Key Facts

GDP (ppp) per CAPITA

$1,600 (2008 est.)

Inflation Rate

5.8% (2008 est.)

Population

13,711,597 (July 2009 est.)

Country Risk Ratings

B

Ease of Doing Business

149/181

Global Competitiveness

3.73/134

Country Map

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gE Network

There are 11 members in the
gE Network for this country.

Senegal : Introduction

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, but 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. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye WADE was elected in 2000. He was reelected in February 2007, but complaints of fraud led opposition parties to boycott June 2007 legislative polls. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.

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Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (September 2009)