Introduction
Introduction | Maps and Statistics | Timeline of Sénégalese History

 

Located on the West coast of the continent of Africa, Sénégal is a modern nation established in 1958. A multilingual country with diverse ethnic groups, it has a rich history and cultural tradition. Read on to find out more about Sénégal's geography, people, natural resources, history, and culture.

 

Geography

A bit smaller than South Dakota, Sénégal is a country located at the western tip of Africa. Its capital city is Dakar. Sénégal has a total area of 76,124 square miles and a current population estimated at 10 million. Sénégal surrounds Gambia and is bordered by Mauritania on the north, Mali on the east, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. 

Senegal is drained by three major rivers: the Sénégal in the north and the Gambia and Casamance in the south. The land is mostly flat and covered with sandy soil. There are hills in the southeast and tall evergreen forests in the Casamance region. In addition, there are small plateaus and volcanic rocks in the Cape Verde peninsula. The climate can be described as dry tropical with two distinct seasons. The dry season, with temperatures ranging between 79 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, begins in November and ends in June. During the rainy season, which lasts from July to October, annual rainfall averages 12 inches in the north and 40 inches in the south. In the Casamance region, the rainfall average can reach 60 inches.

 

People

Major ethnic groups include Wolof, Fulani, Tukulor, and Serere. French is the official language, while Diola, Mandingo, Pulaar, and Wolof are the national languages. Most Sénégalese people live in rural areas and work as farmers for 5 - 6 months out of the year. Planting takes place around July/August and harvesting takes place around October/November. During the rest of the months of the year the Wolof and Fulani men will go off for seasonal labor to a rice farm, phosphate mine, or major city (like Dakar). In the Serere region, the women will travel as well as the men, going for seasonal labor as washing women or cooking. In this case the children are left with the grandparents, who typically live in the same house as the rest of the family, till the mother and father can return.

Sénégal is a semitropical country; warm, sunny and colorful. Nowhere in Africa do the women wear more exquisite fabrics-the brilliant swatches of cloth wound around them and arranged on their heads in enormous bandannas. They have the elegant bearing of women accustomed to carrying bundles or jugs of water on their heads. In their mouths, they like to hold tiny, decorated twigs made from a special bark that are sometimes decorated; they rub their teeth with these from time to time. The men also present an interesting picture in their long, bright, loose boubous and skullcaps. 

 

Natural Resources

Sénégal's natural resources are phosphates, marble, basalt, sandstone, limestone, and iron ore. Among the major crops are peanuts, cotton, sugarcane, rice, beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, sorghum, and vegetables. Fishing and livestock-raising also contribute to Sénégal's economy. The country has a wide variety of wildlife scattered across six different game parks. Iles de la Madeleine, Langue de Barbarie, and Djoudj National parks in the north; Kaba National Park in the east; and Delta du Saloun and Casamance National Parks in the south are homes to many species of birds, including great white pelicans, flamingos, and crowned cranes. Warthogs, golden jackals, monkeys, buffalos, lions, leopards, and other animals also live there. 

 

A Brief History of Sénégal

Before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, Sénégal was a hodgepodge of different empires. The Tekrur, based around the Sénégal River, was the most prominent of these empires. They traded slaves and gold for weapons and other commodities. Although Senegal did not become officially a French colony until 1948, the French started running the country as far back as the middle of the 17th century, when they started establishing trading posts on the coast of Sénégal. In 1960, after gaining independence from France, Léopold Sédar Senghor, a gifted poet and a key player in the independence movement, became Sénégal's first president. He resigned in 1980 and transferred the presidency to Prime Minister Abdou Diouf. In a multiparty election in 1993, President Diouf was elected to a five-year term. 

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