "subordinate courts": { "text": "High Court of Justice (for crimes of high treason by the president); Courts of Appeal; Court of Auditors; assize courts; regional and district courts; Labor Court" } }, "Political parties": { "text": "Alliance for Citizenship and Work or ACT
a transit point on the cocaine route from South America to Europe; large production of cannabis in southern Casamance region; the high domestic use of cannabis, ecstasy, and to a lesser extent crack cocaine
" } } }