SENEGAL GEOGRAPHY Total area: 196,190 km2; land area: 192,000 km2 Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km Coastline: 531 km Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Disputes: short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite; the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered its decision on the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal maritime boundary in favor of Senegal--that decision has been rejected by Guinea-Bissau; boundary with Mauritania Climate: tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (December to April) has strong southeast winds; dry season (May to November) dominated by hot, dry harmattan wind Terrain: generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore Land use: arable land 27%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 30%; forest and woodland 31%; other 12%; includes irrigated 1% Environment: lowlands seasonally flooded; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification Note: The Gambia is almost an enclave PEOPLE Population: 7,952,657 (July 1991), growth rate 3.1% (1991) Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 86 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 56 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Senegalese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Senegalese Ethnic divisions: Wolof 36%, Fulani 17%, Serer 17%, Toucouleur 9%, Diola 9%, Mandingo 9%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 2% Religion: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic) Language: French (official); Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo Literacy: 38% (male 52%, female 25%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: 2,509,000; 77% subsistence agricultural workers; 175,000 wage earners--private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%; 52% of population of working age (1985) Organized labor: majority of wage-labor force represented by unions; however, dues-paying membership very limited; major confederation is National Confederation of Senegalese Labor (CNTS), an affiliate of governing party GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Republic of Senegal Type: republic under multiparty democratic rule Capital: Dakar Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular--region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor Independence: 4 April 1960 (from France); The Gambia and Senegal signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 (effective 1 February 1982) that called for the creation of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989 Constitution: 3 March 1963, last revised in 1984 Legal system: based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court, which also audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Independence Day, 4 April (1960) Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme) Leaders: Chief of State--President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981); Head of Government--Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991) Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party (PS), President Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE; 13 other small uninfluential parties Suffrage: universal at age 21 Elections: President--last held 28 February 1988 (next to be held February 1993); results--Abdou DIOUF (PS) 73%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 26%, other 1%; National Assembly--last held 28 February 1988 (next to be held February 1993); results--PS 71%, PDS 25%, other 4%; seats--(120 total) PS 103, PDS 17 Communists: small number of Communists and sympathizers Other political or pressure groups: students, teachers, labor, Muslim Brotherhoods Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ibra Deguene KA; Chancery at 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 234-0540 or 0541; US--Ambassador George E. MOOSE; Embassy on Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar (mailing address is B. P. 49, Dakar); telephone 221 23-42-96 or 23-34-24 Flag: 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 ECONOMY Overview: The agricultural sector accounts for about 20% of GDP and provides employment for about 75% of the labor force. About 40% of the total cultivated land is used to grow peanuts, an important export crop. The principal economic resource is fishing, which brought in about $200 million or about 25% of total foreign exchange earnings in 1987. Mining is dominated by the extraction of phosphate, but production has faltered because of reduced worldwide demand for fertilizers in recent years. Over the past 10 years tourism has become increasingly important to the economy. GDP: $5.0 billion, per capita $615; real growth rate 3.6% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.0% (1990) Unemployment rate: 3.5% (1987) Budget: revenues $921 million; expenditures $1,024 million; including capital expenditures of $14 million (FY89 est.) Exports: $814 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--manufactures 30%, fish products 27%, peanuts 11%, petroleum products 11%, phosphates 10%; partners--France, other EC, Mali, Ivory Coast, India Imports: $1.050 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--semimanufactures 30%, food 27%, durable consumer goods 17%, petroleum 12%, capital goods 14%; partners--France, other EC, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria, China, Japan External debt: $2.9 billion (1990) Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1989); accounts for 15% of GDP Electricity: 210,000 kW capacity; 760 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: fishing, agricultural processing, phosphate mining, petroleum refining, building materials Agriculture: including fishing, accounts for 20% of GDP and more than 75% of labor force; major products--peanuts (cash crop), millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; estimated two-thirds self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 299,000 metric tons in 1987 Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $551 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $4.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $589 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $295 million Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 1,034 km 1.000-meter gauge; all single track except 70 km double track Dakar to Thies Highways: 14,000 km total; 3,770 km paved, 10,230 km laterite or improved earth Inland waterways: 900 km total; 785 km on the Senegal, 115 km on the Saloum Ports: Dakar, Kaolack Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 9,263 GRT/15,167 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 bulk Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft Airports: 25 total, 20 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: above-average urban system, using radio relay and cable; 40,200 telephones; stations--8 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 3 submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie; Surete Nationale Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,749,540; 913,806 fit for military service; 91,607 reach military age (18) annually Defense expenditures: $100 million, 2% of GDP (1989 est.)