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Senegal is a country in Northwest Africa, South of Mauritania, and West of Mali. Senegal is a transition between a sahara and a savannah, and has two major rivers. It also has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean.

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Geography of Senegal, Landforms - World Atlas

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Senegal's geography and landforms, including information on the Sahel, Gambia River, Senegal Riverr - by worldatlas.com

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Dakar

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15.41 million people in 2016

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French is the official language, but Wolof is also widely spoken there.

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Senegal's major resources are fish, phosphates, groundnuts, services and especially tourism. Their economy is vulnerable due to rainfall, because people don't want to visit when there is bad weather. The changes in world commodity prices also impact them. Their GDP is 14.77 billion USD, and their GDP per capita is 958.07 USD.

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In the 11th century, the Arabs lived in Senegal, then in the 13-14th century, the Mandingo and Jolof Empires lived there. From 1677-1960, France had total control over Senegal. The French language was used by the original French settlers living there, and so the more people used it, the more common it became, making it an official language. It is and was used in the governement, to make anouncements, and in schools. In 1960, Senegal gained it's independence.

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75,951 square miles

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Official Language of Senegal

Senegal is located along the coast of western Africa, where it occupies a total area of 75,951 square miles. The country has a population of over 15.41 million individuals. Senegal, like most countries in Africa, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Its first recorded settlements date back to the 7th century. During European expansion into Africa, Senegal came under the control of various countries, including the Netherlands, Portugal, Great Britain, and France. By 1677, France had complete control of the region.

As a result of this period of French rule, which lasted until 1960, the French language became and remains the official language of Senegal. French is used by the government to make public announcements and is the language of instruction in public schools. Approximately 15 to 20% of all men and between 1 and 2% of all women are able to speak and understand the French language. This difference reflects the vast gender inequalities residents of this country experience, particularly in the formal education sector. An additional 21% of the population is considered partially fluent in French. Because of its official language designation, Senegal is also a member of the International Organization of La Francophonie.

National Languages

A number of other languages enjoy government recognition as national languages, which means that a particular language may be used by a wide range of individuals. This use is usually designated to a particular region or group of people. The national languages of Senegal include Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Balanta-Ganja, Mandjak, Hassaniya Arabic, Noon, Jola-Fonyi, Serer, Soninke, and Mankanya.

Of these national languages, Wolof is the most widely spoken. Research indicates that Wolof is the first or second language of approximately 80% of the population of Senegal. This language is considered the native tongue of the Wolof people, who inhabit the western region of Africa and make up 40% of the population of Senegal. It was originally used by the Lebu people. Today, Wolof can be heard throughout Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia. It belongs to the Niger-Congo language family and the Senegambian subgroup. Its use is so widespread in Senegal that Wolof is considered the language of business, or the lingua franca of the country.

Minority Languages

In addition to the large number of national languages spoken in Senegal, the country is also home to a number of minority languages. One of the primary minority languages is Portuguese. The use of the language can be traced back to Portugal's colonization of the Casamance region, which was once a principal economic hub for Portugal. In its capital, Ziguinchor, Portuguese is spoken by a majority of inhabitants. After gaining independence, the government of Senegal established Portuguese as one of the languages of secondary education. In 2008, the country was admitted to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

Both Portuguese immigrants and descendants speak a dialect of Portuguese known as Guinea-Bissau Creole. This creole language is closely related to the Cape Verdean Creole language. In Senegal, it serves as a trade language and is used in informal print and for entertainment purposes. Guinea-Bissau Creole has approximately 310,000 second language speakers.

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Senegal is located along the coast of western Africa, where it occupies a total area of 75,951 square miles. The country has a population of over 15.41 million individuals. Senegal, like most countries in Africa, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Its first recorded settlements date back to the 7th century.

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A constitution for Senegal was created in 1963 and revised in 1998. It was then redone in 2001, and includes human, individual, and property rights. It also includes political, trade, union, and religious freedoms. Senegal is a republic, and a secular country. Macky Sall is the current president who was able to pick the current prime minister, Mahammed Dionne. Citizens can vote at the age of 18, and they vote for a president every 7 years who then picks the prime minister.

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Senegal - Government and society: The first constitution of Senegal was promulgated in 1963 and revised through March 1998. A new constitution, approved by voters in January 2001 and since amended, proclaims fundamental human rights; respect for individual and collective property rights; political, trade-union, and religious freedoms; and a democratic and secular state.

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Chicken Yassa is a popular dish, and it includes ut up marinated chicken with onions, limes, vinegar and peanut oil. It is grilled on a wood fire and then served on white rice.
Thiou is a meat or fish dish with vegetable sauce and prepared with palm oil and served with rice.
Kaldou is a dish made with fish, vegetables, and palm oil.
Lots of popular dishes in Senegal include fish because of their ocean coast, and their rivers, they have easy access to fish. Rice is easy to make, and often the food is cooked over a wood fire, because an oven is very expensive.

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Sengalese culture includes a lot of red, green, and yellow, because those are the colors on their flag. They have an independence day where they wave their flags. It is tradition to celebrate independence because they fought so long to earn it. It is also tradition to follow a religion, and is in fact looked down upon to not have a religion.

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Youssou N’Dour is a very popular musician, and he is a singer and percussionist. Orchestra Baobob is also a popular senegalese band and is multiethnic. Thione Seck and Baaba Maal are singers, and Africando is a band. Senegal culture uses music to unite people, and to celebrate.

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Sculptures, music, and dance are many ways that Senegalese people express themselves through art. A lot of sculptures are made around the idea of being abstract, resulting in beautiful unique sculptures. Griots, who are storytellers, often recite poems or stories with friends, or professionally in cafes or for shows. Sometimes they will take a kora with them, a musical stringed instrument, to make their poem or story extra special.

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Senegal - The arts: Art, sculpture, music, and dance remain typically Senegalese in expression. Sculpture is characterized by abstraction and by the ideogram, through which the artist de-emphasizes the material aspect to give free rein to ideas and feelings; a sculptured gazelle, for example, may be represented solely by its horns and its neck, or an elephant may be depicted only by the immense fan formed by its ears and its trunk.

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Dakar is the capital and the largest city in Senegal.

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The best beaches in Senegal are in Cap Skirring and Dakar, which attibute to tourism.

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There are protected areas in Senegal to preserve plant and animal life, and they take up 25% of the land in Senegal.

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Senegal is home to about 400 species of birds.