Senegal

Graeme Villeret

8 years ago

Official name	Republic of Senegal
Name in local language	République du Sénégal (fr)
Continent	Africa
Subcontinent	Sub-Saharan Africa
Population (ranking: 71^e)	17,215,428 inhabitants (2021)
Population growth	3.06 % / year
Area	196,712 km²
Density	87.52 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 113^e)	24.578 billions $USD (2019)
GDP/capita (ranking)	1,447 $USD (2019)
GDP growth	5.30 % / year (2019)
Life expectancy (ranking)	67.80 years (2020)
Birth rate	36.10 ‰ (2020)
Fertility rate	4.93 children / woman (2020)
Death rate (ranking)	6.60 ‰ (2020)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)	37.10 ‰ (2020)
Literacy rate	57.67 % (2015)
Official languages	French (Wolof spoken)
Currency	CFA franc (XAF)
HDI (ranking: 205^e)	0.512 / 1 (2019)
EPI (ranking)	49.52 (2018)
Government	Semi-presidential republic
Head of State	President Macky Sall
National Day	4 April (independence of 1960)
ISO Codes	SN, SEN
Demonym	Senegalese
Tourists (ranking)	1,365,000 people (2017)

Sustained development but constrained by the global crisis

Senegal is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. The Gambia forms a virtual enclave in the country, cutting the country in half and penetrating more than 300 km inland. The Cape Verde Islands are located 560 km off the coast of Senegal. The country owes its name to the river that borders on the east and north and has its source in Fouta Djallon in Guinea. The climate is tropical and dry with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.

Dakar, capital of Senegal. Photo: Initsogan

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Urban areas (2021)

Urban areas	Population
Dakar Maps: Dakar – satellite Dakar – routière Dakar – districts Dakar	3,938,358 inhabitants
Touba	965,422 inhabitants
Mbour	830,495 inhabitants
Thiès	829,174 inhabitants
Kaolack	625,022 inhabitants
Saint-Louis Maps: Saint-Louis – satellite Saint-Louis – routière	365,534 inhabitants
Diourbel	343,736 inhabitants
Ziguinchor	319,425 inhabitants

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Administrative divisions

Regions	Population	Area
Dakar	3,938,358 inhabitants	547 km²
Diourbel	1,919,090 inhabitants	4,824 km²
Fatick	932,629 inhabitants	6,849 km²
Kaffrine	755,172 inhabitants	11,262 km²
Kaolack	1,228,746 inhabitants	5,357 km²
Kédougou	196,991 inhabitants	16,800 km²
Kolda	848,348 inhabitants	13,771 km²
Louga	1,091,268 inhabitants	24,889 km²
Matam	760,588 inhabitants	29,445 km²
Saint-Louis	1,120,585 inhabitants	19,241 km²
Sédhiou	591,970 inhabitants	7,341 km²
Tambacounda	904,032 inhabitants	42,364 km²
Thiès	2,221,097 inhabitants	6,670 km²
Ziguinchor	706,554 inhabitants	7,352 km²