]! ^! 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 was ruled by the Socialist Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye WADE was elected in 2000. 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 most significant threat within Senegal since the 1980s has been led by the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC). Although a peace agreement was signed in December 2004, internal rifts continue to keep the peace process deadlocked. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania ^# 14 00 N, 14 00 W ^$ Africa ^% `! 196,190 sq km `" 192,000 sq km `# 4,190 sq km ^& slightly smaller than South Dakota ^' `! 2,640 km `Y The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km ^( 531 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* 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 ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m ^- fish, phosphates, iron ore ^. `' 12.51% `( 0.24% `) 87.25% (2005) ^/ 1,200 sq km (2003) ^0 lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts ^1 wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling ^2 westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal 
]# ^3 12,521,851 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 42% (male 2,656,122/female 2,608,423) `, 55% (male 3,426,504/female 3,454,372) `- 3% (male 176,877/female 199,553) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.7 years `. 18.5 years `/ 18.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.645% (2007 est.) ^7 37.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 10.96 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.018 male(s)/female `, 0.992 male(s)/female `- 0.886 male(s)/female `2 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 60.15 deaths/1,000 live births `. 64.06 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 56.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 56.69 years `. 55.34 years `/ 58.09 years (2007 est.) ^= 5 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.8% (2003 est.) ^? 44,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 3,500 (2003 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift Valley fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis `s meningococcal meningitis (2007) ^A `3 Senegalese (singular and plural) `4 Senegalese ^B Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% ^C Muslim 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1% ^D French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 40.2% `. 50% `/ 30.7% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Senegal `7 Senegal `Z Republique du Senegal `[ Senegal `\ Senegambia (along with The Gambia); Mali Federation ^H republic ^I `8 Dakar `9 14 40 N, 17 26 W `: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 11 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor ^K 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 ^L Independence Day, 4 April (1960) ^M adopted 7 January 2001 ^N 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 ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000) `< Prime Minister Macky SALL (since 21 April 2004) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president `> 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 `? 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% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `* the former National Assembly had 120 seats, but deputies in late 2006 voted to expand the number of seats to 140 `> last held on 29 April 2001; note - the National Assembly in December 2005 voted to postpone legislative elections originally scheduled for 2006; parliamentary elections were rescheduled to coincide with the 25 February 2007 presidential elections but have been rescheduled once again `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 ^R Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals ^S 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 and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [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]; Rewmi [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); Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA] ^T labor; Sufi and Mouride brotherhoods; students; teachers ^U 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Amadou Lamine BA `S 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 234-0540 `U [1] (202) 332-6315 `V Houston, New York ^W `R Ambassador Janice L. JACOBS `_ Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar `` B. P. 49, Dakar `T [221] 823-4296 `U [221] 822-2991 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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 1995-2006. 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. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt. ^Z $22.01 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $8.562 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 4.9% (2006 est.) ^] $1,800 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 18.3% `A 19.2% `B 62.5% (2006 est.) ^_ 4.749 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 77% industry and services: 23% (1990 est.) ^a 48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 est.) _! 54% (2001 est.) _" `C 2.6% `D 33.5% (1995) _d 41.3 (1995) _# 2% (2006 est.) _V 41% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $2.023 billion `F $2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2006 est.) _% 17.8% of GDP (2006 est.) _& peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish _' agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair _( 3.2% (2006 est.) _) 1.453 billion kWh (2004) _* 1.351 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 31,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 50 million cu m (2004 est.) _2 50 million cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-895.2 million (2006 est.) _3 $1.478 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton _5 Mali 16.9%, India 13.1%, France 9.5%, Spain 6.1%, Italy 5.5%, Gambia, The 4.6% (2005) _6 $2.98 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 food and beverages, capital goods, fuels _8 France 22.8%, Nigeria 11.4%, Brazil 4.5%, Thailand 4.3%, US 4.2%, UK 4% (2005) _[ $1.18 billion (2006 est.) _9 $1.628 billion (2006 est.) _: $449.6 million (2003 est.) _; Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States _< Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 266,600 (2005) _? 1.73 million (2005) _@ `G good system `H above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system `I country code - 221; 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) _B 1 (1997) _C .sn _D 412 (2006) _E 540,000 (2005) 
]' _F 20 (2006) _G `! 9 `a 1 `b 6 `c 2 (2006) _R `! 11 `b 6 `c 4 `W 1 (2006) _^ gas 43 km (2006) _e `! 906 km `n 906 km 1.000 meter gauge (2005) _H `! 13,576 km `K 3,972 km (includes 7 km of expressways) `L 9,604 km (2003) _b 1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2005) _I Dakar 
]( _J Army, Senegalese Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Senegalese Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Senegal) (2007) _T 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004) _K males age 18-49: 2,443,840 females age 18-49: 2,461,939 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,558,175 females age 18-49: 1,642,533 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 129,331 females age 18-49: 129,398 (2005 est.) _U 1.9% (2006 est.) 
]) _N 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 _c `o 19,712 (Mauritania) `k 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) _O transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis 