Senegal
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Dakar
- Population
- 18,847,519 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 196,722 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Currency
- Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF)
- Life Expectancy
- 70.6 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .sn
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind
- Terrain
- generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
- Natural Resources
- fish, phosphates, iron ore
- Major Exports
- gold, refined petroleum, phosphoric acid, fish, cement (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
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.