Senegal

Senegal is a country located in Western Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania, covering an area of approximately 196,722 square kilometers. As of 2024, Senegal has a population of about 18.85 million, with French as the official language alongside Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka, Serer, and Soninke. The country is generally low, rolling plains rising to foothills in the southeast, with a tropical climate that is hot and humid with a rainy season from May to November and a dry season from December to April dominated by the harmattan wind. Dakar serves as the capital, and the government operates as a presidential republic.

Senegal has a lower-middle-income, services-driven West African economy with a GDP of $32.27 billion and a GDP per capita of $4,500, driven by agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, zircon and gold mining, construction materials, and ship construction and repair. Key agricultural products include rice, groundnuts, watermelons, millet, cassava, sugarcane, maize, sorghum, onions, and milk, while natural resources include fish, phosphates, and iron ore. The unemployment rate is 2.7% as of 2025, with a life expectancy of 68.9 years and a literacy rate of 50.4%. Senegal is developing offshore oil and gas fields, though it has a large informal economy and faces challenges of systemic corruption.