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. 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 and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.

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

slightly smaller than South Dakota

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

generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast

fish, phosphates, iron ore

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing

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

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

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

Muslim 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%

12,969,606 (July 2012 est.)

36.19 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

9.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-1.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

DAKAR (capital) 2.777 million (2009)

370 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.69 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.059 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.34 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 69% of population

rural: 38% of population

total: 51% of population

urban: 31% of population

rural: 62% of population

total: 49% of population

14 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kedougou, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor

4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960

Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

adopted 7 January 2001; amended many times

civil law system based on French law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; 90 members elected by direct popular vote and 60 elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)

Constitutional Council; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals

African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance for the Republic-Yakaar [Macky SALL]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism or AJ/PADS [Landing SAVANE]; Benno Bokk Yakaar coaltion [Macky SALL]; Benno Siggil Senegal (a coalition of opposition parties); Bokk Giss Giss coalition [Pape DIOP]; Citizen Movement for National Reform or MCRN-Bes Du Nakk; 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]; Party for Truth and Development or PVD [Ahmadou Kara MBACKE]; People's Labor Party or PTP [El Hadji DIOUF]; Reform Party or PR [Abdourahim AGNE]; Republican Movement for Socialism and Democracy or MRDS; Rewmi Party [Idrissa SECK]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition [Abdoulaye WADE] (a coalition led by the PDS); Synergy for Ethics and Transparency [Aminata TALL]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]

ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, CPLP (associate), ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; green represents Islam, progress, and hope; yellow signifies natural wealth and progress; red symbolizes sacrifice and determination; the star denotes unity and hope

Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance and foreign direct investment. The country's key export industries are phosphate mining, fertilizer production, and commercial fishing. The country is also working on iron ore and oil exploration projects. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to an economic reform program backed by the donor community, which led to real growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2007. Annual inflation was pushed down to the single digits. The global economic downturn reduced growth to 2.2% in 2009. The IMF completed a non-dispursing, Policy Support Initiative program in 2010 and approved a new three-year policy support instrument in December 2010 to assist with economic reforms. Senegal also receives disbursements from a $540 million Millennium Challenge Account for infrastructure and agriculture development. In 2012, the economy began to rebound after a weak 2011. The economy continues to suffer from unreliable power supply, which has led to public protests and high unemployment and has prompted migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe.

$26.5 billion (2012 est.)

$25.56 billion (2011 est.)

$24.91 billion (2010 est.)

$13.95 billion (2012 est.)

5.852 million (2012 est.)

24.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

23.7% of GDP (2012 est.)

-5.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

33.6% of GDP (2012 est.)

32.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

0.25% (31 December 2010 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)

14.3% (31 December 2012 est.)

14.5% (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.538 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$3.254 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$5.818 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$5.35 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.315 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.186 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish

-$1.298 billion (2012 est.)

-$1.685 billion (2011 est.)

$2.458 billion (2012 est.)

$2.416 billion (2011 est.)

fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton

Mali 21.9%, India 12.4%, France 4.6%, Italy 4.2% (2011)

$5.109 billion (2012 est.)

$5.398 billion (2011 est.)

food and beverages, capital goods, fuels

France 16.7%, China 9.6%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 8.3%, Netherlands 5.8%, US 4.8% (2011)

$2.25 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.946 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.117 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.068 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

2.608 billion kWh (2009 est.)

2.123 billion kWh (2009 est.)

638,000 kW (2009 est.)

99.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

13,040 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.)

16,850 bbl/day (2008 est.)

40,600 bbl/day (2011 est.)

7,046 bbl/day (2008 est.)

16,700 bbl/day (2008 est.)

50 million cu m (2010 est.)

(1 January 2012 est.)

6.679 million Mt (2010 est.)

9.353 million (2011)

state-run Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise (RTS) operates 2 TV stations; a few private TV subscription channels rebroadcast foreign channels without providing any local news or programs; RTS operates a national radio network and a number of regional FM stations; many community and private-broadcast radio stations are available; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible on FM in Dakar (2007)

1.818 million (2009)

gas 43 km; refined products 8 km (2010)

1,000 km (primarily on the Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2012)

Senegalese Armed Forces: Army, Senegalese Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Senegalese Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Senegal) (2009)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 20 years of age for selective conscript service; service obligation - 2 years; women have been accepted into military service since 2008 (2004)

1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis