Communications
Airports [time series]
total: 25 usable: 19 with permanent-surface runways: 10 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
14,007 km total; 3,777 km paved, 10,230 km laterite or improved earth
Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]
897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal, 112 km on the Saloum
Merchant marine [time series]
1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT
Dakar, Kaolack, Foundiougne, Ziguinchor
Railways (Railroads) [time series]
1,034 km 1.000-meter gauge; all single track except 70 km double track Dakar to Thies
Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]
above-average urban system, using microwave and cable; broadcast stations - 8 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 3 submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]
Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police
Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]
exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 2% of GDP (1989 est.)
Manpower availability [time series]
males age 15-49 1,882,551; fit for military service 983,137; reach military age (18) annually 91,747 (1993 est.)
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
Economy
Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]
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 [time series]
revenues $921 million; expenditures $1,024 million; including capital expenditures of $14 million (FY89 est.)
Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Economic aid [time series]
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 [time series]
215,000 kW capacity; 760 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates [time series]
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January 1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988)
Exports [time series]
$904 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: manufactures 30%, fish products 23%, peanuts 12%, petroleum products 16%, phosphates 9% partners: France, other EC members, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, India
Debt - external (External debt) [time series]
$2.9 billion (1990)
Fiscal year [time series]
1 July - 30 June; in January 1993, Senegal will switch to a calendar year
Illicit drugs [time series]
increasingly active as a transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America
Imports [time series]
$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: semimanufactures 30%, food 27%, durable consumer goods 17%, petroleum 12%, capital goods 14% partners: France, other EC, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Algeria, China, Japan
Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]
growth rate 4.7% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP
Industries [time series]
agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining, building materials
Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]
2% (1990)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $5.4 billion (1991 est.)
Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]
$780 (1991 est.)
Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]
1.2% (1991 est.)
Economic overview (Overview) [time series]
The agricultural sector accounts for about 12% of GDP and provides employment for about 80% of the labor force. About 40% of the total cultivated land is used to grow peanuts, an important export crop. Another principal economic resource is fishing, which brought in about 23% of total foreign exchange earnings in 1990. Mining is dominated by the extraction of phosphate, but production has faltered because of reduced worldwide demand for fertilizers in recent years. Over the past 10 years tourism has become increasingly important to the economy.
Unemployment rate [time series]
NA%
Geography
total area: 196,190 km2 land area: 192,000 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Climate [time series]
tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (December to April) has strong southeast winds; dry season (May to November) dominated by hot, dry harmattan wind
Coastline [time series]
531 km
Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]
lowlands seasonally flooded; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]
short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite; the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 12 November 1991 rendered its decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary in favor of Senegal - that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau; boundary with Mauritania
Irrigated land [time series]
1,800 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries [time series]
total 2,640 km, The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 31% other: 12%
Location [time series]
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
Map references [time series]
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims [time series]
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources [time series]
fish, phosphates, iron ore
The Gambia is almost an enclave
Terrain [time series]
generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
Government
Administrative divisions [time series]
10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
Capital [time series]
Dakar
Constitution [time series]
3 March 1963, last revised in 1991
Digraph [time series]
SG
Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibra Deguene KA chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 234-0540 or 0541
Executive branch (Elections) [time series]
President: last held 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA); results - Abdou DIOUF (PS) 58.4%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 32.03%, other 9.57% National Assembly: last held 28 February 1988 (next to be held NA May 1993); results - PS 71%, PDS 25%, other 4%; seats - (120 total) PS 103, PDS 17
Executive branch [time series]
president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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 [time series]
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 [time series]
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]
Chief of State: President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981) Head of Government: Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991)
Legal system [time series]
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 [time series]
unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
International organization participation (Member of) [time series]
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNTAC, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Country name (Names) [time series]
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal
National holiday [time series]
Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]
students; teachers; labor; Muslim Brotherhoods
Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]
Socialist Party (PS), President Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE; 13 other small uninfluential parties
Suffrage [time series]
18 years of age; universal
Government type (Type) [time series]
republic under multiparty democratic rule
Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robert J. KOTT embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 23-42-96 or 23-34-24 FAX: [221] 22-29-91
People
Birth rate [time series]
43.42 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate [time series]
12.38 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]
Wolof 36%, Fulani 17%, Serer 17%, Toucouleur 9%, Diola 9%, Mandingo 9%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 2%
Infant mortality rate [time series]
77.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force [time series]
2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners) by occupation: private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60% note: 52% of population of working age (1985)
Languages [time series]
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo
Life expectancy at birth [time series]
total population: 56.01 years male: 54.59 years female: 57.48 years (1993 est.)
Literacy [time series]
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 38% male: 52% female: 25%
Nationality [time series]
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural) adjective: Senegalese
Net migration rate [time series]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population [time series]
8,463,225 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate [time series]
3.1% (1993 est.)
Religions [time series]
Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
Total fertility rate [time series]
6.15 children born/woman (1993 est.)