Fact File for the Wolof of Senegal

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Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania

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

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 (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 16%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 18% (1993 est.)

Environment - current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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: Marine Dumping

People

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 2,237,678; female 2,213,632)
15-64 years: 52% (male 2,501,649; female 2,729,412)
65 years and over: 3% (male 152,236; female 152,887) (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.19 years
male: 60.6 years
female: 63.82 years (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese

Ethnic divisions: Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4%

Religions: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.1%
male: 43%
female: 23.2% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence farming; 175,000 wage earners)
by occupation: private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%

Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal
local short form: Senegal

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor

Independence: 4 April 1960 from France; complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 (The Gambia and Senegal signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 (constituted 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)

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

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since NA 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Niasse MOUSTAPHA (since NA 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 27 February 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2007); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) NA%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (140 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - PS 50%, PDS 19%, UDS-R 13%, And Jef 5%, LD-MPT 4%, CDP 2%, FSD 1%, PDS-R 1%, RND 1%, BGC 1%, PIT 1%, other 2%; seats by party - PS 93, PDS 23, UDS-R 11, And Jef 4, LD-MPT 3, CDP 1, FSD 1, PDS-R 1, RND 1, BGC 1, PIT 1

Judicial branch: under the terms of a reform of the judicial system implemented in 1992, the principal organs of the judiciary are as follows: Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals

Political parties and leaders: African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Senegalese Democratic Party-Renewal or PDS-R [Serigne Lamine DIOP, secretary general]; Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal or UDS-R [Mamadou Puritain FALL]; Socialist Party or PS [President Abdou DIOUF]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties

Other political or pressure groups: labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers

Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar
mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
telephone: [221] 823-4296, 823-7384
FAX: [221] 822-2991

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 January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which is linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually in 1995-99. Annual inflation has been pushed down to 2%, and the fiscal deficit has been cut to less than 1.5% of GDP. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. Real GDP growth is expected to rise above 6%, while inflation is likely to hold at 2% in 2000-2001.

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 42.8% (1991)

Budget:
revenues: $885 million
expenditures: $885 million, including capital expenditures of $125 million (1996 est.)

Exports: $925 million (f.o.b., 1998)
commodities: fish, ground nuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton
partners: France 22%, Italy, India, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali (1998)

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
commodities: foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum
partners: France 36%, other EU countries, Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, US, China, Japan (1998)

Electricity:
capacity: 230,000 kW
production: 1.2 billion kWh (1998) (100% fossil fuel)
consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1993)

Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction 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; illicit cultivator of cannabis

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFA franc) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 647.25 (January 2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1966), 499.15 (1995)
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. Since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

Transportation

Railroads:
total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track)

Highways:
total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km
unpaved: 10,305 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine:
total: 1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT

Airports:
total: 20 (1999 est.)
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
with paved runways under 914 m: 5
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Communications

Telephone system:
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system
international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998)
radios: 1.24 million (1997)

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale)

Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 2,218,920 (2000 est.);
males fit for military service age 15-49: 1,158,893 (2000 est.);
males reaching military age annually: 109,381 (2000 est.)

Originally published by the Central Intelligence Agency Attn.: Office of Public and Agency Information Washington, DC 20505 Telephone: [1] (703) 351-2053

Links to Profiles on Senegal

CIA -- The World Factbook 2000 -- Senegal
U.S. Dept of State, Background Notes on Senegal   More detailed profile than the CIA World Factbook.
Senegal US Consular Information Sheet   A profile tailored for travellers covering mainly safety and health concerns.
USAID's Briefing for the President - Senegal   A detailed although selective profile prepared for the visit of former President Clinton in 1999.

Data profile   Table of statistical figures for the years 1998, 1999, 2000.
Senegal competitiveness indicators   Various indicators of economic performance.
Senegal at a glance   Document in .pdf format with detailed economic indicator statistics.


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