Senegal Travel Podcast with Fatou Diop

Location

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

Terrain

Generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast

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

Highest point

Unnamed elevation 2.8 km southeast of Nepen Diaka 648 m

Lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Mean elevation

69 m

Area

Total

196,722 sq km

Land

192,530 sq km

Water

4,192 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly smaller than South Dakota; slightly larger than twice the size of Indiana

Coastline

531 km

Land borders

Total

2,684 km

Border countries

The Gambia 749 km; Guinea 363 km; Guinea-Bissau 341 km; Mali 489 km; Mauritania 742 km

Natural resources

Fish, phosphates, iron ore

Land use

Agricultural land

49.4% (2023 est.)

Arable land

19.9% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

0.4% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

29.1% (2023 est.)

Forest

45.1% (2023 est.)

Other

5.5% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

Note

Westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal

Population

Total

18,847,519 (2024 est.)

Male

9,283,314

Female

9,564,205

Nationality

Noun

Senegalese (singular and plural)

Adjective

Senegalese

Ethnic groups

Wolof 39.7%, Pulaar 27.5%, Sereer 16%, Mandinka 4.9%, Jola 4.2%, Soninke 2.4%, other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2019 est.)

Languages

French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka, Serer, Soninke

Religions

Muslim 97.2% (most adhere to one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods), Christian 2.7% (mostly Roman Catholic) (2019 est.)

Median age

Total

19.4 years (2025 est.)

Male

18.4 years

Female

20 years

Life expectancy

Total population

70.6 years (2024 est.)

Male

68.8 years

Female

72.4 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

49.6% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

3.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

The population is concentrated in the west, with Dakar anchoring a well-defined core area; approximately 70% of the population is rural, as shown in this population distribution map

Largest cities

3.340 million DAKAR (capital) (2023)

Background

Senegal is one of the few countries in the world with evidence of continuous human life from the Paleolithic period to present. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Jolof Empire ruled most of Senegal. Starting in the 15th century, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain traded along the Senegalese coast. Senegal’s location on the western tip of Africa made it a favorable base for the European slave trade. European powers used the Senegalese island of Goree as a base to purchase slaves from the warring chiefdoms on the mainland, and at the height of the slave trade in Senegal, over one-third of the Senegalese population was enslaved. In 1815, France abolished slavery and began expanding inland. During the second half of the 19th century, France took possession of Senegal as a French colony. In 1959, the French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. In 1982, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union dissolved in 1989.

Since the 1980s, the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance -- a separatist movement based in southern Senegal -- has led a low-level insurgency. Several attempts at reaching a comprehensive peace agreement have failed. Since 2012, despite sporadic incidents of violence, an unofficial cease-fire has remained largely in effect. Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. The Socialist Party of Senegal ruled for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000 and re-elected in 2007. WADE amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition. In 2012, WADE’s decision to run for a third presidential term sparked public backlash that led to his loss to current President Macky SALL. A 2016 constitutional referendum limited future presidents to two consecutive five-year terms. President Bassirou Diomaye FAYE took office in April 2024.

Government

Presidential republic

Capital

Dakar

Time zone

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, D.C., during Standard Time)

Local name

République du Sénégal

Independence

4 April 1960 (from France); 20 August 1960 (full independence after federation with Mali is dissolved)

National day

Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

Overview

Lower middle-income, services-driven West African economy; key mining, construction, agriculture, and fishing industries; tourism and exports hit hard by COVID-19; large informal economy; developing offshore oil and gas fields; systemic corruption

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$4,500 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$4,300 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$4,200 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

0.8% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

5.9% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

9.7% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

3% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

2.8% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

2.9% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

606.345 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

606.57 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

623.76 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

554.531 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

575.586 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, zircon, and gold mining, construction materials, ship construction and repair

Agriculture

Rice, groundnuts, watermelons, millet, cassava, sugarcane, maize, sorghum, onions, milk (2023)

Airports

20 (2025)

Railways

Total

906 km (2017) (713 km operational in 2017)

Narrow gauge

906 km (2017) 1.000-m gauge

Ports

Total ports

6 (2024)

Large

0

Medium

1

Small

1

Very small

4

Ports with oil terminals

4

Key ports

Dakar, Karabane, Lyndiane, M'bao Oil Terminal, Rufisque, St. Louis

Internet domain

.sn

Internet users

Percent of population 61% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

22.4 million (2023 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

120 (2022 est.)

Environmental issues

Deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; droughts; seasonal flooding; overfishing; weak environmental laws; poaching

Fresh water

38.97 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)