Republic of Senegal

Senegal is located at the westernmost tip of the African continent, on the Atlantic Ocean, at the confluence of Europe, Africa and the Americas, and at the crossroads of major sea and air routes. The country is bordered to the north by Mauritania, to the east by Mali, to the south by Guinea and Guinea Bissau, to the west by Gambia and by the Atlantic Ocean along a 500-kilometre stretch of coastline. Dakar, the capital, is a peninsula in the extreme west of the country.

The territory now known as Senegal has a long and rich political and cultural history. It was long part of the ancient kingdoms of Ghana and Djolof and was contested by the United Kingdom, France, Portugal and the Netherlands before becoming a French colony. Since its independence in 1960 and the introduction of a multi-party system in 1974, Senegal has been characterised by its stability and the reliability of its electoral processes, which have enabled three peaceful alternations of power: Bassirou Diomaye Faye has been Senegal's 5th president since March 2024, for a five-year term.

Senegal is a flat country with sandy soils no higher than 130 metres above sea level, except on its south-eastern border with Guinea. It owes its name to the river (1,700 kilometres long) that borders it to the east and north and rises in the Fouta-Djalon region of Guinea. The Senegal River forms the border with Mauritania and its main tributary marks the border with Mali. In the centre, the Saloum flows into the sea via a long estuary overgrown with mangroves. These rivers are subject to seasonal variations (dry and rainy seasons), with the exception of the Senegal River, which has been developed to irrigate its delta.

Senegal's geography is not very favourable to agriculture. Although the south is very rainy, most of the country lies in a fairly dry Sahelian zone. Watercourses are rare and, combined with the flatness of the country and the low flow of rivers, this constitutes a serious natural handicap to the agricultural development of the regions. Fishing, long one of the country's main natural products, is in rapid decline. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector employs over 50% of the working population.

Senegal's resident population in 2023 will be 18,032,473. It stood at 13,508,715 in 2013, representing an average annual growth rate of 2.9%, which remained constant between the two periods. Made up of more women (50.2%) than men (49.8%), Senegal's population is characterised by its great youth: half the population is aged under 19 (18 for men and 20 for women) and children aged under 15 make up 39.2% of the overall population. This category is larger for boys (40.6%) than for girls (37.6%). In addition, 3.8% of the population is aged 65 and over. Senegal's population is unevenly distributed across the country's 14 regions. The highest concentrations of people are found in the west, centre and north-west of the country, while the east and north-east remain sparsely populated. The Dakar region, which occupies 0.3% of the surface area, stands out from the others with a density of 7,277 inhabitants per km2. However, the regions of Diourbel (428), Thiès (375) and Kaolack (252) also have fairly high population densities. The Kédougou region is the least densely populated, with 15 inhabitants per km2. An estimated two million Senegalese work outside the country. (Source: ANSD - RGPH-5, October 2023)

Senegal's population is made up of four main ethnic groups (Wolof, Halpulaaren, Serer and Diola), the vast majority of whom are Muslims. A common national language, Wolof, is spoken throughout the country, as well as in Gambia. However, education is provided in French.

Senegal is the second largest economy in French-speaking West Africa, behind Côte d'Ivoire, with a GDP per capita of USD 1,660 in 2023. The problems of employment, the cost of living, the quality of public services, the supply and cost of electricity and the water supply remain the main concerns of the Senegalese people. The primary sector (16.5% of GDP, 50% of the working population) remains particularly exposed to the vagaries of the weather and the volatility of world commodity prices.

The authorities want to develop agricultural activity along the Senegal River, where sugar cane is already grown, with a view to increasing rice production to become self-sufficient and intensifying market gardening for domestic consumption or export.

The secondary sector (25.6% of GDP) is based mainly on gold mining, phosphates, cement, agri-food and the building and public works sector. Recent discoveries of oil and gas fields should increase this percentage in the near future.

Tertiary activities (57.9% of GDP, including 20% for public services), in which telecommunications play a predominant role, are still heavily dominated by the informal sector.

A new era has been heralded by the new management team through the reference framework of a new development model, ‘Senegal 2050: National Agenda for Transformation’, presented as the Vision of a sovereign, prosperous and fair Senegal in 2050, 25 years from now, by developing, among other things, the potential of each territory through a new map of eight dynamic economic hubs, and by moving away from the unbalanced territorial model and the macrocephaly of Dakar.