:Senegal Geography

Total area:
    196,190 km2
Land area:
    192,000 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly smaller than South Dakota
Land boundaries:
    2,640 km total; 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:
    edge of continental margin or 200 nm
  Exclusive fishing zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    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
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%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
    lowlands seasonally flooded; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
    desertification
Note:
    The Gambia is almost an enclave

:Senegal People

Population:
    8,205,058 (July 1992), growth rate 3.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
    44 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    13 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    80 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    54 years male, 57 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    6.2 children born/woman (1992)
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:
    38% (male 52%, female 25%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    2,509,000; 77% subsistence agricultural workers; 175,000 wage earners -
    private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%; 52% of population of
    working age (1985)
Organized labor:
    majority of wage-labor force represented by unions; however, dues-paying
    membership very limited; major confederation is National Confederation of
    Senegalese Labor (CNTS), an affiliate of the governing party

:Senegal Government

Long-form name:
    Republic of Senegal
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 (effective 1 February 1982) that called for the creation of
    a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the agreement was
    dissolved on 30 September 1989
Constitution:
    3 March 1963, last revised in 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
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Executive branch:
    president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
    unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
    Socialist Party (PS), President Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party
    (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE; 13 other small uninfluential parties
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  President:
    last held 28 February 1988 (next to be held NA February 1993); results -
    Abdou DIOUF (PS) 73%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 26%, other 1%
  National Assembly:
    last held 28 February 1988 (next to be held NA February 1993); results - PS
    71%, PDS 25%, other 4%; seats - (120 total) PS 103, PDS 17
Other political or pressure groups:
    students, teachers, labor, Muslim Brotherhoods
Member of:
    ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
    ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO
    (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
    UNIIMOG, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Ibra Deguene KA; Chancery at 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington,
    DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-0540 or 0541
  US:
    Ambassador Katherine SHIRLEY; Embassy on Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of
    Avenue Kleber, Dakar (mailing address is B. P. 49, Dakar); telephone [221]
    23-42-96 or 23-34-24; FAX [221] 22-29-91

:Senegal Government

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

:Senegal Economy

Overview:
    The agricultural sector accounts for about 20% of GDP and provides
    employment for about 75% of the labor force. About 40% of the total
    cultivated land is used to grow peanuts, an important export crop. The
    principal economic resource is fishing, which brought in about $200 million
    or about 25% of total foreign exchange earnings in 1987. 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.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $5.0 billion, per capita $615; real growth rate
    3.6% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    2.0% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
    3.5% (1987)
Budget:
    revenues $921 million; expenditures $1,024 million; including capital
    expenditures of $14 million (FY89 est.)
Exports:
    $814 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    manufactures 30%, fish products 27%, peanuts 11%, petroleum products 11%,
    phosphates 10%
  partners:
    France, other EC members, Mali, Ivory Coast, India
Imports:
    $1.05 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    semimanufactures 30%, food 27%, durable consumer goods 17%, petroleum 12%,
    capital goods 14%
  partners:
    France, other EC, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria, China, Japan
External debt:
    $2.9 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
    growth rate 4.7% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
    215,000 kW capacity; 760 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
    agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining,
    building materials
Agriculture:
    including fishing, accounts for 20% of GDP and more than 75% of labor force;
    major products - peanuts (cash crop), millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton,
    tomatoes, green vegetables; estimated two-thirds self-sufficient in food;
    fish catch of 299,000 metric tons in 1987
Economic aid:
    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:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
    = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 269.01 (January
    1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54
    (1987)

:Senegal Economy

Fiscal year:
    1 July - 30 June; note - in January 1993, Senegal will switch to a calendar
    year

:Senegal Communications

Railroads:
    1,034 km 1.000-meter gauge; all single track except 70 km double track Dakar
    to Thies
Highways:
    14,007 km total; 3,777 km paved, 10,230 km laterite or improved earth
Inland waterways:
    897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal, 112 km on the Saloum
Ports:
    Dakar, Kaolack, Foundiougne, Ziguinchor
Merchant marine:
    2 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 7,676 GRT/12,310 DWT; includes 1
    cargo, 1 bulk
Civil air:
    3 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    25 total, 19 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
    over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    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

:Senegal Defense Forces

Branches:
    Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 1,814,452; 947,723 fit for military service; 88,271 reach
    military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 2% of GDP (1989 est.)