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Small Business (BC),
Vancouver, Canada |
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Background: |
The French colonies of Senegal
and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as
the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months.
Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of
Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged integration of the two countries was
never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of
Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist
insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals
have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of
the most stable democracies in Africa. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist
Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye WADE was elected in
2000. He was reelected in February 2007, but complaints of fraud led
opposition parties to boycott June 2007 legislative polls. Senegal has a
long history of participating in international peacekeeping.
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Country name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal
local short
form: Senegal
former: Senegambia (along with The Gambia),
Mali Federation |
|
Government type: |
republic |
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Capital: |
name: Dakar
geographic coordinates: 14 40 N, 17 26 W
time
difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time) |
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Administrative divisions: |
11 regions (regions, singular -
region), Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Matam,
Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor |
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Independence: |
4 April 1960 (from France),
note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with
Mali on 20 August 1960 |
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National holiday: |
Independence Day, 4 April
(1960) |
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Constitution: |
adopted 7 January 2001 |
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Legal system: |
based on French civil law
system, judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court, the
Council of State audits the government`s accounting office, accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age, universal
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Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of
government: Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou SOUMARE (since 19 June
2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime
minister in consultation with the president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a
second term) under new constitution, election last held on 25 February
2007 (next to be held in 2012), prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Abdoulaye WADE reelected president in the
first round of voting, percent of vote - Abdoulaye WADE 55.9%, Idrissa
SECK 14.9%, Ousmane Tanor DIENG 13.6%, Moustapha NIASSE 5.9%, other 9.7%
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Legislative branch: |
bicameral Parliament consisting
of the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats, 90 members
elected by direct popular vote with the remaining members elected by
proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and
the Senate reinstituted in 2007 (100 seats, 35 indirectly elected with the
remaining 65 members to be appointed by the president)
elections: National Assembly - last held on 3 June 2007 (next
to be held 2012), note - the National Assembly in December 2005 voted to
postpone legislative elections originally scheduled for 2006, legislative
elections were first rescheduled to coincide with the 25 February 2007
presidential elections and later rescheduled for 3 June 2007, the June
election was boycotted by 12 opposition parties, including the former
ruling Socialist Party, that resulted in a record-low, 35-percent voter
turnout, Senate - last held 19 August 2007 (next to be held - NA)
election results: National Assembly results - percent of vote
by party - NA, seats by party - SOPI Coalition 131, other 19, Senate
results - percent of vote by party - NA, seats by party - PDS 34, AJ/PADS
1, 65 appointed by the president |
|
Judicial branch: |
Constitutional Court, Council
of State, Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation, Court of Appeals
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Political parties and leaders: |
African Party of Independence
[Majhemout DIOP], And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or
(AJ/PADS) [Landing SAVANE], Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP
[Moustapha NIASSE], Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr.
Abdoulaye BATHILY], Front for Socialism and Democracy/Benno Jubel or
FSD/BJ [Cheikh Abdoulaye Bamba DIEYE], Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC
[Jean-Paul DIAS], Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO],
Jef-Jel [Talla SYLLA], National Democratic Rally or RND [Madior DIOUF],
People`s Labor Party or PTP [Elhadji DIOUF], Reform Party or PR
[Abdourahim AGNE], Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE],
Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG], SOPI Coalition [Abdoulaye
WADE] (a coalition led by the PDS), Union for Democratic Renewal or URD
[Djibo Leyti KA] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
labor, Sufi brotherhoods,
including the Mourides and Tidjanes, students, teachers |
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International organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS,
FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO
(correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF,
OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNOCI,
UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315
consulate(s) general:
Houston, New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant), Charge d`Affaires Jay Thomas Smith
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar
mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
telephone: [221]
33-823-4296
FAX: [221] 33-822-2991 |
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Flag description: |
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 |
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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 was 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 over 5% annually during
1995-2007. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits.
As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU),
Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified
external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment,
however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of
better job opportunities in Europe. Senegal was also beset by an energy
crisis that caused widespread blackouts in 2006 and 2007. The phosphate
industry has struggled for two years to secure capital, and reduced output
has directly impacted GDP. In 2007, Senegal signed agreements for major
new mining concessions for iron, zircon, and gold with foreign companies.
