Senegal
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Republic of Senegal
Country name - conventional short form : Senegal
Country name - local long form : Republique du Senegal
Country name - local short form : Senegal
Country name - former : Senegambia (along with The Gambia), Mali Federation
Government type : republic
Capital - name : Dakar
Capital - time difference : UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Population : 12,853,259 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Senegalese (singular and plural)
Nationality - adjective : Senegalese
Languages : French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Currency (code) : Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code : XOF
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : very high
Senegal is located Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. The climate is tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind. The terrain is generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : 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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