Firms from Dubai have agreed to manage and modernize Dakar`s maritime
port, and create a new special economic zone. Senegal still relies heavily
upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF`s Highly Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal has benefited from
eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and
private-sector debt. In 2007, Senegal and the IMF agreed to a new,
non-disbursing, Policy Support Initiative program. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$20.61 billion (2007 est.)
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GDP (official exchange rate): |
$11.1 billion (2007) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
4.8% (2007 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$1,700 (2007 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 13.1%
industry: 20.6%
services: 66.3% (2007 est.) |
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Labor force: |
4.85 million (2007 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 77.5%
industry and services: 22.5% (2007 est.) |
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Unemployment rate: |
48% (2007 est.) |
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Population below poverty line: |
54% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 33.4% (2001) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
41.3 (2001) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
5.8% (2007) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
12.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $2.25 billion
expenditures: $2.987 billion (2007 est.) |
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Public debt: |
22.6% of GDP (2007) |
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Agriculture - products: |
peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum,
rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables, cattle, poultry, pigs, fish
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Industries: |
agricultural and fish
processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining,
construction materials, ship construction and repair |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
2.7% (2007 est.) |
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Electricity - production: |
2.159 billion kWh (2006) |
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption: |
1.859 billion kWh (2006) |
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Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
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Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
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Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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Oil - consumption: |
35,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
3,889 bbl/day (2004) |
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Oil - imports: |
37,180 bbl/day (2004) |
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Oil - proved reserves: |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
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Natural gas - production: |
2 billion cu m (2006 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption: |
2 billion cu m (2006 est.)
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Natural gas - exports: |
NA cu m |
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Natural gas - imports: |
NA cu m |
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Natural gas - proved reserves: |
NA cu m |
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Current account balance: |
-$1.085 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports: |
$1.725 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
fish, groundnuts (peanuts),
petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
|
Exports - partners: |
Mali 19.2%, France 8.3%, India
5.8%, Gambia, The 5.3%, Spain 5.1%, Italy 4.9% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$3.673 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
food and beverages, capital
goods, fuels |
|
Imports - partners: |
France 25.1%, UK 5.2%, Thailand
4.8%, China 4.5%, Spain 4% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$477 million (2007 est.) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$1.35 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
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Debt - external: |
$2.004 billion (31 December
2007) |
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Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$NA |
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Currency (code): |
Communaute Financiere Africaine
franc (XOF), note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West
African States |
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Currency code: |
XOF |
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Exchange rates: |
Communaute Financiere Africaine
francs (XOF) per US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005),
528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF
franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
282,600 (2006) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
2.983 million (2006) |
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Telephone system: |
general assessment: good
system
domestic: above-average urban system, more than half of
all fixed-line connections are in Dakar with expansion of fixed-line
services in rural areas needed, mobile-cellular service is expanding
rapidly, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in
trunk system
international: country code - 221, the SAT-3/WASC
fiber optic cable provides connectivity to Europe and Asia while
Atlantis-2 provides connectivity to South America, satellite earth station
- 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001)
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Radios: |
1.24 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
4 (2007) |
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Televisions: |
361,000 (1997) |
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Internet country code: |
.sn |
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Internet hosts: |
199 (2007) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2002) |
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Internet users: |
650,000 (2006) |
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Airports: |
20 (2007) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 9
over
3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 1
(2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 11
1,524
to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1
(2007) |
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Pipelines: |
gas 43 km (2007) |
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Railways: |
total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000 meter gauge (2006) |
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Roadways: |
total: 13,576 km
paved: 3,972 km (includes 7 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,604 km (2003) |
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Waterways: |
1,000 km (primarily on Senegal,
Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2005) |
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Ports and terminals: |
Dakar |
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Disputes - international: |
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau
attempt to stem separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms
smuggling into their countries from Senegal`s Casamance region, and in
2006, respectively accepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing
the conflict, 2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents fled into Senegal in 2006 to
escape armed confrontations along the border |
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Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 19,712 (Mauritania)
IDPs: 22,400 (approximately
65% of the IDP population returned in 2005, but new displacement is
occurring due to clashes between government troops and separatists in
Casamance region) (2006) |
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Illicit drugs: |
transshipment point for
Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to
Europe and North America, illicit cultivator of cannabis |
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